Cannabinoid receptor down-regulation in the ventral cochlear nucleus in a salicylate model of tinnitus

Cannabinoid CB1 receptors have not been systematically investigated in the brainstem cochlear nucleus, nor have they been investigated in relation to tinnitus. Using immunohistochemistry and cell counting, we showed that a large number of neurons in the rat cochlear nucleus possess cannabinoid CB1 receptors. Following salicylate injections that induced the behavioural manifestations of tinnitus, the number of principal neurons in the ventral cochlear nucleus expressing CB1 receptors significantly decreased, while the number of CB1-positive principal neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus did not change significantly. These results suggest that CB1 receptors in the cochlear nucleus may be important for auditory function and that a down-regulation of CB1 receptors in the ventral cochlear nucleus may be related to the development of tinnitus.