EFFECTS OF SINGLE AND REPEATED ADMINISTRATION OF WATER SOLUBLE
FEDERATION PROCEEDINGS

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REPRINTED FROM FEDERATION PROCEEDINGS
MARCH 1973, VOL.. 32, NO. 3, PART 1 OF TWO
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
EFFECTS OF SINGLE AND REPEATED ADMINISTRATION OF WATER SOLUBLE
l-£^-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (W-THC) ON WEB-BUILDING OF SPIDERS.
R. D. Ford*, Peter N. Witt and Mabel B. Scarboro*. N• C•
Department of Mental Health, Research Division, Raleigh, N. C.
27611.
The building frequency and geometry of the orb-web were
observed and measured in four randomly selected groups of
the cross-spider Araneus diadematus Clerck. Two groups were
administered a dose of W-THC equivalent to 200 or 600 mg/kg
1-Atetrahydrocannabinol (A^-THC) by mouth in sugar water.
The other two groups received in the same manner the corres-
ponding dosages of the ester (used to makeA^-THC water
soluble), and served as vehicle controls* Only one appli-
cation of 600 mg/kg^^THC produced statistically significant
effects: these consisted of a decrease in web-building fre-
quency and a change in the geometry of the lower part of the
web, tending to make the normally oval shape more circular,
without altering thread length or any other measures. When
administration of the dose (600 mg/kg) was repeated ten times,
once every other day, the effects persisted and increased: the
few webs built were smaller and tended toward a circular
shape. -The effects of this drug are distinct from those of
all other drugs tested on web-building behavior. W-THC webs
showed some resemblance to webs built after the application
of strychnine. No significant development of tolerance to
the drug effects on web-building was detected. (Supported
by NIMH fellowship MH 1107-04 and NSF Grant GB-25274).