AGT and substance dependence: To test our hypothesis that endocannabinoid content influences cardiac BRS at the level of the NTS in animals with altered brain RAS expression, we studied dorsal medullary endocannabinoid content and function in hemizygous transgenic (mRen2)27 rats, a monogenetic model of Ang II-dependent hypertension in which the mouse Ren2 renin gene was transfected into the genome of the normotensive Hannover SD rat.