An international study group by Vanderbilt University composed of US, Japanese and Hungarian scientists has discovered cannabinoid receptors in the part of the brain responsible for regulating anxiety and the fight-or-flight reaction. In a mouse model, researchers identified the receptors in the central nucleus of the specimen’s amygdala. This discovery may lend credence to the many smokers who say they cannabis to reduce anxiety.
The study showed for the first time how nerve cells make, and then release, their own “endocannabinoids”. According to Sachin Patel, the paper’s senior author, the study “could be highly important for understanding how cannabis exerts its behavioral effects”. Patel, M.D., Ph.D, is a professor of Psychiatry and of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.
Patel noted that previous studies suggested:
Chronic stress or emotional trauma can reduce the production of endocannabinoids and the response of their receptors. The effect is an increase in anxiety
The endocannabinoid system regulates anxiety by dampening signals that involve the neurotransmitter glutamate
While some cannabinoids can reduce anxiety, chronic use can down regulate receptors, causing anxiety
In this study, scientists used antibodies to ‘’label’’ cannabinoid receptors so they would be visible using microscopes. These techniques included electron microscopes, allowing very detailed visuals of individual synapses – the gaps between nerve cells.
“We know where the receptors are, we know their function, we know how these neurons make their own cannabinoids,” Patel said. “Now can we see how that system is affected by … stress and chronic (marijuana) use? It might fundamentally change our understanding of cellular communication in the amygdala.”
The findings represent possible uses for medicinal cannabis for anxiety with further testing.
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