Cannabinoid modulation of drug reward and the implications of marijuana legalization Dan P. Covey, Jennifer M. Wenzel, and Joseph F. Cheer Brain Research, 2015 1628, 233–243. doi : 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.11.034. Abstract Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug worldwide. Recent trends indicate that this may soon change; not due to decreased marijuana use, but to an amendment in marijuana’s illegal status. The cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor mediates marijuana’s psychoactive and reinforcing properties. CB1 receptors are also part of the brain endocannabinoid (eCB) system and support numerous forms of learning and memory, including the conditioned reinforcing properties of cues predicting reward or punishment. This is accomplished [...]
Lire la suiteOn the Archetypal Nature of Bad Trips and Freakouts A Review of : "Confrontation With the Unconscious: Jungian Depth Psychology and Psychedelic Experience" by Scott J. Hill Danny Wedding, Peter H Addy PsycCRITIQUES, June 16, 2014, Vol. 59, No. 24, Article 4 © 2014 American Psychological Association In 1967 Scott J. Hill had a terrifying and traumatic experience after taking LSD, experiencing “the depths of madness and hell” (p. xiii). He became suicidal and dissociated, and he wondered whether he had gone insane. Over the next four decades, he struggled with the terror he felt during that experience; he could not come to terms with [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system in reward processing and addiction: from mechanisms to interventions Rainer Spanagel, PhD Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 2020, 22, (3), 241-250. doi : 10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.3/rspanagel The last decades have seen a major gain in understanding the action of cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system in reward processing and the development of addictive behavior. Cannabis-derived psychoactive compounds such as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and synthetic cannabinoids directly interact with the reward system and thereby have addictive properties. Cannabinoids induce their reinforcing properties by an increase in tonic dopamine levels through a cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor–dependent mechanism within the ventral tegmental area. Cues that are conditioned [...]
Lire la suiteThe (Poly)Pharmacology of Cannabidiol in Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Molecular Mechanisms and Targets Rosa Maria Vitale, Fabio Arturo Iannotti and Pietro Amodeo International journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021, 22, 4876, 1-20. Doi : 10.3390/ijms22094876 Abstract : Cannabidiol (CBD), the major nonpsychoactive Cannabis constituent, has been proposed for the treatment of a wide panel of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy and drug addiction due to the ability of its versatile scaffold to interact with diverse molecular targets that are not restricted to the endocannabinoid system. Albeit the molecular mechanisms responsible for the therapeutic effects of CBD have yet to be fully elucidated, many [...]
Lire la suiteCannabidiol as a Treatment for Mood Disorders : A Systematic Review Le cannabidiol comme traitement des troubles de l’humeur : une revue systématique Jairo Vinicius Pinto, MD, Gayatri Saraf, MD, Christian Frysch, MD, Daniel Vigo, MD, DrPH, Kamyar Keramatian, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Trisha Chakrabarty, MD, Raymond W. Lam, MD, Marcia Kauer-Sant’Anna, MD, PhD, and Lakshmi N. Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry /La Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 2020, Vol. 65, (4), 213-227. Doi : 10.1177/0706743719895195 Abstract Objective : To review the current evidence for efficacy of cannabidiol in the treatment of mood disorders. Methods : We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Scielo, [...]
Lire la suiteCannabidiol as a treatment for craving and relapse inindividuals with cocaine use disorder: a randomized placebo-controlled trial Violaine Mongeau-Pérusse, Suzanne Brissette, Julie Bruneau, Patricia Conrod, Simon Dubreucq, Guillaume Gazil, EmmanuelStip & DidierJutras-Aswad Addiction, 2021, 116, (9), 1-12. Doi : 10.1111/add.15417 ABSTRACT Background and Aims : Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a significant public health concern for which no efficacious phar-macologicalinterventionsare available. Cannabidiol (CBD) has attracted considerable interest as a promisingtreatmentforaddiction. This study tested CBD efficacy for reducing craving and preventing relapse in people with CUD.DesignSingle-site double-blind randomized controlled superiority trial comparing CBD with placebo. Setting and Participants : Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Canada. Seventy-eight [...]
Lire la suiteRole of Cannabidiol in the Therapeutic Intervention for Substance Use Disorders Francisco Navarrete, María Salud García-Gutiérrez, Ani Gasparyan, Amaya Austrich-Olivares and Jorge Manzanares Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2021, 12, Article 696010, 1-24. Doi : 10.3389/fphar.2021.626010 Drug treatments available for the management of substance use disorders (SUD) present multiple limitations in efficacy, lack of approved treatments or alarming relapse rates. These facts hamper the clinical outcome and the quality of life of the patients supporting the importance to develop new pharmacological agents. Lately, several reports suggest that cannabidiol (CBD) presents beneficial effects relevant for the management of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, or [...]
Lire la suiteCB2 Receptor Involvement in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders Francisco Navarrete, María S. García-Gutiérrez, Ani Gasparyan, Daniela Navarro and Jorge Manzanares Biomolecules, 2021, 11, 1556, 1-18. Doi : 10.3390/biom11111556 Abstract The pharmacological modulation of the cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2r) has emerged as a promising potential therapeutic option in addiction. The purpose of this review was to determine the functional involvement of CB2r in the effects produced by drugs of abuse at the central nervous system (CNS) level by assessing evidence from preclinical and clinical studies. In rodents, several reports suggest the functional involvement of CB2r in the effects produced by drugs of abuse such [...]
Lire la suiteInvolvement of the endocannabinoid system in drug addiction, Rafael Maldonado, Olga Valverde and Fernando Berrendero Trends in Neurosciences, 2006, 29, (4), 225-232. Doi : 10.1016/j.tins.2006.01.008 Recent studies have shown that the endocannabinoid system is involved in the common neurobiological mechanism underlying drug addiction. This system participates in the primary rewarding effects of cannabinoids, nicotine, alcohol and opioids, through the release of endocannabinoids in the ventral tegmental area. Endocannabinoids are also involved in the motivation to seek drugs by a dopamine-independent mechanism, demonstrated for psychostimulants and opioids. The endocannabinoid system also participates in the common mechanisms underlying relapse to drugseeking behaviour by mediating the motivational effects [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoids, Pain, and Opioid Use Reduction : The Importance of Distilling and Disseminating Existing Data Kent E. HUTCHISON, Sarah L. HAGERTY, Jeffrey GALINKIN, Angela D. BRYAN, L. Cinnamon BIDWELL Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2019, 4, (3), 158-164. Doi : 10.1089/can.2018.0052 Abstract The high prevalence of chronic pain conditions combined with an over-reliance on opioid prescriptions has resulted in an opioid epidemic and a desperate need for solutions. There is some debate about whether cannabis might play a role in addressing chronic pain conditions as well as the opioid epidemic. Recent surveys suggest that a large number of people are using cannabis as a treatment for [...]
Lire la suite