Deconstructing the neurobiology of cannabis use disorder

Home - News - Deconstructing the neurobiology of cannabis use disorder

Ferland JN y Hurd YL

Nat Neurosci (2020) 23: 600-610

Over the last few years cannabis has undergone a major paradigm shift as well as its different uses. The human brain has cannabinoid receptors that mediate the neural processes underlying cognition, responsiveness and emotional regulation in response to stress relevant to vulnerability to addiction. At present we have enough information to have knowledge of the effects of cannabis and the pathological consequences of its use. Multiple cases of cannabis use disorders have been reported in the general population. This disorder usually has its genesis in adolescence and especially in vulnerable individuals associated with psychiatric comorbidity, also influenced by environmental and genetic factors.

There have been dramatic changes worldwide in the attitudes and use of medical and recreational cannabis. Cannabinoid receptors, which mediate the actions of cannabis, are abundantly expressed in brain regions known to mediate neural processes underlying cognition, emotional regulation, and stress responsiveness relevant to vulnerability to addiction. Despite debates about the potential pathological consequences of cannabis use, cannabis use disorder is a clinical diagnosis with high prevalence in the general population and usually has its genesis in adolescence and in vulnerable individuals associated with psychiatric comorbidity, genetic and environmental factors. Integrated information from human and animal studies is beginning to expand knowledge of the neurobiological systems associated with cannabis use disorder, which often share common neural features with other substance use disorders, that could inform prevention and treatment strategies.

Link to summary: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32251385/

References

  • UN Office on Drugs and Crime. World Drug Report 3: Market Analysis of Plant-Based Drugs: Opiates, Cocaine, Cannabis. (UNODC Research, 2017).
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