16
September 2004
Endocannabinoid function
When cannabinoid receptors were first discovered, no naturally occurring molecules in the body were known to bind them. But then 'endocannabinoids' were discovered in the brain. They and their receptors appear to act as a modulatory system, fine-tuning the body's responses to a variety of stimuli via an effect on synaptic transmission. Work on the rat brain now reveals a role for endocannabinoids in a novel form of self-inhibition in a specific class of neocortical interneurons. In response to repetitive activation these interneurons undergo long-lasting hyperpolarization that reduces their excitability. This mechanism, which through interactions with the principal neocortical cell type alters processing in neuronal networks, is one that might be involved in the psychotropic effects of marijuana.
Long-lasting self-inhibition of neocortical
interneurons mediated by endocannabinoids
ALBERTO BACCI, JOHN R. HUGUENARD & DAVID A. PRINCE
Nature 431, 312–316 (2004); doi:10.1038/nature02913
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