The endocannabinoid system
Although cannabis has been used for centuries as a recreational drug, the mechanisms of action of its active constituents (cannabinoids) and their endogenous counterparts (endocannabinoids) have only been discovered relatively recently. Cannabinoid receptors are expressed widely throughout the brain and, over the past few decades, the breadth of their influence on neuronal function has become clear, although much still remains to be understood. Nature Reviews Neuroscience presents a series of articles that examine the multiplicity of roles of the endocannabinoid system in the CNS, from development to behaviour, and the potential for cannabinoid-based therapies in the treatment of a range of brain disorders.
Image credit: Jennie Vallis/NPG.
2015
January 2015 Vol 16 No 1
Endocannabinoid signalling and the deteriorating brain
Vincenzo Di Marzo, Nephi Stella & Andreas Zimmer
May 2015 Vol 16 No 5
Weeding out bad waves: towards selective cannabinoid circuit control in epilepsy
Ivan Soltesz, Bradley E. Alger, Masanobu Kano, Sang-Hun Lee, David M. Lovinger, Takako Ohno-Shosaku & Masahiko Watanabe
October 2015 Vol 16 No 10
Endocannabinoid signalling in reward and addiction
Loren H. Parsons & Yasmin L. Hurd
December 2015 Vol 16 No 12
The endocannabinoid system in guarding against fear, anxiety and stress
Beat Lutz, Giovanni Marsicano, Rafael Maldonado & Cecilia J. Hillard
2014
December 2014 Vol 15 No 12
Programming of neural cells by (endo)cannabinoids: from physiological rules to emerging therapies
Mauro Maccarrone, Manuel Guzmán, Ken Mackie, Patrick Doherty & Tibor Harkany
November 2014 Vol 15 No 11
Early phytocannabinoid chemistry to endocannabinoids and beyond
Raphael Mechoulam, Lumír O. Hanuš, Roger Pertwee & Allyn C. Howlett