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Summary: Researchers uncovered how cannabis triggers appetite in the brain. Using calcium imaging technology to observe brain cells in mice exposed to vaporized cannabis sativa, the team discovered that cannabis activates specific cells in the hypothalamus associated with the anticipation and consumption of food.
This finding could lead to novel treatments for appetite disorders in cancer patients, anorexia, and potentially obesity. The study highlights the cannabinoid-1 receptor’s role in controlling Agouti Related Protein neurons, essential for appetite, and demonstrates that disabling these neurons negates cannabis’s appetite-stimulating effects.
Key Facts:
- Cannabis exposure activates specific hypothalamus neurons related to appetite in mice.
- The cannabinoid-1 receptor controls key “feeding” cells in the hypothalamus, influencing appetite.
- Disabling these key neurons prevents cannabis from stimulating appetite, offering potential therapeutic pathways.
Source: Washington State University
While it is well known that cannabis can cause the munchies, researchers have now revealed a mechanism in the brain that promotes appetite in a set of animal studies at Washington State University.
The discovery, detailed in the journal Scientific Reports, could pave the way for refined therapeutics to treat appetite disorders faced by cancer patients as well as anorexia and potentially obesity.
After exposing mice to vaporized cannabis sativa, researchers used calcium imaging technology, which is similar to a brain MRI, to determine how their brain cells responded. They observed that cannabis activated a set of cells in the hypothalamus when the rodents anticipated and consumed palatable food that were not activated in unexposed mice. [Read More @ NeuroscienceNews.com]
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