Work

Adaptations in endocannabinoid signaling in response to repeated homotypic stress: a novel mechanism for stress habituation

Year: 2008

Type: review

Abstract: Daily life stressors are a major environmental factor contributing to precipitation and exacerbation of mental illness. Animal models using repeated homotypic stress induce anxious and depressive phenotypes and are used to study the pathophysiology of affective disorders. Here we discuss data demonstrating that repeated homotypic stress produces temporally and anatomically distinct changes in endocannabinoid signaling components within stress-responsive brain regions. We also present evidence describing the neural and behavioral correlates of these adaptations in endocannabinoid signaling. These data support a role for endocannabinoid signaling in the central nervous system response to chronic, homotypic stress, and specifically in the process of stress-response habituation. The clinical implications of these findings for the pathophysiology and treatment of affective disorders are discussed.

Source: European Journal of Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06266.x

Authors: Sachin Patel, Cecilia J. Hillard

Institutions: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Medical College of Wisconsin

Language: English

Topic: Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research

Subfield: Pharmacology (medical)

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse