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the role of cannabinoid recpetors in the brain on behavior

robd

robd

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I have to do a powerpoint project on this paticular subject for a psychology class, and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction to finding such info, or add some discussion that would be beneficial.
 
If thats the exact question, then thats a pretty hard question, because there aren't many behaviours that have been shown to be dependent of cannabinoid receptors in the drug naive brain.

Still, the major one that pops into my head is possible role in somehow effecting synaptic plasticity... Metaplasticity, LTP and LTD all have been attributed in part of CB1 receptor activation by endogenous cannabinoids.
 
This is a good place to start:

Nature. 2002 Aug 1;418:530-4.

The endogenous cannabinoid system controls extinction of aversive memories.

Marsicano G, Wotjak CT, Azad SC, Bisogno T, Rammes G, Cascio MG, Hermann H, Tang J, Hofmann C, Zieglgansberger W, Di Marzo V, Lutz B.

Molecular Genetics of Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany.

Acquisition and storage of aversive memories is one of the basic principles of central nervous systems throughout the animal kingdom. In the absence of reinforcement, the resulting behavioural response will gradually diminish to be finally extinct. Despite the importance of extinction, its cellular mechanisms are largely unknown. The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and endocannabinoids are present in memory-related brain areas and modulate memory. Here we show that the endogenous cannabinoid system has a central function in extinction of aversive memories. CB1-deficient mice showed strongly impaired short-term and long-term extinction in auditory fear-conditioning tests, with unaffected memory acquisition and consolidation. Treatment of wild-type mice with the CB1 antagonist SR141716A mimicked the phenotype of CB1-deficient mice, revealing that CB1 is required at the moment of memory extinction. Consistently, tone presentation during extinction trials resulted in elevated levels of endocannabinoids in the basolateral amygdala complex, a region known to control extinction of aversive memories. In the basolateral amygdala, endocannabinoids and CB1 were crucially involved in long-term depression of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)-mediated inhibitory currents. We propose that endocannabinoids facilitate extinction of aversive memories through their selective inhibitory effects on local inhibitory networks in the amygdala.
 
i dont really understand any of this :-\ is there a place i can go to introduce me to this stuff? i have no idea how im gonna turn this kinda info into a powerpoint presintation...btw, this is an intro psyc class so maybe i can use more general info
 
ok i talked to my professor, he said he wants me to explain how the cannabinoid recpetors work normally, then compare to when they have a drug binding to them
 
I would consider perhaps focusing on a neuromodulatory system (and the appropriate drugs) that has been more thoroughly researched instead.

ebola
 
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