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Science 30 March 2001:
Vol. 291. no. 5513, pp. 2530 - 2531
DOI: 10.1126/science.291.5513.2530
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News of the Week

NEUROBIOLOGY:
How Cannabinoids Work in the Brain

Marcia Barinaga

Researchers have discovered that "endogenous cannabinoids," marijuana-like chemicals made by our brain whose function has long been a mystery, play key roles in a process that may be central to the laying down of memory. In reports this week in Nature and Neuron, three independent research teams have shown that cannabinoids are dispatched by some brain neurons to fine-tune the signals they receive; one form of the process occurs in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in memory. The discovery offers the first concrete example of physiological function for the endogenous cannabinoids, say neuroscientists.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Cannabis and stroke: is there a link?.
B R Thanvi and S D Treadwell (2009)
Postgrad. Med. J. 85, 80-83
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The cannabinoid system and immune modulation.
T. W. Klein, C. Newton, K. Larsen, L. Lu, I. Perkins, L. Nong, and H. Friedman (2003)
J. Leukoc. Biol. 74, 486-496
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)