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Deconstructing the neurobiology of cannabis use disorder

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Abstract

There have been dramatic changes worldwide in the attitudes toward and consumption of recreational and medical cannabis. Cannabinoid receptors, which mediate the actions of cannabis, are abundantly expressed in brain regions known to mediate neural processes underlying reward, cognition, emotional regulation and stress responsivity relevant to addiction vulnerability. Despite debates regarding potential pathological consequences of cannabis use, cannabis use disorder is a clinical diagnosis with high prevalence in the general population and that often has its genesis in adolescence and in vulnerable individuals associated with psychiatric comorbidity, genetic and environmental factors. Integrated information from human and animal studies is beginning to expand insights regarding neurobiological systems associated with cannabis use disorder, which often share common neural characteristics with other substance use disorders, that could inform prevention and treatment strategies.

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Fig. 1: Odds ratios of psychiatric conditions associated with CUD.
Fig. 2: Overview of the dynamic patterns of the in vivo neurochemical-related alterations (based on PET, functional MRI, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) studies) associated with CUD.
Fig. 3: Alterations of gray matter volume (based on MRI studies) detected in individuals with CUD.
Fig. 4: Differences in functional activity (based on functional MRI and electroencephalogram studies) detected in the brain of abstinent individuals with CUD during exposure to specific tasks and stimuli.
Fig. 5: Synaptic perturbations based on animal models associated with chronic THC exposure (right) as compared to control condition (left) in glutamate and GABA synapses in the cortex.
Fig. 6: Factors contributing to CUD.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) DA030359.

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Ferland, JM.N., Hurd, Y.L. Deconstructing the neurobiology of cannabis use disorder. Nat Neurosci 23, 600–610 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-0611-0

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