The endocannabinoid system regulates body processes such as appetite, pain, mood, and memory through signaling molecules that bind to receptor proteins. Cannabis mimics these molecules and can produce similar responses. The system involves ligands, such as anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, that bind to two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, to produce a response. Cannabis contains cannabinoids that bind to these receptors and can produce mood-enhancing, anticonvulsant, and anti-inflammatory effects.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a set of signaling molecules in the central and peripheral nervous systems that help regulate body processes such as appetite, pain, mood and memory. A signaling molecule is a chemical substance that transmits information from cell to cell. In the endocannabinoid system, these molecules primarily signal lipids called endocannabinoids, fatty molecules that bind to receptor proteins to trigger a response. The chemical makeup of endocannabinoids and the responses they elicit are closely mimicked by the drug cannabis, which is sometimes prescribed to trigger an increased appetite, decreased pain, and improved mood.
An endocannabinoid is an example of a ligand, or molecule that binds to proteins to generate a signal response. In the endocannabinoid system, these ligands exist within cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems. The nervous system is a network of signaling tissues that collects sensory input, processes this information, and then enables the body to make a coordinated response to stimuli. Sensory input can be internal or external to the body, sensing factors such as external temperature, body temperature, blood acidity, blood pressure, sounds, sight, smells and pressure on the body. The central nervous system includes only the brain and spinal cord, while the peripheral nervous system includes all nerve cells outside the brain and spinal cord.
The endocannabinoid system involves two major ligands, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), which are produced and released within the body in response to an electrical impulse called depolarization. Cells are thought to produce endocannabinoids when they are needed, rather than having a constant supply within the cell. The ligands are then released into the synapse, or the space between nerve cells, and carried on to the next cell. The ligands then bind to two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, to produce a response.
Anandamide prefers to bind to the CB1 receptor, which is found primarily in the central nervous system, but is also found in some body tissues. The endocannibinoid 2-AG binds equally to both the CB1 receptor and the CB2 receptor, which is found in the peripheral nervous system. There is evidence for a third ligand called noladine ether, which binds more strongly to CB2, although whether the substance could actually be called an endocannibinoid is debated. Two other endocannabinoids called N-arachidonoyl-dopamine (NADA) and Virodhamine (EOE) have recently been discovered and bind more strongly to CB1 and CB2, respectively.
Both receptors are made up of proteins, or chemical compounds composed of chains of amino acids, which accept and respond to the release of ligands. These responses in the endocannabinoid system regulate many of the body’s processes, including pain sensation, appetite, mood, memory, learning to move, and nervous system regulation. Because cannabis contains compounds called cannabinoids that are chemically similar to endocannabinoids, introducing cannabis into the body can produce some of the same responses.
In the 1980s, it was discovered that chemical compounds within cannabis bind to cannabinoid receptors within the nervous system, in much the same way that endocannabinoids bind to cannabinoid receptors. The three main cannabinoids found in cannabis are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN), but there are many of these substances that interact with the endocannibinoid system. Those that bind to CB1 are thought to be responsible for the drug’s mood-enhancing and anticonvulsant qualities. The cannabinoids that bind to CB2 are thought to contribute to the drug’s anti-inflammatory or anti-swelling qualities that help suppress pain.
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