Cannabis memory effects examined
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:36 pm
Scientists believe they are closer to understanding how taking cannabis disrupts short-term memory.
The Canadian team from Ottawa University narrowed the effect down to a particular type of brain cell called an astrocyte.
Writing in the journal Cell, they said it might be possible to block it in medicines based on cannabis.
A UK researcher said it could reveal more about natural brain chemicals.
Cannabis floods the brain with a host of chemicals which mimic one of its own subtle signalling systems, leading to pronounced changes in mood and memory.
Scientists are trying to harness the power of these chemicals, called cannabinoids, in pharmaceuticals aimed at conditions such as multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.
The doses of cannabinoid are carefully controlled to avoid the "high" feeling.
The work by the Ottawa University researchers may shed light on how one of the best known cannabinoids, THC, acts on the brain....Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1815