New research has identified a specific neurotransmitter system – the endocannabinoid system – and proved that it is active in a brain region known to play a key role in the processing of memory, emotional reactions and addiction.
The research proves that this system can dampen the effects of alcohol, suggesting an avenue for the development of drugs to fight alcohol addiction.
"This is very new," said Paul Schweitzer, associate professor of the neurobiology of addiction at Scripps and author of the study. "It is the first tiem a study has shown a direct cellular interaction between endocannabinoids and alcohol in the brain."
The new research overturns a 2001 European paper that claimed that endocannabinoid receptors, in particular the most common type called CB1, did not exist in the central amygdale, a region of the brain.
"CB1 receptors are very abundant," Schweitzer said. "They are almost everywhere in the brain and there are lots of them. The endocannabinoid system acts on appetite, mood, memory and addiction. Addiction is why we started to study it in the central amygdala."
