Mackie K
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195-6540, USA.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 Apr;30 Suppl 1:S19-23. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0803273.
The CB1 cannabinoid receptor has attracted much recent interest because of the observation that CB1 receptor antagonists have efficacy in treating metabolic syndrome and obesity. CB1 receptors also mediate most of the psychotropic effects of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta9THC), the principal psychoactive component of cannabis. In addition, they are one component of an interesting and widespread paracrine signaling system, the endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system is comprised of cannabinoid receptors, endogenous cannabinoids, and the metabolic pathways responsible for their synthesis and degradation. The details of the endocannabinoid system have been most thoroughly studied in the brain. Here it has been shown to be intimately involved in several forms of neuronal plasticity. That is, activation of CB1 receptors by endocannabinoids produces either short- or long-term changes in the efficacy of synaptic transmission. The behavioral consequences of these changes are many, but some of the most striking and relevant to the current symposium are those associated with endogenous reward and consumptive behavior.
由于观察到CB1受体拮抗剂在治疗代谢综合征和肥胖症方面具有疗效，CB1大麻素受体最近引起了广泛关注。CB1受体还介导了大麻主要精神活性成分Δ9-四氢大麻酚（Δ9THC）的大部分精神作用。此外，它们是一个有趣且广泛存在的旁分泌信号系统——内源性大麻素系统的组成部分。内源性大麻素系统由大麻素受体、内源性大麻素以及负责其合成和降解的代谢途径组成。内源性大麻素系统的细节在大脑中得到了最深入的研究。在大脑中，它已被证明与多种形式的神经元可塑性密切相关。也就是说，内源性大麻素对CB1受体的激活会导致突触传递效能产生短期或长期变化。这些变化的行为后果众多，但与本次研讨会最相关且最引人注目的一些后果是与内源性奖赏和消费行为相关的后果。
