Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
J Neurosci Res. 2022 Jan;100(1):278-296. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24770. Epub 2020 Dec 22.
The brain's endogenous opioid and endocannabinoid systems are neuromodulatory of synaptic transmission, and play key roles in pain, memory, reward, and addiction. Recent clinical and pre-clinical evidence suggests that opioid use may be reduced with cannabinoid intake. This suggests the presence of a functional interaction between these two systems. Emerging research indicates that cannabinoids and opioids can functionally interact at different levels. At the cellular level, opioid and cannabinoids can have direct receptor associations, alterations in endogenous opioid peptide or cannabinoid release, or post-receptor activation interactions via shared signal transduction pathways. At the systems level, the nature of cannabinoid and opioid interaction might differ in brain circuits underlying different behavioral phenomenon, including reward-seeking or antinociception. Given the rising use of opioid and cannabinoid drugs, a better understanding of how these endogenous signaling systems interact in the brain is of significant interest. This review focuses on the potential relationship of these neural systems in addiction-related processes.
大脑内源性阿片肽和内源性大麻素系统是突触传递的神经调质，在疼痛、记忆、奖励和成瘾中发挥关键作用。最近的临床和临床前证据表明，大麻素的摄入可能会减少阿片类药物的使用。这表明这两个系统之间存在功能相互作用。新兴的研究表明，大麻素和阿片类药物可以在不同的水平上发挥功能相互作用。在细胞水平上，阿片类药物和大麻素可以直接受体关联，内源性阿片肽或大麻素释放的改变，或通过共享信号转导途径的受体后激活相互作用。在系统水平上，在不同的行为现象（包括觅药或镇痛）背后的大脑回路中，大麻素和阿片类药物相互作用的性质可能不同。鉴于阿片类药物和大麻素药物的使用日益增加，更好地了解这些内源性信号系统在大脑中的相互作用具有重要意义。这篇综述重点介绍了这些神经系统在成瘾相关过程中的潜在关系。
