A natural molecule that activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana, a promising research by an Indian-origin scientist says.
Cannabinoid receptors are normally activated by compounds in the brain called endocannabinoids, the most abundant of which is 2-AG.
They are also "turned on" by an active ingredient of marijuana.
For the study, principal investigator Sachin Patel and his colleagues from the Vanderbilt University in the US developed a genetically-modified mouse with impaired ability to produce 2-AG in the brain.
The mice exhibited anxiety-like behaviour and female mice also displayed behaviour suggestive of depression.
When an enzyme that normally breaks down 2-AG was blocked, and the supply of the endocannabinoid was restored to normal levels, these behaviour patterns were reversed.
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"If further research confirms that some people who are anxious and depressed have low levels of 2-AG, this method of normalising 2-AG deficiency could represent a viable therapeutic strategy for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders," Patel, a professor of psychiatry, molecular physiology and biophysics, said.
Relief from tension and anxiety is the most common reason cited for chronic marijuana use.
"Thus, restoring depleted levels of 2-AG also could be a way to help people using marijuana," Patel added.
The paper appeared online in the journal Cell Reports.