Chunk #7 — Endocannabinoid Variants and Childhood Adversity Predict Cannabis Dependence Symptoms and Amygdala Habituation — The Endocannabinoid System and Cannabis Involvement
In this study, we propose that genes comprising the endocannabinoid system may play a particularly important role in the etiology of cannabis dependence, especially in the context of childhood stress. In the past 25 years, receptors for exogenous cannabinoids such as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Cannabis, along with endogenous ligands, have been identified (for a review, see De Petrocellis & Di Marzo, 2009). The endogenous cannabinoid, or “endocannabinoid” (eCB), system plays a critical role in reward, anxiety, and stress responsiveness (Hill, McLaughlin, et al., 2010; Solinas, Goldberg, & Piomelli, 2008). The molecular aspects of the eCB system have been extensively reviewed elsewhere (see Bisogno, 2008; Bisogno, Ligresti, & Di Marzo, 2005; Di Marzo, 2011; Di Marzo, 2009; Piomelli, 2003; Wilson & Nicoll, 2002) and are briefly described below (see also Table 1).
