Posted by skills on May 26, 2002, at 12:02:12
If, as many now think, opioids can be in some cases useful antidepressents then surely so could cannabis. The effects of the active ingredient of cannabis, delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol and diamorphine on in vivo dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens were compared in Sprague-Dawley rats by brain microdialysis by the Center for Neuropharmacology, University of Caliari 1997. Delta 9 THC and diamorphine increased extracellular dopamine concerntrations selectively in the shell of the nucleus accumbens: these effects were mimiked by synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55212-2. SR14716A, an antagonist of central cannabinoid receptors, prevented the effects of delta 9 THC but not those of diamorphine. Naxolone, a generic opioid antagonist administered systemically, or naloxonazine, an antagonist of mu1 opioid receptors infused into the ventral tegmentum, prevented the action of cannabinoids and diamorphine on dopamine transmission. Therefore delta 9 THC and diamorphine exert similar effects on mesolimbic dopamine transmission through a common mu1 opioid receptor mechanism located in the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum. This mechanism is thought to be responsible for the feeling of well being associated with opiate action in humans. Therefore cannabis could in theory have a similar AD effect. I know humans aren't rats. Peace.
poster:skills
thread:107645
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020525/msgs/107645.html