Saturday, August 10, 2013

Scientists Discover Another Way Marijuana Helps The Brain Grow

Source: Truth on Pot

 Canadian researchers made a groundbreaking discovery that would forever discredit the myth that marijuana causes brain damage. What they found was an opposite effect. That is, THC – the main chemical in marijuana and the reason why users get ‘high’ – can actually cause new brain cells to grow. 

The process of brain growth is called neurogenesis and does not usually improve with drug use. Marijuana use is a different story, explained Xia Zhang, M.D, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan and lead author of the study:
“Most ‘drugs of abuse’ suppress neurogenesis. Only marijuana promotes neurogenesis.”
Still, THC is not the only chemical found in marijuana and, eight years later, a team from Brazil is giving marijuana users more reason to celebrate. Their study, published in the July issue of The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, shows that cannabidiol (CBD) can help your brain grow too.

Looking to investigate the effects of CBD on anxiety and depression in rodents, the researchers went to the source – a part of the brain called the hippocampus. The hippocampus regulates emotion and cognitive function and is also the only area of the adult brain that can grow.
The hippocampus plays a role in emotion, memory, and learning.
The hippocampus plays a role in emotion, memory, and learning.

While previous studies have found CBD to have beneficial effects on anxiety and depression, the new study is the first to explain why.

What the scientists found was that CBD, just like THC, also causes brain cells in the hippocampus to grow. This, they say, could explain why previous studies identified CBD as an effective treatment for mood disorders.
“Our results indicate that chronic CBD administration, by promoting neurogenesis, favours a similar anxiolytic response in stressed mice.”
Likewise, other studies have linked depression, anxiety and stress – and even problems with learning and memory – to a lack of adult neurogenesis. Although this can be brought on by frequent substance use (expect for marijuana), neurogenesis also slows down naturally as you age.

But now there is hope, says the team from Brazil. A new understanding of how the brain reacts to CBD, along with other compounds in marijuana, “opens the door for their use to manage psychiatric symptoms in disorders such as ageing, stress and neuroinflammation.”

The study was led by Ismael Galve-Roperh of the Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Universitario de Investigacion en Neuroquımica (IUIN) and Instituto Ramon y Cajal de Investigacion Sanitaria (IRYCIS)


COGNATIVE EFFECTS & Cannabis studies completed

1971- Study ~ Marihuana and Memory: Acquisition or Retrieval?
1973- Study - Neuropsychological effects of marijuana.
1974 - Study ~ Marihuana Use and Psychosocial Adaptation.
1976 - Study ~ Operant acquisition of marihuana in man.
1981 - Study ~ Cognition and Long-Term Use of Ganja (Cannabis).
1985 - Study ~ Operant acquisition of marihuana by women.
1991 - Study ~ Flashback Following Use of Cannabis--a Review.
1992 - Study ~ 60- and 72-month follow-up of children prenatally exposed to marijuana, cigarettes, and alcohol: cognitive and language assessment.
1992 - News ~ THREE THINGS MARIJUANA DOESN'T DO.
1998- Study - Cerebellar activity and disturbed time sense after THC.
1999- Study - Cannabis use and cognitive decline in persons under 65 years of age.
1999 - Study ~ Learning impairment produced in rats by the cannabinoid agonist HU 210 in a water-maze task.
1999 - Study ~ Enhancement of Memory in Cannabinoid Cb1 Receptor Knock-out Mice.
2000 - Study ~ Low dose anandamide affects food intake, cognitive function, neurotransmitter and corticosterone levels in diet-restricted mice.
2001 - Study ~ Neuropsychological Performance in Long-term Cannabis Users.
2002- Study - Current and former marijuana use: preliminary findings of a longitudinal study of effects on IQ in young adults.
2002 - Study ~ Cognitive Measures in Long-term Cannabis Users.
2002- News - Heavy cannabis use without long-term effect on global intelligence.
2002- News - Marijuana does not dent IQ permanently.
2003- Study - Non-acute (residual) neurocognitive effects of cannabis use: a meta-analytic study.
2003 - Study ~ CANNABINOIDS ALTER RECOGNITION MEMORY IN RATS.
2003 - News ~ Study: Brain Not Permanently Damaged by Marijuana.
2003 - News ~ Minimal Long-Term Effects Of Marijuana Use Found In Central Nervous System By UCSD Researchers.
2003 - News ~ Heavy Marijuana Use Doesn't Damage Brain.

2004 - Study - Differential Effects of THC or CBD-rich Cannabis Extracts on Working Memory in Rats.
2004- Study - Neurocognitive performance during acute THC intoxication in heavy and occasional cannabis users.
2005 - Study ~ Early age-related cognitive impairment in mice lacking cannabinoid CB1 receptors.

2005- Study - Marijuana Effects On Human Forgetting Functions.
2005 - Study ~ Neurocognitive consequences of marihuana--a comparison with pre-drug performance.
2005 - Study ~ Effects of the endocannabinoid noladin ether on body weight, food consumption, locomotor activity, and cognitive index in mice.
2007 - Study ~ Cannabinoids ameliorate cerebral dysfunction following liver failure via AMP-activated protein kinase.
2007 - Study ~ The synthetic cannabinoid HU210 induces spatial memory deficits and suppresses hippocampal firing rate in rats.
2007 - Study ~ Acute effects of smoked marijuana on decision making, as assessed by a modified gambling task, in experienced marijuana users.
2007 - News ~ Cannabis Intoxication Does Not Adversely Impact Decision Making.
2008 - Study ~ The cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist CE prolongs spatial memory duration in a rat delayed radial arm maze memory task.
2008- Study - Review: executive functioning and cannabis use.
2008 - Study ~ Blunted Psychotomimetic and Amnestic Effects of Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Frequent Users of Cannabis.
2008 - Study ~ Multiple sclerosis, cannabinoids, and cognition.
2008 - Study ~ Neurocognitive performance during acute THC intoxication in heavy and occasional cannabis users.

2009- Study - Is moderate substance use associated with altered executive functioning in a population-based sample of young adults?
2009 - Study ~ Fat-induced satiety factor oleoylethanolamide enhances memory consolidation.
2009 - Study ~ Marijuana Primes, Marijuana Expectancies, and Arithmetic Efficiency.
2009 - Study ~ Endocannabinoids in the rat basolateral amygdala enhance memory consolidation and enable glucocorticoid modulation of memory.
2010- Study - Influence of cannabis use trajectories, grade repetition and family background on the school-dropout rate at the age of 17 years in France.
2010 - Study ~ Cannabidiol ameliorates cognitive and motor impairments in bile-duct ligated mice via 5-HT1A receptor activation.
2010 - Study ~ Evaluating the effect of aquatic extraction of Cannabis sativa seed on spatial memory consolidation.
2010 - Study ~ Evaluating the effect of Cannabis sativa seed extraction on memory.
2010 - Study ~ Impact of cannabidiol on the acute memory and psychotomimetic effects of smoked cannabis: naturalistic study: naturalistic study.
2010 - Study ~ Opposite Effects of Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Human Brain Function and Psychopathology.
2010 - News ~ Key ingredient staves off marijuana memory loss.
2010 - News ~ Imbalance of Cannabis ChemicalsCauses Memory Issues.
2010 - News ~ Key ingredient dilutes marijuana's effect on memory.
2010 - News ~ Marijuana May Offset Alcohol-Induced Cognitive Impairment Among Teens.
2011 - Study ~ AM251, cannabinoids receptors ligand, improves recognition memory in rats.
2011 - Study ~ Sex, drugs, and cognition: effects of marijuana.
2011 - Study ~ Sexually dimorphic effects of cannabinoid compounds on emotion and cognition.
2011 - Study ~ Possible involvement of the endocannabinoid system in memory modulation effect of general anesthetics.
2011 - Study ~ Early onset of aging-like changes is restricted to cognitive abilities and skin structure in Cnr1(-/-) mice.
2011 - Study ~ Sub-chronic impact of cannabinoids in street cannabis on cognition, psychotic-like symptoms and psychological well-being.
2011 - Study ~ Combined effects of THC and caffeine on working memory in rats.
2011 - Study ~ The Dopamine and Cannabinoid Interaction in the Modulation of Emotions and Cognition: Assessing the Role of Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor in Neurons Expressing Dopamine D1 Receptors.
2011 - Study ~ Endocannabinoid signaling in the amygdala: anatomy, synaptic signaling, behavior, and adaptations to stress.
2011 - Study ~ Fish oil promotes survival and protects against cognitive decline in severely undernourished mice by normalizing satiety signals.
2011 - Study ~ Pharmacological elevation of anandamide impairs short-term memory by altering the neurophysiology in the hippocampus.
2011 - Study ~ Effects of Chronic Marijuana Use on Brain Activity During Monetary Decision-Making.
2011 - Study ~ US Patent Application 20110257256 - CANNABINOIDS FOR USE IN TREATING OR PREVENTING COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DEMENTIA.
2011 - Study ~ Memory-rescuing effects of cannabidiol in an animal model of cognitive impairment relevant to neurodegenerative disorders.
2011 - Study ~ Effects of endocannabinoid system modulation on cognitive and emotional behavior.
2011 - Study ~ Clozapine and SCH 23390 prevent the spatial working memory disruption induced by Δ9-THC administration into the medial prefrontal cortex.
2011 - News ~ “Stoner Stupid” Myth Goes Up In Smoke.
2011 - News ~ Are smart kids more likely to use drugs?
2011 - News ~ High Childhood IQ Linked to Subsequent Illicit Drug Use, Research Suggests.
2011 - News ~ Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Protects The Brain From Aging.
2012 - Study ~ Assessing topographical orientation skills in cannabis users.
2012 - Study ~ Cannabis Responsive Head Injury Induced Mutiple Disabilities: A Case Report.
2012 - Study ~ Fear relief-toward a new conceptual frame work and what endocannabinoids gotta do with it.
2012 - Study ~ Dose-Related Modulation of Event-Related Potentials to Novel and Target Stimuli by Intravenous Δ(9)-THC in Humans.
2012 - Study ~ Subjective, cognitive and cardiovascular dose-effect profile of nabilone and dronabinol in marijuana smokers.
2012 - Study ~ Cannabinoid CB1 receptor deficiency increases contextual fear memory under highly aversive conditions and long-term potentiation in vivo.
2012 - Study ~ Acute cannabinoids impair working memory through astroglial CB1 receptor modulation of hippocampal LTD.
2012 - Study ~ Intelligence quotient in childhood and the risk of illegal drug use in middle-age: the 1958 National Child Development Survey.
2012 - Study ~ Neurocognitive functioning and cannabis use in schizophrenia.
2012 - News ~ Pot smoking not tied to middle-age mental decline.
2012 - News ~ Structured Unlearning: Marijuana May Impair Memory via the Brain's Non-Firing Cells.
2012 - News ~ Michael Pollan: What Do Marijuana and Catnip Have in Common?


 DVDs
 Marijuana: A Chronic HistoryHigh Times Growers Series: Jorge Cervantes' Ultimate Grow DVDHIGH TIMES presents Jorge Cervantes Ultimate Grow Complete Box SetThe Union: The Business Behind Getting HighMedical Marijuana Grow Guide 2-Disc DVD SetDrugged: Marijuana, Cocaine, and Ecstasy

PTSD Hardcover Books 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Biographies of Disease) The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery, and GrowthThe Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma TreatmentPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder For DummiesWiley Concise Guides to Mental Health: Posttraumatic Stress DisorderTreating Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents: How to Foster Resilience through Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency

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