Neuroscience: Why cannabinoids give you
the munchies
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Nature
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Neuroscience
Embargo
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London: Wednesday 18 February 2015 12:00 (GMT)
New York: Wednesday 18 February 2015 07:00 (EST)
Tokyo: Wednesday 18 February 2015 21:00 (JST)
Sydney: Wednesday 18 February 2015 23:00 (AEDT)
Appetite stimulation by cannabinoids seems to be driven in part by neurons that are normally
involved in appetite suppression, a study in this week’s Nature finds. This unexpected
mechanism for the promotion of food intake provides new insights into the role of specific
neurons in feeding regulation, which may assist the development of treatments to regulate
feeding behaviour.
Cannabis use is associated with increased feeding in a state of satiety, and it is known that
activation of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) can contribute to this behaviour. Conversely, a
group of nerve cells called pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons have been considered key
drivers of reducing feeding due to satiety, suggesting that signals promoting feeding may
result in a reduction of POMC neuronal activity. Paradoxically these neurons are shown to
have enhanced activity during cannabinoid-induced feeding in mice, Tamas Horvath and
colleagues report. They find that feeding signals triggered by CB1R activation promote the
activity of POMC neurons, an event that is crucial to cannabinoid-receptor-driven feeding. It
seems that the CB1R-driven activation of POMC neurons causes these neurons to release
different chemicals to those normally produced to promote satiety.
The authors note that cannabinoid-controlled feeding behaviour is complex, and this study
considers just one mode of action involving CB1R signalling.
Article and author details
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Hypothalamic POMC neurons promote cannabinoid-induced feeding
Corresponding Author
Tamas Horvath (Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA)
Email: tamas.horvath@yale.edu, Tel: +1 203 785 2525
News & Views Author
Roger Cone (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA), Nashville
Email: roger.cone@vanderbilt.edu
DOI
10.1038/nature14260
Online paper*
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14260