Modulation of the Endocannabinoid System: Vulnerability Factor and New Treatment Target for Stimulant Addiction

Abstract

Cannabis is one of the most widely used illicit substance among users of stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. Interestingly, increasing recent evidence points toward the involvement of the endocannabinoid system (ECBS) in the neurobiological processes related to stimulant addiction. This article presents an up-to-date review with deep insights into the pivotal role of the ECBS in the neurobiology of stimulant addiction and the effects of its modulation on addictive behaviors. This article aims to: (1) review the role of cannabis use and ECBS modulation in the neurobiological substrates of psychostimulant addiction and (2) evaluate the potential of cannabinoid-based pharmacological strategies to treat stimulant addiction. A growing number of studies support a critical role of the ECBS and its modulation by synthetic or natural cannabinoids in various neurobiological and behavioral aspects of stimulants addiction. Thus, cannabinoids modulate brain reward systems closely involved in stimulants addiction, and provide further evidence that the cannabinoid system could be explored as a potential drug discovery target for treating addiction across different classes of stimulants.

The effect of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist arachidonylcyclopropylamide (ACPA) on behavioural sensitisation to methamphetamine in mice

“…However, it is clear that the endocannabinoid system is involved in modulating the brain reward pathway induced by Met and thus exploration of functional interactions with CB 1 cannabinoid receptor ligands might be a promising approach to discover potential treatments for addiction to psychostimulants (Oliere et al 2013).…”

Estradiol impacts the endocannabinoid system in female rats to influence behavioral and structural responses to cocaine

“…Interestingly, multiple lines of research demonstrate that estradiol enhances endoCB activity in the nervous system of both women and female rodents (Bradshaw et al, 2006; El-Talatini et al, 2010; Gorzalka and Dang, 2012; Huang and Woolley, 2012; Rodríguez de Fonseca et al, 1994; Scorticati et al, 2004). Moreover, similar to estradiol, both endoCBs and CB1Rs have emerged as key endogenous moderators of drug addiction (Olière et al, 2013). Although these lines of evidence were developed independently, an intriguing possibility is that within females, estradiol and endoCBs may act through a common pathway to exert effects on structural plasticity and addiction.…”

Le craving comme symptôme central de la toxicomanie : de ses fondements neurobiologiques à sa pertinence clinique

“…Les avancées technologiques, notamment en matière d'imagerie magné-tique fonctionnelle et de tomographie par émission de positrons (TEP) (Sinha, 2013), ont donné naissance à diverses études dont plusieurs ont porté jusqu'à présent sur les dépendances aux psychostimulants, en particulier la cocaïne. Les études via TEP ont permis de montrer comment agissent ces drogues sur le système nerveux en modulant les voies dopaminergiques du système mésocorticolimbique impliquées dans les processus de la mémoire, la cognition, le renforcement positif, la dépendance et la compulsion (Oliere, Joliette-Riopel, Potvin et Jutras-Aswad, 2013). Le système assurant ces fonctions est composé de projections dopaminergiques qui se déploient, entre autres, au niveau du noyau accumbens, de l'amygdale, de l'hippocampe, et jusqu'au cortex préfrontal dont fait partie le cortex cingulaire antérieur (Childress et al, 1999 ;Goldstein et Volkow, 2002 ;Meil et See, 1997 ;Robbins, Everitt et Nutt, 2008).…”