Worms exposed to a cannabinoid show increased food choices, showing habits comparable to human beings experiencing “the munchies,” according to a study led by neuroscientist Shawn Lockery at the University of Oregon. The research study highlights the capacity of using worms as a design for comprehending the endocannabinoid system, a signaling network that manages different body functions such as state of mind, discomfort, and hunger experience. By understanding this system much better, scientists might possibly establish drugs that target particular elements of the endocannabinoid system, causing more reliable treatments with fewer side results.
Worms could be a good research study design for understanding the endocannabinoid system– and perhaps developing better drugs.
Worms exposed to a cannabinoid exhibition behavior similar to humans experiencing “the munchies,” recommending that they could be a beneficial model for studying the endocannabinoid system and possibly developing much better drugs with less side results.
If you provide a worm some weed, he might just need a snack to go with it.
Worms exposed to a cannabinoid program increased food choices, showing habits similar to human beings experiencing “the munchies,” according to a study led by neuroscientist Shawn Lockery at the University of Oregon. The research study highlights the capacity of utilizing worms as a model for comprehending the endocannabinoid system, a signaling network that controls different body functions such as pain, state of mind, and hunger feeling. Research study in the Lockery laboratory focuses on the neurobiology of decision-making, using a types of tiny bacteria-eating worms called C. elegans that consumes germs as a simple system to evaluate hypotheses. In this case, “greater quality” worm food is more like human scrap food– it loads in a lot of calories rapidly.
Worms and humans last shared a typical ancestor more than 600 million years ago, yet cannabinoids affect our food preferences in a similar method.
Worms exposed to a cannabinoid ended up being much more interested in the sort of food that they d already choose, new UO research shows. The impact resembles craving potato chips and ice cream after a few puffs of cannabis– a phenomenon understood clinically as “hedonic feeding,” but colloquially called “the munchies.”
The research study, led by neuroscientist Shawn Lockery in the College of Arts and Sciences, indicate worms as a beneficial tool for comprehending more about the numerous functions that cannabinoids naturally play in the body. And it could help researchers establish better drugs that target this system. He and his team published their findings on April 20 in the journal Current Biology.
The endocannabinoid system is a significant signaling network that assists control key body systems like discomfort, state of mind, and hunger experience. Molecules called endocannabinoids send out chemical messages by connecting with cannabinoid receptors, unique proteins that are sprinkled throughout the body and brain. Normally, these messages assist keep different body systems in balance. But molecules in marijuana– like THC– likewise communicate with cannabinoid receptors, making you feel high after taking part and triggering other impacts, too.
When Lockery and his team started this research study, marijuana had actually simply been legalized recreationally in Oregon, “so we believed, well heck, lets just try this!” stated Lockery. “We believed it would be entertaining if it worked.”
Picture of a worm that is genetically crafted so that certain neurons and muscles are fluorescent. Green dots are nerve cells that react to cannabinoids. Magenta dots are other neurons. Credit: Stacy Levichev
The concept wasnt totally out of left field. Research in the Lockery lab concentrates on the neurobiology of decision-making, utilizing a types of tiny bacteria-eating worms called C. elegans that consumes bacteria as an easy system to evaluate hypotheses. He often uses food option experiments, tempting the animals with bacterial blends to see which they choose under different conditions.
To see how marijuana-like compounds may impact the worms food choices, Lockerys team soaked them in anandamide. Anandamide is an endocannabinoid, a particle made by the body that triggers the bodys cannabinoid receptors.
They put the worms into a T-shaped maze. On one side of the maze was premium food; on the other side, lower-quality food. Previous research has revealed that on high-quality food sources, the worms grow quickly; on lower-quality ones, they grow more gradually. Worms likewise find premium food more preferable, and preferentially seek it out.
In the T-maze experiment, under normal conditions, the worms indeed preferred the higher-quality food. When soaked in anandamide, that choice became even stronger– they flocked to the top quality food and remained there longer than they typically did.
” We suggest that this boost in existing preference is comparable to eating more of the foods you would yearn for anyway,” Lockery stated. “Its like selecting pizza versus oatmeal.”
Higher-quality food may call to mind a nutritious spread of fruits, veggies, and entire grains. But evolutionarily, “higher quality” food is the kind packed with calories to guarantee survival. In this case, “greater quality” worm food is more like human scrap food– it loads in a lot of calories rapidly.
” The endocannabinoid system assists ensure that an animal thats starving opts for high fat and sugar content food,” Lockery stated. Its one factor why, after taking in cannabis, youre most likely to grab chocolate pudding, but not always starving for a salad.
In follow-up experiments, Lockerys team was able to identify some of the neurons impacted by anandamide. Under the impact, these nerve cells became more delicate to the odor of higher quality food, and less delicate to the smell of lower-quality food.
The results drive home simply how old the endocannabinoid system is, evolutionarily speaking. Humans and worms last shared a common ancestor more than 600 million years earlier, yet cannabinoids affect our food preferences in a comparable method. “Its a really lovely example of what the endocannabinoid system was most likely for at the start,” Lockery said.
The similarity in action between worms and humans also suggests that worms can be a beneficial model for studying the endocannabinoid system.
In specific, one existing limitation of using the medical residential or commercial properties of cannabinoids is their broad-ranging results. Cannabinoid receptors are discovered throughout the body, so a drug targeting these receptors might assist the issue at hand, however may likewise have lots of undesirable adverse effects. Cigarette smoking weed may ease your discomfort, however might likewise make it hard to focus on work.
But the other nearby proteins that are also associated with the cascade of chemical messages varies depending on the body system at play. Much better drugs could intend at these other proteins, narrowing the effects of the drug.
Because researchers know a lot about worm genetics, theyre are a great research study system for selecting apart these kinds of paths, Lockery suggests. “The ability to rapidly discover signaling paths in the worm might assist identify much better drug targets, with fewer adverse effects.”
For more on this research, see Worms Get the Munchies From Cannabinoids Just Like Humans.
Referral: “The saved endocannabinoid anandamide modulates olfactory sensitivity to cause hedonic feeding in C. elegans” 20 April 2023, Current Biology.DOI: 10.1016/ j.cub.2023.03.013.
Funding: National Institute on Drug Abuse.