Welcome

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a debilitating psychiatric disease, characterized by three classes of symptoms: positive, negative and cognitive/attention deficit. Antipsychotics are generally effective to treat positive symptoms, but they have moderate effects on the others; thus there is a need to develop novel therapeutics [1]. [more]

Cannabinoid drugs (e.g. the active principle of the plant cannabis, 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC) exert several effects on the brain via the activation of the G protein-coupled type-1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1). On the other hand, CB1 receptors are part of a physiological system (the endocannabinoid system, or ECS), through which the particular endogenous signaling molecules (the endocannabinoids) control a plethora of brain functions. The effects of exogenous cannabinoids and the physiological roles of the ECS are only partially overlapping. This is likely due to the fact that the ECS has patterns of activation that are extremely regulated in time and space, features that are obviously overcome by massive stimulation of CB1 receptors by exogenous drugs. [more]

Endocannabinoids have been well established as regulators of the neurobehavioral response to stress. This talk will focus on highlighting the neural circuits and mechanisms by which endocannabinoids have been found to modulate both neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to stress, with an emphasis on translational implications of these findings to human populations afflicted with stress-related neuropsychiatric conditions, particularly anxiety disorders and PTSD. [more]