The endocannabinoid system controls food intake via olfactory processes

Comment in Sensory systems: the hungry sense. [Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014] Inhaling: endocannabinoids and food intake. [Nat Neurosci. 2014]; International audience; Hunger arouses sensory perception, eventually leading to an increase in food intake, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We found that cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors promote food intake in fasted mice by increasing odor detection. CB1 receptors were abundantly expressed on axon terminals of centrifugal cortical glutamatergic neurons that project to inhibitory granule cells of the main olfactory bulb (MOB). Local pharmacological and genetic manipulations revealed that endocannabinoids and exogenous cannabinoids increased odor detection and food intake in fasted mice by decreasing excitatory drive from olfactory cortex areas to the MOB. Consistently, cannabinoid agonists dampened in vivo optogenetically stimulated excitatory transmission in the same circuit. Our data indicate that cortical feedback projections to the MOB crucially regulate food intake via CB1 receptor signaling, linking the feeling of hunger to stronger odor processing. Thus, CB1 receptor-dependent control of cortical feedback projections in olfactory circuits couples internal states to perception and behavior

Psychedelics and hypnosis: Commonalities and therapeutic implications

Background Recent research on psychedelics and hypnosis demonstrates the value of both methods in the treatment of a range of psychopathologies with overlapping applications and neurophenomenological features. The potential of harnessing the power of suggestion to influence the phenomenological response to psychedelics toward more therapeutic action has remained unexplored in recent research and thereby warrants empirical attention. Aims Here we aim to elucidate the phenomenological and neurophysiological similarities and dissimilarities between psychedelic states and hypnosis in order to revisit how contemporary knowledge may inform their conjunct usage in psychotherapy. Methods We review recent advances in phenomenological and neurophysiological research on psychedelics and hypnosis and we summarize early investigations on the coupling of psychedelics and hypnosis in scientific and therapeutic contexts. Results/Outcomes We highlight commonalities and differences between psychedelics and hypnosis that point to the potential efficacy of combining the two in psychotherapy. We propose multiple research paths for coupling these two phenomena at different stages in the preparation, acute phase, and follow-up of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in order to prepare, guide, and integrate the psychedelic experience with the aim of enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Conclusions/Interpretation Harnessing the power of suggestion to modulate response to psychedelics could enhance their therapeutic efficacy by helping to increase the likelihood of positive responses, including mystical type experiences

Cannabis and creativity: highly potent cannabis impairs divergent thinking in regular cannabis users

Stress-related psychiatric disorders across the life spa