Endocannabinoids in brain plasticity: Cortical maturation, HPA axis function and behavior.
Diana Dow-Edwards, Lindsay Silva
Brain Research January 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.08.037 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Neuroplasticity |
| Keywords | Hpa axis development Pfc prefrontal cortex Pruning and endocannabinoids Sex differences |
| Key findings | Argues that adolescent marijuana use, particularly before age 16, may produce long-term changes in cognition, anxiety, stress-related behaviors, mood, and substance abuse risk by disrupting endocannabinoid signaling needed for normal development of the cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus, including synaptic pruning and stress-response feedback. |
Abstract
Marijuana use during adolescence has reached virtually every strata of society. The general population has the perception that marijuana use is safe for mature people and therefore is also safe for developing adolescents. However, both clinical and preclinical research shows that marijuana use, particularly prior to age 16, could have long-term effects on cognition, anxiety and stress-related behaviors, mood disorders and substance abuse. These effects derive from the role of the endocannabinoid system, the endogenous cannabinoid system, in the development of cortex, amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalamus during adolescence. Endocannabinoids are necessary for normal neuronal excitation and inhibition through actions at glutamate and GABA terminals. Synaptic pruning at excitatory synapses and sparing of inhibitory synapses likely results in changes in the balance of excitation/inhibition in individual neurons and within networks; processes which are necessary for normal cortical development. The interaction between prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala and hippocampus is responsible for emotional memory, anxiety-related behaviors and drug abuse and all utilize the endogenous cannabinoid system to maintain homeostasis. Also, endocannabinoids are required for fast and slow feedback in the normal stress response, processes which mature during adolescence. Therefore, exogenous cannabinoids, such as marijuana, have the potential to alter the course of development of each of these major systems (limbic, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and neocortex) if used during the critical period of brain development, adolescence. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Adolescent plasticity.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on neuroplasticity, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A neurotrophic hypothesis of depression: role of synaptogenesis in the actions of NMDA receptor antagonists | 2012 | Review | |
| Towards an understanding of psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity. Review of preclinical and clinical studies | 2023 | Review | |
| Buddha's Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation [In the Spotlight] | 2008 | Review | |
| Neuroplasticity as a convergent mechanism of ketamine and classical psychedelics | 2021 | Review | |
| Psychedelics in Psychiatry: Neuroplastic, Immunomodulatory, and Neurotransmitter Mechanisms | 2020 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- An Update on the Behavioral and Neurobiological Effects of Cannabis Use in Adolescents: A Translational Perspective. American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 2025
- Assessing evidence supporting cannabis harm reduction practices for adolescents at clinical high-risk for psychosis: a review and clinical implementation tool. Psychological Medicine 2024
- Cannabis and the developing brain challenge risk perception. Journal of Clinical Investigation June 22, 2020
Cites 11
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- Adolescent exposure to THC in female rats disrupts developmental changes in the prefrontal cortex. Neurobiology of Disease 2015
- Permanent suppression of cortical oscillations in mice after adolescent exposure to cannabinoids: receptor mechanisms. Neuropharmacology November 2014
and 6 more in the library