cannabinoid

January 15, 2020

Study sheds light on link between cannabis, anxiety and stress

A molecule produced by the brain that activates the same receptors as marijuana is protective against stress by reducing anxiety-causing connections between two brain regions.

By Kelsey Herbers
February 28, 2019

Personalized pain management

Understanding how natural brain chemicals with pain-relieving properties interact with administered opioids may guide personalized approaches for pain management.

By Niyati Vachharajani
February 26, 2018

Cannabis compound reduces seizures

Cannabidiol (CBD) oils reduced seizures in patients with difficult-to-treat epilepsy, Vanderbilt investigators have found.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 28, 2017

Regulating anxiety in the brain

Two brain signaling pathways have overlapping functions in regulating anxiety, suggesting that therapeutics aimed at one or the other will impact both.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 28, 2017

Vanderbilt study finds natural chemical helps brain adapt to stress

A natural signaling molecule that activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain plays a critical role in stress-resilience — the ability to adapt to repeated and acute exposures to traumatic stress, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Bill Snyder
marijuana plant
December 1, 2014

Natural ‘high’ could avoid chronic marijuana use, Vanderbilt study finds

Replenishing the supply of a molecule that normally activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana.

By Bill Snyder
July 21, 2014

Reversing stress-induced anxiety

Augmenting the signals of natural “endocannabinoids” in the brain may be a promising approach for treating mood and anxiety disorders.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 6, 2014

Discovery sheds new light on marijuana’s anxiety relief effects

An international group led by Vanderbilt University researchers has found cannabinoid receptors, through which marijuana exerts its effects, in a key emotional hub in the brain involved in regulating anxiety and the flight-or-fight response.
By Bill Snyder
November 2, 2012

Toxin provides endometriosis clues

Environmental toxins may contribute to endometriosis-related infertility by disrupting endometrial response to progesterone.
By VUMC News and Communications