Cannabis is known for its psychoactive properties, but the plant has therapeutic value as well. One of the ways people see cannabis as beneficial is that it increases serotonin levels in the brain. This article is going to tell you all you need to know about how cannabis affects serotonin levels.
The Manifest Effects Of Cannabis On Serotonin Levels
People who use marijuana typically find that it provides them with various benefits, including pain relief, improved mood, appetite stimulation, and anxiety reduction. These are some of the positive effects attributed to weed use by different users, but there is one effect that has been discussed less often than others: its impact on brain chemical serotonin levels. Marijuana has been proven to increase serotonin levels in the human brain. Online Medical Card always has great benefits for any individual and anyone can easily get them.
Serotonin is a polypeptide (a large protein molecule formed by twenty amino acids) synthesized in the forebrain, the area of the brain responsible for reasoning, memory, and other complex functions. The forebrain also contains neurons that synthesize serotonin; these neurons are called serotonergic neurons. Sertraline, an antidepressant medication known as Zoloft (which is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and social anxiety), increases mouse brain levels of serotonin. These same effects have been observed in humans using Sertraline.
Marijuana and serotonin levels in the human brain
Cannabis And Serotonin: How Does It Work?
There is a primal part of our brain that governs our responses to fear and anxiety. This part is called the amygdala, and its role is to tell us when we are in danger. When we experience something frightening, our amygdala produces a chemical called corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). This hormone then stimulates an area of the brain called the hypothalamus to produce another chemical, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which triggers the production of cortisol, a stress hormone. Marijuana has been found to relieve anxiety by directly acting on this brain area.
Significant Effects On The Other Brain Chemicals
There are several other stages in the body’s response to stress. The brain also responds to stress by secreting other chemicals, such as adrenaline and dopamine. Marijuana has been found to increase dopamine levels in the brain and decrease cortisol levels. This means that marijuana can help you feel less anxious and more social.
Another way that marijuana affects anxiety is by releasing endorphins into the system. Endorphins are chemicals that cause a sense of well-being and euphoria. Marijuana has been shown to increase endorphin levels in the brain. Preliminary research suggests that these effects may be linked to lowered anxiety and increased pleasure and relaxation.
Some Abstruse Scientific Studies
In the 1970s, researchers performed tests with animals to observe how marijuana affected serotonin levels. In one of the most conclusive experiments, researchers gave marijuana to monkeys and measured the resulting changes in serotonin levels. In this study, two monkeys were each restrained in a chair and given an injection of THC – a lingering effect of cannabis – into their bloodstreams. Within minutes, serotonin levels had significantly increased in both monkeys.
The scientist then gave morphine to stop the monkeys from moving. Drug After that a stopped hour, the researcher’s breakdown gave of these serotonin monkeys in marijuana their and brains, waited and until then the repeated effects the wore process.
When they looked at the monkeys’ brains, they found that both had increased levels of serotonin-related molecules in the hypothalamus, a brain area essential for regulating appetite and emotion. Another study randomly assigned 17 psychiatric patients to receive one of two different medications: Sertraline (a drug that affects the brain’s production of serotonin), and the other was a placebo (a pill without any active ingredients). Both groups were given 50mg doses of Sertraline every day for six weeks as part of their treatment. Researchers measured changes in participants’ brain chemistry after taking Sertraline. The results revealed significant increases in serotonin levels compared to the placebo group.
To conclude, marijuana does increase serotonin levels in your brain. However, presently it is still unclear whether this effect is caused by naturally produced cannabinoids (substances similar to THC) or phytocannabinoids (substances found in marijuana plants). More research may be required to determine the effects of THC on serotonin levels.
