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Acquisition of threat responses are associated with elevated plasma concentration of endocannabinoids in male humans

Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are involved in buffering threat and stress responses. Elevation of circulating eCBs in humans was reported to strengthen inhibition (i.e., extinction) of threat responses and to reduce effects of stressors. However, it remains unclear whether the acquisition of threat respon...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Weisser, Smilla, Mueller, Madeleine, Rauh, Jonas, Esser, Roland, Fuss, Johannes, Lutz, Beat, Haaker, Jan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer International Publishing 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9485143/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35562542
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01320-6
Descripción
Sumario:Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are involved in buffering threat and stress responses. Elevation of circulating eCBs in humans was reported to strengthen inhibition (i.e., extinction) of threat responses and to reduce effects of stressors. However, it remains unclear whether the acquisition of threat responses involves a physiological change in circulating eCBs. Here, we demonstrate in male human volunteers that the plasma concentration of the eCB N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and its metabolite arachidonic acid (AA) are increased during acquisition of threat responses. Furthermore, elevated responses to a learned threat cue (e.g., rating of fear) were associated with individual increases in plasma concentration of the eCB 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). In complementing these observations, we found individual increases in AEA associated with elevated neural responses during threat learning in the amygdala. Our results thereby suggest that physiological increases in circulating eCB levels are part of a response mechanism to learned threats.