Does Weed Accelerate Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus?

[eeka chu]

The other thread's locked, but an interesting paper I read recently investigated the link between memory function in the hippocampus and weed - the green menace of modern society!

The investigate used a synthetic cannabinoid called HU210 which is [Dr Evil Voice] 100 times stronger than regular weed, for the ultimate high. [/Dr Evil Off]

Contary to popular belief, they found that the HU210 was accelerating neurogenesis in the hippocampus, as opposed to retarding it.

And that the two controls were pretty much stationary.

p.s. I also just discovered that my cup is the perfect size to size McVities digestives in. Great!

 

[plum]

Do you have a link?

 

[Moonbear]

Please give a citation for the paper so the rest of us can read it to discuss it. I know there are a few recent papers out on cannabinoid effects on the brain. I might know of the one you're talking about, but best to be sure with a reference (give the authors, article title, journal, date, volume, and page numbers if you don't have a direct link, and I can look it up with that info...if you only have a news article about it, see if they mention the journal it's published in, and the names of the lead author on the study, and give us the date of the news article, which will help narrow down the date the study was published).

 

[eeka chu]

Yep, the research was done by Dr. Xia Zhang (department of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon) and published in the 2005 November edition of "the Journal of Clinical Investigation"

Here's a link to one of the media announcements; http://www.postchronicle.com/news/health/article_212862.shtml

Interesting bit at the bottom about the possibility of a correlation between neurogenesis and mood swings.

 

[gerben]

here is the original article in HTML:
http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/full/115/11/3104

and here as PDF:
http://www.jci.org/cgi/reprint/115/11/3104