Scientists got high on a bunch of worms and all they wanted to do was eat junk food

After consuming cannabis, many individuals experience an increase in hunger commonly known as binge eating. This phenomenon is so well known that it often features in movies and TV shows depicting people developing an insatiable craving for food after smoking cannabis.

The munchies are no mere myth, however. Cannabis has the ability to stimulate people’s appetite and cravings. Let’s delve deeper into the mechanisms by which it triggers this effect.

Why does cannabis make you hungry?

Cannabis affects appetite through two distinct mechanisms. Firstly, it can improve the taste of food, make it more attractive and increase the likelihood of eating it. Second, it can trick the brain into picking up hunger signals even if you’ve eaten recently.

When cannabinoids, the active components of cannabis, bind to specific receptors in the body, they produce different effects. When they bind to receptors on your tongue, they increase the brain’s response to sweet-tasting foods and intensify cravings for fatty foods. In addition, a clinical study showed that inhaling cannabis can boost the production of hormones responsible for inducing hunger.

It is important to note that not all cannabis products induce hunger, as the effect on appetite depends on the activation of specific receptors. The primary cannabinoid responsible for stimulating appetite is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), while other cannabinoids may not activate the receptors that regulate hunger.

While THC is the primary cannabinoid known to increase appetite, it’s just one of over 100 active chemicals in cannabis. Animal studies have shown that cannabigerol (CBG), another cannabinoid, can also induce hunger without producing the intoxicating effects of THC. This makes CBG an attractive area of ​​study for researchers looking to stimulate appetite without the associated high produced by THC.

How long do the munchies last?

It can be difficult to pinpoint the duration of cravings after cannabis use. The amount and type of consumption are important factors that influence the course of action.

For example:

Inhaling or smoking cannabis: This method causes cannabis to reach its maximum concentration in the brain within 3 to 10 minutes and usually wear off within 2 to 3 hours.

Consume cannabis orally: When cannabis is ingested, it can take up to 2 hours to reach its maximum concentration in the brain. However, the effects can last 6 to 8 hours, sometimes even longer. It is worth noting that people can react differently to cannabis and therefore the duration and intensity of hunger can vary from the above pattern.

Worms get the munchies too

Recent research has found that it’s not just people who experience cravings; Worms also show a similar liking for their favorite treats after consuming cannabis.

According to Shawn Lockery, a researcher at the University of Oregon at Eugene, cannabinoids increase nematode appetites for their preferred food while reducing their hunger for non-preferred foods. Therefore, the effect of cannabinoids on nematodes is consistent with the effect of marijuana on human appetite.

He added: “Nematodes split from the mammalian lineage over 500 million years ago. It’s amazing that the impact of cannabinoids on appetite lasts over such a long period of time.”

Lockery clarified that the study’s genesis dates back to 2015, following the legalization of cannabis in Oregon. He noted that the University of Oregon lab was busy analyzing nematode food preferences at the time as part of our study of the neural basis of economic decision-making.

In an almost too impulsive “Friday afternoon experiment,” they decided to immerse worms in cannabinoids to see if it affected their current food choices. Amazingly it did! And after years of research, the results are finally documented in this paper.

Cannabinoids exert their effects by binding to cannabinoid receptors, detector proteins in the brain, nervous system, and other body tissues. These receptors typically respond to endocannabinoids, naturally occurring molecules in the body. The endocannabinoid system regulates several crucial functions including eating, memory and learning, fear, metabolism and reproduction.

The molecular structure of the cannabinoid system in nematodes bears a striking resemblance to that of humans and other living things. This led to the question of whether the appetite-stimulating effects of cannabinoids, known as “hedonic eating,” would persist across different species.

Details of the experiment

In the latest study, scientists first showed that nematodes respond to the endocannabinoid anandamide by consuming more food, particularly their preferred species. The team also discovered that the effect of endocannabinoids on the worms was dependent on the existence of their cannabinoid receptors.

The researchers conducted additional studies in which they genetically modified the C. elegans cannabinoid receptor with the human cannabinoid receptor. They discovered that the worms responded to cannabinoids as expected. This finding underscores the similarity in the effects of cannabinoids in both nematodes and humans. The team also found that anandamide’s effects depend on neurons involved in food recognition.

Lockery explained that cannabinoids cause a significant change in the sensitivity of a key olfactory neuron responsible for food recognition in C. elegans. The neuron is more sensitive to pleasant and less sensitive to unpleasant food smells. This phenomenon illustrates fluctuations in the worm’s food intake, similar to how THC enhances the flavor of delicious foods in humans.

According to Lockery, the discoveries in C. elegans are interesting and have immense practical implications. He found that cannabinoid signaling is widespread in various tissues of the human body, indicating their potential involvement in the development and treatment of numerous diseases.

The functionality of the human cannabinoid receptor gene in C. elegans’ dietary preference studies creates an opportunity for rapid and inexpensive screening of drugs aimed at targeting various proteins associated with cannabinoid signaling and metabolism . This has significant implications for human health.

Diploma

Research on how cannabinoids affect nematodes is revealing new information about the evolutionary maintenance of the endocannabinoid system and its role in controlling hunger in many species. The effects of cannabis on appetite appear to be the same in worms and humans, indicating a highly conserved mechanism in the brain and neurological system.

This study opens new avenues to study the intricate interplay between cannabis and appetite regulation, which may help develop new cures for diseases such as cachexia and anorexia. Realizing that nematodes also have food needs may cause some people to reconsider their perception of these microscopic creatures, transforming them from unrelated soil-dwelling organisms into comparable creatures with similar appetites.

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