New Study Explains Why Cannabis Causes The ‘Munchies’

While the ‘munchies’ may be the most enjoyable aspect of using cannabis, there is limited understanding of how it works. However, a new study has discovered some of its mysteries.

The term ‘munchies’ indicates an enhanced appetite or food cravings that people may experience after using cannabis, especially strains with high levels of THC, the primary compound in cannabis. This phenomenon has consistently played a role in the cannabis experience and culture, even making its way into movies and TV shows. As a result, the concept of munchies has become integral in the popular perception of cannabis users.

What causes the munchies is, nevertheless, a field in which cannabis science hasn’t been explored enough to understand how it works.

However, the researchers at Washington State University recently published a study in the journal Scientific Reports that explains the reasons behind cannabis causing the munchies.

The study found that the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), a region in the brain that regulates various physiological processes, controls increased appetite following cannabis vapor inhalation.

The discovery is significant as it could pave the way for refined therapies to treat appetite disorders faced by cancer patients, as well as anorexia and potentially obesity, as highlighted in the press release of this study.

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The findings of this study suggest, indeed, that inhaling cannabis vapor leads to more meals and a greater desire for food, but it doesn’t change physical activity. Furthermore, the researchers observed increased activity in the MBH in mice when they expected or ate food.

To reach these conclusions, the scientists conducted experiments using mice. They exposed the mice to vaporized cannabis and used calcium imaging technology. This technology uses fluorescent indicators to monitor changes in calcium levels within cells, allowing real-time observation and study of cellular activities. Their observations support the idea that the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R), part of the endocannabinoid system in the human body, plays a role in the appetite-stimulating effects of inhaled cannabis within MBH neurons.

The widespread presence of CB1R indicates that inhaled cannabis might affect the function of various groups of MBH neurons.

The in-vivo calcium imaging technology reveals data showing that vaporized cannabis boosts the activity of specific groups of MBH neurons with defined timeframes, showing that mice exposed to cannabis vapor become more active in particular brain cells that are linked to expecting or eating meals.

These data are the first to detail how using cannabis affects brain activity in the part that controls appetite, according to the researchers.

However, the study not only indicates that specific brain cells play a significant role in the munchies induced by cannabis but also suggests that issues with metabolism could result from dysfunctional reductions in hypothalamic CB1R expression.

In the course of this study, the researchers also found that the CB1R regulates the activity of a “set of well-known ‘feeding’ cells in the hypothalamus” known as Agouti Related Peptide (AgRP) neurons. By using a “chemogenetic” technique, “which acts like a molecular light switch,” the researchers specifically targeted these neurons when mice were exposed to cannabis, finding out that turning off these neurons resulted in cannabis no longer stimulating appetite.

“We now know one of the ways that the brain responds to recreational-type cannabis to promote appetite,” said Jon Davis, an assistant professor of neuroscience at WSU and corresponding author on the paper, in a press statement.

In fact, gaining insight into the neurobiological processes triggered by cannabis exposure is crucial because it is seen as a fundamental step in the development and improvement of treatments that can be applied in real-world settings for metabolic diseases.