Have you ever seen your hand? I mean Really Did you see your hand?
As you may think you have, as the classic above Doonesbury cartoon Means high Cannabis You might find mundane objects much more appealing than usual.
How is it factory Did it first appear in what the current Tibetan Plateau can change the perception of human reality? The secret lies in a class of compounds called cannabinoids. Cannabis plants are known to produce at least 140 There are several types of cannabinoids that are the major contributors to the many effects of uplifting. It is called Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC..
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According to Danielle Piomelly, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, when people breathe or inhale cannabis, THC “enters the lungs and is absorbed into the blood. I will.” .. Edible foods pass the liver a little longer, but enzymes take a little longer to convert THC to another compound, which affects people’s perception of reality.
The inhaled THC “reaches a fairly high level fairly quickly,” Piomelli told Live Science. Within 20 minutes, the circulatory system can carry THC molecules to all tissues of the body, including the brain, where they can alter neurochemistry.
“It’s a fairly straight shot to the brain from the lungs,” said Kelly Drew, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The THC molecule, which crosses the blood-brain barrier, fits tightly into the receptors that normally receive compounds produced by the body called endocannabinoids. According to Piomelli, who also directs the Center for Cannabis Research at the University of California, Irvine, these receptors are part of the endocannabinoid system involved in several functions, including stress, food intake, metabolism, and pain.
“The endogenous cannabinoid system is the most extensive, diffuse, and important regulatory system in the brain because it regulates the release of almost all neurotransmitters,” Piomel said. Neurotransmitters are molecules that brain cells or neurons use to communicate with each other. A neuron sends a message to the next neuron by releasing a neurotransmitter, such as dopamine or serotonin, into a microgap that separates one neuron from the next. This gap is called the synapse.
Neurons on the receiving side of the synapse, called post-synaptic neurons, “decide whether to fire based on the input they receive,” Drew told Live Science. These neural signals cascade through complex circuits of neural connections that function at tremendous scale. There is 85 billion As many neurons in the brain 100 trillion connections inside that.
Piomeli stated that presynaptic neurons send neurotransmitters to postsynaptic neurons via synapses. However, presynaptic neurons can also receive information. Piomery said that when a postsynaptic neuron fires, it can send neurotransmitters out by sending a message to the entire synapse that “my neuron I’m from has been activated.” This “stop” message is sent in the form of an endocannabinoid that binds to a receptor called cannabinoid 1 (CB1).
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“Like a hammer”
When THC enters the brain, the molecule diffuses into synapses, where it “activates the CB1 receptor,” Drew said. THC does not cause the most extreme response possible Like some synthetic cannabinoids She, like K2 and Spice, but “boosts”, increases the likelihood that the presynaptic neuron it affects will temporarily stop sending neurotransmitters.
“High values are a very simple phenomenon. THC occurs like a cerebral hammer,” flooding the endocannabinoid system with signals not sent by postsynaptic neurons. When presynaptic neurons throughout the brain receive a note that stops sending neurotransmitters, this alters the normal flow of information between neurons and is consequently high.
But scientists haven’t deciphered exactly what happens during this euphoria.
That’s because legal regulations in the United States make cannabis research difficult. However, from what researchers have collected so far, THC seems to be temporarily “disconnecting” networks in default mode. This is a brain network that allows us to daydream and think about the past and the future. When our brain is focused on a particular task, we calm down this network, allowing us to control our executive functions.
There is evidence that THC has a major impact on networks, but researchers are uncertain how it happens. Cannabinoid receptors are ubiquitous in the brain. [default mode network]”Piomelli says. “THC [default mode network] By binding to these receptors’, but THC can also calm the network by’indirect effects involving cannabinoid receptors in other brain regions’.
Scientists are still working to find mechanisms that make people feel better, but there are several reasons to consider this effect on default mode networks to be an important piece of the puzzle.
Detaching the default mode network “takes us to a mental place where the functionality of what we experience is less important than the real thing. Our hands no longer touch or touch us. It’s not something you use to grab, it’s something that is intrinsic and of intrinsic value.” Such as psychedelic LSD Or mushrooms containing dried psilocybin, do the same.
But people can experience highs differently. “The feeling of being “connected” by the usual things we see and use on a daily basis is not universal, but especially when large amounts of THC-containing cannabis are used. “, said Piomelli.
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THC does not only affect the default mode network. According to a 2017 study in the journal, in the short term it can also flood the brain with dopamine, a brain reward signal. .. (In the long run, research found that it could blunt the effects of dopamine.) This explains, in part, some of the euphoria associated with highs, which may make people happy. You may place cannabis along with other medications you use.
“Every drug with a rewarding property affects the system,” Drew said.
Sequelae
The high effects of smoked or inhaled cannabis typically last several hours, but it takes little more edible time to affect the user. And cannabis is not a dangerous substance, but it was Made to be in the 20th century,, using it comes with some risks. As an example, cannabis is legal for recreational and medical use in some states, but is still illegal in many parts of the country.
It is also important to remember that cannabis is a powerful pharmacological substance. Cannabis can cross the placenta, Pregnant people should avoid it.. “High usage in teens can be a problem,” Piomelli said. For example, cannabis, especially synthetic cannabinoids like spices, Exacerbates mental illness.. “People at risk of it should not smoke it,” Drew said.
Finally, cannabis affects driving ability, especially for occasional users. Drew warned that people should Do not drive 3 hours after smoking.
Ultimately, THC leaves the brain. The large amount of blood that brought THC to the brain is carried to the liver where it is destroyed and excreted in the urine.
And you don’t believe this, but your hands have always been the same.
Originally published in Live Science.
