Dr. Matthew Hill

Let's say we're talking about explicitly an anxiety circuit. You know, there's individual variation that exists in humans across everything. So one of our predictions has been maybe people who are on the high end of the anxiety spectrum might be on the low end of their tonic anandamide signaling spectrum.

Let's say we're talking about explicitly an anxiety circuit. You know, there's individual variation that exists in humans across everything. So one of our predictions has been maybe people who are on the high end of the anxiety spectrum might be on the low end of their tonic anandamide signaling spectrum.

Let's say we're talking about explicitly an anxiety circuit. You know, there's individual variation that exists in humans across everything. So one of our predictions has been maybe people who are on the high end of the anxiety spectrum might be on the low end of their tonic anandamide signaling spectrum.

And we've gotten a little bit of support from that from animal work where we've screened animals based on anxiety and looked at endocannabinoid levels in the amygdala and found lower anandamide

And we've gotten a little bit of support from that from animal work where we've screened animals based on anxiety and looked at endocannabinoid levels in the amygdala and found lower anandamide

And we've gotten a little bit of support from that from animal work where we've screened animals based on anxiety and looked at endocannabinoid levels in the amygdala and found lower anandamide

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There is some evidence to actually support it. So my buddy Sachin Patel, who's at Northwestern now, but he was at Vanderbilt when he did this study, they basically played with these drugs that you can use to prevent endocannabinoid synthesis. So you can create a state of like impaired endocannabinoid function. In humans? And they did this in rodents.

There is some evidence to actually support it. So my buddy Sachin Patel, who's at Northwestern now, but he was at Vanderbilt when he did this study, they basically played with these drugs that you can use to prevent endocannabinoid synthesis. So you can create a state of like impaired endocannabinoid function. In humans? And they did this in rodents.

There is some evidence to actually support it. So my buddy Sachin Patel, who's at Northwestern now, but he was at Vanderbilt when he did this study, they basically played with these drugs that you can use to prevent endocannabinoid synthesis. So you can create a state of like impaired endocannabinoid function. In humans? And they did this in rodents.

So this was done in mice. And they basically, but one of the questions was is, so A, does reductions in endocannabinoid function produce states of anxiety? And they did demonstrate that. So you could deplete endocannabinoid levels and you got the emergence of an anxiety state. So then you could give drugs that would boost the endocannabinoids to normalize this.

So this was done in mice. And they basically, but one of the questions was is, so A, does reductions in endocannabinoid function produce states of anxiety? And they did demonstrate that. So you could deplete endocannabinoid levels and you got the emergence of an anxiety state. So then you could give drugs that would boost the endocannabinoids to normalize this.

So this was done in mice. And they basically, but one of the questions was is, so A, does reductions in endocannabinoid function produce states of anxiety? And they did demonstrate that. So you could deplete endocannabinoid levels and you got the emergence of an anxiety state. So then you could give drugs that would boost the endocannabinoids to normalize this.

So, again, it kind of fit with the idea. But then they did one key study where then they gave THC and saw could THC fill in the gap. And they found that like boosting endocannabinoids, giving THC on a background of low endocannabinoids was able to reverse that anxiety phenotype and bring it back into more of the normal range. So, again –

So, again, it kind of fit with the idea. But then they did one key study where then they gave THC and saw could THC fill in the gap. And they found that like boosting endocannabinoids, giving THC on a background of low endocannabinoids was able to reverse that anxiety phenotype and bring it back into more of the normal range. So, again –

So, again, it kind of fit with the idea. But then they did one key study where then they gave THC and saw could THC fill in the gap. And they found that like boosting endocannabinoids, giving THC on a background of low endocannabinoids was able to reverse that anxiety phenotype and bring it back into more of the normal range. So, again –

Maybe for some people, this is, again, this is theoretical, so I don't know how much of a spectrum there is if there are people that are at this low end, but certainly I think from the animal literature, there's some foundation for making a theory that's similar to what you're saying, which is maybe some people are trying to fill in a gap of something that's deficient in them, and therefore that can help them feel less anxious.

Maybe for some people, this is, again, this is theoretical, so I don't know how much of a spectrum there is if there are people that are at this low end, but certainly I think from the animal literature, there's some foundation for making a theory that's similar to what you're saying, which is maybe some people are trying to fill in a gap of something that's deficient in them, and therefore that can help them feel less anxious.