The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a major component of the mesolimbic system, is involved in the mediation of reinforcing and addictive properties of many dependence-producing drugs. Glutamatergic synapses within the NAc can express plasticity, including a form of endocannabinoid (eCB)-long-term depression (LTD). Recent evidences demonstrate cross talk between eCB signaling pathways and those of oth...

Pancreatic beta cells exhibit a remarkable ability to tune their secretory functions in response to altered tissue insulin demands. Glucose, nutrients (amino acids and lipids), neurohormonal signals and lipid mediators (i.e. free fatty acids, diacylglycerol, phosphatidic acid) all efficaciously modulate insulin secretion. Recently, the presence of a functional endocannabinoid (eCB) system (that...

2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is the most potent endogenous ligand of brain cannabinoid CB1 receptors and is synthesized on demand from 2-arachidonate-containing phosphoinositides by the action of diacylglycerol lipase in response to increased intracellular calcium. Several studies indicate that the endocannabinoid (eCB) system is involved in the mechanism of reward and that diverse drugs of ab...

Persistent, bidirectional changes in synaptic signaling (that is, potentiation and depression of the synapse) can be induced by the precise timing of individual pre- and postsynaptic action potentials. However, far less attention has been paid to the ability of paired trains of action potentials to elicit persistent potentiation or depression. We examined plasticity following the pairing of spi...

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system possesses neuromodulatory functions by influencing the release of various neurotransmitters, including γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate. A functional interaction between eCBs and the serotonergic system has already been suggested. Previously, we showed that cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptor mRNA and protein are localized in serotonergic neurons of the ra...

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is involved in a wide range of behavioral disorders including alcoholism. Inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the principal enzyme that degrades the eCB anandamide (AEA), which enhances AEA levels in the brain, significantly increases ethanol consumption and preference. In the present study, we examined whether pharmacological inhibition of fatty ac...

Growing evidence supports the role of gut microbiota in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and low-grade inflammation. The endocrine activity of adipose tissue has been found to contribute to the regulation of glucose homeostasis and low-grade inflammation. Among the key hormones produced by this tissue, apelin has been shown to regulate glucose homeostasis. Recently, it has been prop...

AIMS Obesity and type 2 diabetes are characterised by low-grade inflammation, metabolic endotoxaemia (i.e., increased plasma lipopolysaccharides [LPS] levels) and altered endocannabinoid (eCB)-system tone. The aim of this study was to decipher the specific role of eCB-system stimulation or metabolic endotoxaemia in the onset of glucose intolerance, metabolic inflammation and altered lipid metab...

Adolescence and puberty are highly susceptible developmental periods during which the neuronal organization and maturation of the brain is completed. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system, which is well known to modulate cognitive processing, undergoes profound and transient developmental changes during adolescence. With the present study we were aiming to examine the ontogeny of cognitive skills th...