Why smoking weed makes you so hungry
All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichAfter the joint comes the cravings: cannabis users refer to these typical binge eating as "munchies". Some patients with poor appetite - for example cancer patients - can benefit from it. Behind this is an unexpected mechanism for regulating the feeling of hunger.
Whether we are hungry or not is not determined by the stomach, but by the brain. After a meal, specialized nerve cells become active in a certain area, the hypothalamus. They then release a certain hormone that triggers the feeling of satiety. “Pro-opiomelancortin-containing” nerve cells - POMC neurons for short - are called the nervous hunger brakes.
Reversed neurons
"It has long been known that marijuana users develop cravings. The effect occurs even when their stomachs are full," says study leader Marco Koch from the University of Leipzig. To find out why this is so, the researchers injected full Mice cannabis active substances. Since they continued to eat afterwards, the researchers assumed that cannabis switched off the appetite suppressing POMC neurons. But far from it: surprisingly, the POMC neurons were even activated: However, they changed their purpose and even fired the appetite by releasing beta-endorphin - a hormone that makes you hungry.
"As a cross-check, we blocked the beta-endorphin receptors before we injected the cannabinoids. And actually, the mice stopped eating," reports Koch.
In search of the weight loss drug
Obesity is a growing problem. Often the mechanisms that regulate hunger and satiety are out of balance in those affected. Scientists have been trying for a long time to decipher this and to find effective drugs for the treatment of pathological obesity. So far, however, some very promising approaches have also failed. An effective therapy can only be developed once it has been clarified how hunger arises. The knowledge about the connections between cannabis and POMC neurons provides a further component. (cf)
Sources:
Press release University of Leipzig, February 19, 2015
Marco Koch et al .: Hypothalamic POMC neurons promote cannabinoid-induced feeding, Nature 519, 45-50 (05 March 2015) doi: 10.1038 / nature14260
