Academic Press Cannabis and the Developing Brain

Cannabis and the Developing Brain provides comprehensive research on the effects of cannabis during neurodevelopment stages (i.e., perinatal and adolescent ages). The book introduces readers to vivo neural circuits and molecular and cellular mechanisms affected by cannabis exposure during three different temporal windows of brain vulnerability. In addition, it offers unique insights on shared neurobiological features of cannabinoid exposure during different developmental periods. Lastly, the book determines the adverse impact of developmental cannabinoid exposure on specific cognition, emotion and behaviors. Marijuana is the most commonly used psychotropic drug in the United States after alcohol. According to a 2018 NIH report, more than 11.8 million young adults reported marijuana use. With the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis, momentum continues to build and be propelled by the reduction of stigma associated to its consumption, hence there is growing concern regarding long-term impacts on brain function and behavior. Review A comprehensive reference on cannabis' effects on the developing brain From the Back Cover <p>Marijuana is the most commonly used psychotropic drug in the United States, after alcohol. According to a 2018 NIH report, more than 11.8 million young adults reported marijuana use. With the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis, momentum continues to build and propelled by the reduction of stigma associated to its consumption, there is growing concern regarding the long-term impact on brain function and behavior.</p> <p><i>Cannabis and the Developing Brain</i> aims to provide comprehensive research on the effects of cannabis during neurodevelopment stages (i.e. perinatal and adolescent ages). This book introduces readers to vivo neural circuits, molecular and cellular mechanisms affected by cannabis exposure during three different temporal windows of brain vulnerability. Second, it offers a unique insight to shared neurobiological features of cannabinoid exposure during different developmental periods. Lastly, Cannabis and the Developing Brain determines the adverse impact of developmental cannabinoid exposure on specific cognition, emotion and behaviors.</p> About the Author Dr. Melis, received the degree in Pharmacy at the University of Palermo (Italy) in 1993, and trained in in vivo electrophysiology at the Department of Neuroscience “Bernard B. Brodie (University of Cagliari, Italy) under the mentorship of GianLuigi Gessa in the lab led by Marco Diana, whose team focused on the understanding of cellular basis of acute and chronic effects of drugs of abuse on reward dopamine neurons. These studies laid the foundations for postulating the state of hypo-dopaminergia following chronic drug use, which subsequently was discovered also in addicted humans. In 2000, she moved to San Francisco to the “Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center in the laboratory of Antonello Bonci, where she investigated on the effects of a single in vivo exposure to alcohol in the modulation of neuronal excitability and plasticity at synapses impinging upon dopamine neurons in vitro. Upon her return to “Bernard B. Brodie Department of Neuroscience in 2002, she discovered that dopamine neurons can also synthesize and release endocannabinoids. For this discovery, which showed for the first time that endocannabinoids can fine tune dopamine neuronal activity both in vitro and in vivo, she was recipient of both the “Farmindustria-SIF Award for Pharmacological Research and the NIDA Travel award for Society for Neuroscience held in San Diego. She earned her PhD in Neuroscience in 2011 with Marco Pistis. During her PhD studies, she investigated with him the functional modulation of endocannabinoid-related molecules on dopamine neuronal activity via a non-genomic mechanism downstream activation of a nuclear receptor transcription factor that is PPARa, by usi