Digamma Consulting

CANNABINOID SYNAPSE SERIES 5/5 In the final image of our neuro-synaptic cannabinoid series, we see a more comprehensive diagram of the model. In red we see anterosynaptic signaling leaving the vesicles in the pre-synaptic neuron but binding to receptors in the post-synaptic neuron. This is reversed in green for retrosynaptic signaling, stimulated by agonism of receptors on the post-synaptic side and releasing neurotransmitters that agonize the receptors on the pre-synaptic neuron that inhibit further neurotransmitter release. The presence of anandamide (AEA), THC, CBD, and FAAH are indicated. For review: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), and cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) are the acronyms used here. To “walkthrough” the diagram, we start with a neurotransmitter in red being released out of its vesicle on the left from the pre-synaptic side. This diffuses across to its red receptor on the right post-synaptic side. This stimulates release of anandamide which travels back to the pre-synaptic (right) side and stimulates the cannabinoid receptor, which inhibits the further release of the original red neurotransmitter. This process slows down transmission at the synapse. THC can interact with the same cannabinoid receptor in place of anandamide and slow down synaptic transmission. CBD can do the same but by inhibiting FAAH which in turn inhibits anandamide, leading to more anandamide and reduction of synaptic transmission as well. Though from one way of thinking anandamide, THC and CBD have the same effect, the differences in their mechanism of action underlie their pharmacological differences. Thank you for staying tuned and following to see the whole 5-part series on how cannabinoids affect the nervous system with an emphasis on synaptic mechanics! #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma #neurology #neuroscience #neurotransmission

CANNABINOID SYNAPSE SERIES 4/5 Here we see a simple model of the cannabinoid synapse dynamics illustrating the retrosynaptic concept from the previous post (No. 3). The essential elements that apply to endocannabinoids such as anandamide (AEA), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and cannabidiol (CBD) are illustrated. Additionally the enzyme that is responsible for breaking down retrosynaptic neurotransmitters is shown, named fatty acid amid hydrolase (FAAH). This lives in the synapse and metabolizes any active retrosynaptic neurotransmitters from the endocannabinoid system (ECS), such as AEA. THC is shown to be an agonist of the CB1 receptor just like AEA. But CBD is shown to both inhibit THC’s agonism of the CB1 as well as inhibit the FAAH’s ability to down-regulate natural AEA. These are opposite effects at the CB1 receptor which are dependent on whether the CB1 receptor agonism is natural from human brain chemistry or from outside the body. This, among many other very complex mechanisms, may explain CBD’s ability to selectively regulate side-effects of phytocannabinoids (coming from plant, i.e. outside of the body) without interfering with the core function within the human animal physiology. Stay tuned and follow to see the whole 5-part series on how cannabinoids affect the nervous system with an emphasis on synaptic mechanics. #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma #neurology #neuroscience #neurotransmission

CANNABINOID SYNAPSE SERIES 3/5 For the third part of our 5-part series, we examine how retrosynaptic signaling works, or backward direction signaling in a neural circuit. This system is an add-on from the anterosynaptic signaling covered in the previous post in this series (No. 2). The signal that comes across the synapse not only stimulates propagation of the signal down the greater circuit, but also minimizes waste and inefficiency in the synapse by inhibiting further neurotransmitter release. This is efficient because the down-circuit neuron has incorporated the signal and needs no further stimulation. We will see in the following posts how this affects cannabinoid neurology more specifically. Stay tuned and follow to see the whole 5-part series on how cannabinoids affect the nervous system with an emphasis on synaptic mechanics. #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma #neurology #neuroscience #neurotransmission

CANNABINOID SYNAPSE SERIES 2/5 For the second part of our 5-part series we examine how anterosynaptic signaling works, or forward direction signaling in a neural circuit. A simplified version of the diagram of post 1 is shown at the head of this image to help illustrate the dynamics of a neural circuit, including the soma-axon anatomy of individual neurons. What we examine here is the classical anterosynaptic signaling, essentially a vesicle of neurotransmitters being released into the synapse by an incoming action potential (from the previous cell in the circuit). These releases then diffuse across the synapse to bind to receptors on the down-circuit neuron (i.e. post-synaptic). This, when it reaches the appropriate critical mass of activation, sends a new action potential downstream to the next neuron in the circuit. Stay tuned and follow to see the whole 5-part series on how cannabinoids affect the nervous system with an emphasis on synaptic mechanics. #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma #neurology #neuroscience #neurotransmission

CANNABINOID SYNAPSE SERIES 1/5 To start our 5-part series on the synaptic elements of cannabinoids, we start with the broad neurosynaptic basics. Here we have a diagram showing how animal behavior works: with 4 key parts. 1st is the sensory neurons. These are your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and nerve endings in your skin, for a total of 5 (thus the expression 6th sense). 2nd we have the inter neurons. These stimulation from sensors get passed to the central nervous system (CNS) where they act as the spine and brain. 3rd we have the motor neurons, which for lack of a better term are the function of the ganglia exiting the CNS. These neurons tell which muscle to contract and when. 4th we have the muscle cells themselves. Many don’t realize it, but the only thing a nervous system can do is decide which muscle fiber to contract, and when. The rest, including muscle “extension” is actually an illusion. (i.e. extensor muscle groups are simply counter-balancing contraction groups to the flexors) Stay tuned and follow to see the whole 5-part series on how cannabinoids affect the nervous system with an emphasis on synaptic mechanics. #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma #neurology #neuroscience #neurotransmission

And to conclude our series on plant genetics in cannabis, we are sharing our wider “psychoactive plants” phylogeny tree that shows common evolutionary descent of some well known mind altering plant (and one mushroom) species. The active ingredient / compound is indicated with a molecular diagram, though there are limitations to the FDA model of a single molecule “active ingredient” that should be noted. Note that psychoactive does not mean illegal: Besides cannabis which is still in process being legalized, we have kava, coffee, tobacco, and chocolate all of which are unscheduled and have generally very minimal regulation when compared to controlled substances. #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma

See yesterday's post if you missed it, but here we have the labeled structures and the answer to the quiz question, which wasn't featured? Well now with the labels you can quickly deduce that the correct answer was: 5. ocimene Tomorrow we finish the genetics in plant series by putting the cannabis plant and its chemistry in a wider evolutionary context of psychoactive drugs derived from plants and fungi #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma

CHECK IT OUT! This semester, I wrote one of the papers for my Master of Public Administration degree on cannabis safety. I plan to write about cannabis for everything possible. I am also working on a paper on purchasing differences between medical and adult consumers. Coming soon!

Here we have a “components of cannabis” grab bag with unlabeled molecules. Just for fun, lets see if you can guess which of these is NOT present here (cheating discouraged, but of course you can use Google → Wikipedia on your web browser): 1. d9-THCA 2. beta-pinene 3. CBGA 4. humulene 5. ocimene 6. CBDA 7. linalool Vote in the comments! #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma

Now that we have familiarity with simpler cannabinoid biochemistry we can expand it to include semi-synthetic cannabinoids which are increasingly relevant in the scientific, legal, and business landscape of cannabis. The old route of CBGA → CBDA, THCA can still be seen on the left in the acids section, and the decarboxylation to corresponding free cannabinoid can be seen just to the right in the blue. Modified chain-length cannabinoids, such as THCV, go through a separate route that is upstream of CBGA. The semi-synthetics in purple show d8-THC, HHC, and THC-O-Ac as examples of chemically modified cannabinoids. The right shows fully synthetic cannabinoids which have a different, sometimes radically, chemical structure than the other 3 categories based on the cannabis plant. Stay tuned for the 8-part series exploring cannabis genetics and how it affects the properties of strains of cannabis. #cannabis #cannabisscience #medicalcannabis #cannabinoids #cannabinoid #plantmedicine #naturopathic #marijuana #hemp #cannabisindustry #legalcannabis #chemistry #organicchemistry #biochemistry #biology #botany #pharmacology #medicalscience #pharma