Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


20

Researchers Discover Why Pot Makes You Forget

Scientists identify pathway for cognitive impairment under the effects of cannabis

Share

(Newser) – Scientists have found the area in the mouse brain that marijuana acts upon to cause forgetfulness, AFP reports. Researchers in Barcelona used two groups of mice, each engineered to be missing one of the two concentrations of receptor neurons for cannabis (CB1) in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in memory formation.

One group of mice performed in the usual forgetful fashion after being dosed with THC. But the other, whose CB1 receptor bundle had been removed neurons in the hippocampus, didn’t show any memory impairment. This means it may be possible to develop a synthetic cannabis molecule that delivers the drug’s analgesic effects without the side effect of cognitive impairment.

A Boulder County Caregivers employee holds a handful of marijuana at the dispensary in Boulder, Colo., July 24, 2009.
A Boulder County Caregivers employee holds a handful of marijuana at the dispensary in Boulder, Colo., July 24, 2009.   (AP Photo)
A marijuana plant is grown under lights at the Boulder County Caregivers in Boulder, Colo., July 24, 2009.
A marijuana plant is grown under lights at the Boulder County Caregivers in Boulder, Colo., July 24, 2009.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
11.19.09
Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention
20 comments
VIEWING:
 
inky
Aug 3, 09 3:12 PM CDT
Good thing someone decided to write all this down or we'd have forgotten. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+29
IN RESPONSE:
Newser001
Aug 4, 09 10:03 PM CDT
LOL!
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Scrambles
Aug 3, 09 3:18 PM CDT
Hmm i seem to forget what this article is about already Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+4
gabo
Aug 3, 09 3:28 PM CDT
dude....... Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
Reader67017590
Aug 3, 09 3:37 PM CDT
Some of us like cognitive "impairment"! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+14

View all 20 comments »

LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

3 Stories

 Report to UN: 
 Dudes, Legalize Weed 

Drug less harmful than alcohol or smoking, report says

Oct 2, 08 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Slick-suited diplomats are not the likeliest advocates for lifting worldwide marijuana bans, but a British scientific report targets the UN, saying a regulated marijuana market would remove most of the drug's harm, since it comes from prohibition itself, the Guardian reports. Legalizing it would also allow governments to tax the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Nations • marijuana • cannabis • marijuana legalization • Bill Maher • weed

 Weed Potency Hits 30-Year High 

Study finds THC levels have doubled since 1983, raising mental health worries

Jun 12, 08 8:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Today's marijuana is the strongest crop since the heyday of Cheech and Chong, a new study finds. University researchers who analyzed seized samples dating back to the '70s found the level of active ingredient THC hit an average of 9.6% last year, up almost 1% from the year before... More »

MORE ABOUT:
drugs • smoking • drug use • marijuana • cannabis • weed

West Coast Breeds Weed Snobs, Too

Cannibus connoisseurs take their place next
to finicky wine lovers

Apr 23, 07 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cannabis is accruing its own class of sophistocates, particularly in California, where medical legalization and lax enforcement have made connoisseurship marginally acceptable. Advanced palates judge their weed on taste, smell and quality of high, reports the Chronicle—a far cry from the 70s, when users joked that there "were... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • drugs • medical marijuana • drug use • marijuana • cannabis • weed

3 Stories


Read the full scientific paper at Nature Neuroscience
Nature


Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserScience on Twitter

 
marijuana • cannabis • neuroscience • Nature Neuroscience • amnesia • weed • biochemistry • brain chemistry • pot

from our news partners