Although cannabis has been used for centuries as a recreational drug, the mechanisms of action of its active constituents (cannabinoids) and their endogenous counterparts (endocannabinoids) have only been discovered relatively recently. Cannabinoid receptors are expressed widely throughout the brain and, over the past few decades, the breadth of their influence on neuronal function has become clear, although much still remains to be understood. Nature Reviews Neuroscience presents a series of articles that examine the multiplicity of roles of the endocannabinoid system in the CNS, from development to behaviour, and the potential for cannabinoid-based therapies in the treatment of a range of brain disorders.
Image credit: Jennie Vallis/NPG.