Balance + the Endocannabinoid System
Too Long; Took a NAP: The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) regulates the body by counterbalancing other biological systems. It’s an influential component to maintaining homeostasis in our body. If we can better predict and understand the role of various cannabinoids and enzymes in the ECS, we can in turn more reliably understand their effects on biological disorders and their accompanying symptoms.
Image description: A close up of a pair of legs in jeans with black and white sneakers balancing on a thin strip of rocks separating a path from grass.
You’re probably familiar with certain famous cannabinoids (THC anyone?). What you may not know is how those molecules interact with an essential system in your body - the endocannabinoid system or the ECS. The ECS is essential for maintaining balance between all the other systems in the body.
All life is always striving to stay balanced
Our bodies are constantly managing changing circumstances, both internal and external, to keep us balanced in a process called homeostasis. Maintaining homeostasis requires:
Continuous information sharing to, from and within our bodies - often across multiple interconnected biological systems
For our bodies to make the appropriate response to the changing information
A common form of information sharing in our bodies is signaling molecules. They activate receptors that help us adapt and, ideally, restore balance. For the ECS, the signaling molecules are endocannabinoids like anandamide (AEA) and the main receptors are the CB1 and CB2 receptors.
The ECS, contains one of the largest networks of receptors in our bodies, and is the “master regulator” of homeostasis . Every warm blooded animal has an ECS and it has evolved in a unique way to help maintain balance over a number of important systems like metabolism and the immune system!
What makes the ECS unique?
The ECS has several unique features which set it apart from other regulatory systems. For instance, it is the only retrograde signaling system in our body. This means it sends molecular messages from B to A when every other system in the body sends them from A to B. This gives the ECS the distinct opportunity to counteract what other systems are doing, either through suppression or activation.
Products from the ECS are also made-to-order, or “synthesized on demand” and are localized to the area where they will be used in the body. This is different from most other systems which store products to be released body-wide when needed.
The main components of the ECS are:
Receptors - CB1 and CB2
Endogenous cannabinoids - anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglyecerol (2AG)
Enzymes - ex. endocannabinoid hydrolases like MGL
Tools that facilitate chemical reactions (click for more about enzymes)
There are a growing number of studies that outline how the ECS could play a part in previously unexplained chronic issues. Consuming cannabis is another way to activate the rebalancing process, helping to manage many of these challenges.
But how does the ECS rebalance other systems?
Let’s look at a different example:
When light hits our eyes, it tells the muscles in our pupils to react.
The pupil then either contracts or expands appropriately depending on the amount of light received
This allows our body to let in the correct amount of light through to the brain
After receiving external information about how much light there is in the environment, our bodies respond to let in the right amount of stimuli bring us back within a range the brain can handle. Without this specific act of homeostasis, we would always perceive the world as blindingly bright or gloomily dim. We mentioned before that maintaining homeostasis often involves multiple biological systems at once! So how does the ECS play in here?
Without regulation from the ECS, the signals in the brain would often be “too bright”. When the ECS is activated, it dims down the signals from other systems like serotonin or dopamine. The ECS’ unique ability to counterbalance other systems allows it to calm otherwise excitatory signals. Increasing the activity of the ECS is related to relief for many chronic conditions like migraines, IBS, and fibromyalgia.
The depth of opportunity we have for discovery through this system is immense. The therapeutic potential of all the chemistry in cannabis and in our bodies is still minimally explored. If we can understand the impacts and complexities of the receptors, enzymes and various endocannabinoids of the ECS, we can better predict how the body regulates and heals itself.
REFERENCES
Busquets-Garcia, A., Bains, J., & Marsicano, G. (2018). CB1 Receptor Signaling in the Brain: Extracting Specificity from Ubiquity. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 43(1), 4–20. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.206
Castillo, P. E., Younts, T. J., Chávez, A. E., & Hashimotodani, Y. (2012). Endocannabinoid signaling and synaptic function. Neuron, 76(1), 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2012.09.020
Russo E. B. (2016). Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency Reconsidered: Current Research Supports the Theory in Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel, and Other Treatment-Resistant Syndromes. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 1(1), 154–165. https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2016.0009
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