Lifestyle Interventions Improving Cannabinoid Tone During COVID-19 Lockdowns May Enhance Compliance With Preventive Regulations and Decrease Psychophysical Health Complications

Overview

Journal Front Psychiatry

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2021 Aug 2

PMID 34335317

Citations 3

Authors

Viola Brugnatelli

Enrico Facco

Gastone Zanette

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Studies investigating the psychosomatic effects of social isolation in animals have shown that one of the physiologic system that gets disrupted by this environment-affective change is the Endocannabinoid System. As the levels of endocannabinoids change in limbic areas and prefrontal cortex during stressful times, so is the subject more prone to fearful and negative thoughts and aggressive behavior. The interplay of social isolation on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and cannabinoid tone triggers a vicious cycle which further impairs the natural body's homeostatic neuroendocrine levels and provokes a series of risk factors for developing health complications. In this paper, we explore the psychosomatic impact of prolonged quarantine in healthy individuals, and propose management and coping strategies that may improve endocannabinoid tone, such as integration of probiotics, cannabidiol, meditation, and physical exercise interventions with the aim of supporting interpersonal, individual, and professional adherence with COVID-19 emergency public measures whilst minimizing their psycho-physical impact.

Citing Articles

Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase and Cannabinoid Receptor Type 1 Genes Regulation is Modulated by Social Isolation in Rats.

Girella A, Di Bartolomeo M, Dainese E, Buzzelli V, Trezza V, DAddario C Neurochem Res. 2024; 49(5):1278-1290.

PMID: 38368587 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-024-04117-9.

Endocannabinoids, endocannabinoid-like compounds and cortisone in head hair of health care workers as markers of stress and resilience during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

Biener I, Mueller T, Lin J, Bao H, Steffen J, Hoerl M Transl Psychiatry. 2024; 14(1):71.

PMID: 38296973 PMC: 10831098. DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02771-9.

Anti-Inflammatory and Antiviral Effects of Cannabinoids in Inhibiting and Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Janecki M, Graczyk M, Lewandowska A, Pawlak L Int J Mol Sci. 2022; 23(8).

PMID: 35456990 PMC: 9025270. DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084170.

References

Boehnke K, McAfee J, Ackerman J, Kruger D . Medication and substance use increases among people using cannabis medically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Drug Policy. 2020; 92:103053. PMC: 7685061. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.103053. View

Bradshaw H, Rimmerman N, Krey J, Walker J . Sex and hormonal cycle differences in rat brain levels of pain-related cannabimimetic lipid mediators. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2006; 291(2):R349-58. DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00933.2005. View

Dincheva I, Drysdale A, Hartley C, Johnson D, Jing D, King E . FAAH genetic variation enhances fronto-amygdala function in mouse and human. Nat Commun. 2015; 6:6395. PMC: 4351757. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7395. View

Fitzgerald M, Mackie K, Pickel V . The impact of adolescent social isolation on dopamine D2 and cannabinoid CB1 receptors in the adult rat prefrontal cortex. Neuroscience. 2013; 235:40-50. PMC: 3638055. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.01.021. View

Gertsch J, Leonti M, Raduner S, Racz I, Chen J, Xie X . Beta-caryophyllene is a dietary cannabinoid. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008; 105(26):9099-104. PMC: 2449371. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0803601105. View

Dickens A, Richards S, Greaves C, Campbell J . Interventions targeting social isolation in older people: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2011; 11:647. PMC: 3170621. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-647. View

Neumeister A, Normandin M, Pietrzak R, Piomelli D, Zheng M, Gujarro-Anton A . Elevated brain cannabinoid CB1 receptor availability in post-traumatic stress disorder: a positron emission tomography study. Mol Psychiatry. 2013; 18(9):1034-40. PMC: 3752332. DOI: 10.1038/mp.2013.61. View

Frisaldi E, Piedimonte A, Benedetti F . Placebo and nocebo effects: a complex interplay between psychological factors and neurochemical networks. Am J Clin Hypn. 2015; 57(3):267-84. DOI: 10.1080/00029157.2014.976785. View

Maurelli S, Bisogno T, De Petrocellis L, Di Luccia A, Marino G, Di Marzo V . Two novel classes of neuroactive fatty acid amides are substrates for mouse neuroblastoma 'anandamide amidohydrolase'. FEBS Lett. 1995; 377(1):82-6. DOI: 10.1016/0014-5793(95)01311-3. View

10.

Derbyshire S, Whalley M, Stenger V, Oakley D . Cerebral activation during hypnotically induced and imagined pain. Neuroimage. 2004; 23(1):392-401. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.04.033. View

11.

Sparling P, Giuffrida A, Piomelli D, Rosskopf L, Dietrich A . Exercise activates the endocannabinoid system. Neuroreport. 2003; 14(17):2209-11. DOI: 10.1097/00001756-200312020-00015. View

12.

Steptoe A, Owen N, Kunz-Ebrecht S, Brydon L . Loneliness and neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and inflammatory stress responses in middle-aged men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004; 29(5):593-611. DOI: 10.1016/S0306-4530(03)00086-6. View

13.

Asim S, Ghani S, Ahmed M, Asim A, Qureshi A . Assessing Mental Health of Women Living in Karachi During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Front Glob Womens Health. 2021; 1:594970. PMC: 8594054. DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2020.594970. View

14.

Patel S, Cravatt B, Hillard C . Synergistic interactions between cannabinoids and environmental stress in the activation of the central amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004; 30(3):497-507. DOI: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300535. View

15.

Hu B, Doods H, Treede R, Ceci A . Depression-like behaviour in rats with mononeuropathy is reduced by the CB2-selective agonist GW405833. Pain. 2009; 143(3):206-212. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2009.02.018. View

16.

Di Marzo V . Endocannabinoids: an appetite for fat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108(31):12567-8. PMC: 3150924. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1109567108. View

17.

Yan S, Xu R, Stratton T, Kavcic V, Luo D, Hou F . Sex differences and psychological stress: responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. BMC Public Health. 2021; 21(1):79. PMC: 7789895. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-10085-w. View

18.

Gili A, Bacci M, Aroni K, Nicoletti A, Gambelunghe A, Mercurio I . Changes in Drug Use Patterns during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Monitoring a Vulnerable Group by Hair Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(4). PMC: 7922660. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041967. View

19.

Feuerecker M, Hauer D, Toth R, Demetz F, Holzl J, Thiel M . Effects of exercise stress on the endocannabinoid system in humans under field conditions. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011; 112(7):2777-81. DOI: 10.1007/s00421-011-2237-0. View

20.

Patel S, Kingsley P, Mackie K, Marnett L, Winder D . Repeated homotypic stress elevates 2-arachidonoylglycerol levels and enhances short-term endocannabinoid signaling at inhibitory synapses in basolateral amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009; 34(13):2699-709. PMC: 2881681. DOI: 10.1038/npp.2009.101. View