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Cannabinoid Modulation of Emotion, Memory, and Motivation pp 131–155Cite as

Cannabinoid Control of Fear Responses

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Abstract

In 2002, a landmark study showed that the endogenous activity of the cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors is necessary for extinction of conditioned freezing in mice (Marsicano G, Wotjak CT, Azad SC, Bisogno T, Rammes G, Cascio MG, Hermann H, Tang J, Hofmann C, Zieglgänsberger W, Di Marzo V, Lutz B. The endogenous cannabinoid system controls extinction of aversive memories. Nature. 2002 Aug 1;418(6897):530–4.). Since extinction of conditioned freezing is an important indicator of fear adaptation in animals and because our ability to control emotional responses is important to ensure adapted behaviors, the potential function of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in such processes has generated a large interest. In this chapter, we will provide pieces of information linking the activity of the ECS and fear modulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U862 NeuroCentre Magendie, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Mathilde Metna-Laurent PhD, Giovanni Marsicano PhD & Edgar Soria-Gómez PhD

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  1. Mathilde Metna-Laurent PhD
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  2. Giovanni Marsicano PhD
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  3. Edgar Soria-Gómez PhD
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Correspondence to Edgar Soria-Gómez PhD .

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  1. Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

    Patrizia Campolongo

  2. Institute of Neuroscience CNR, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Liana Fattore

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Metna-Laurent, M., Marsicano, G., Soria-Gómez, E. (2015). Cannabinoid Control of Fear Responses. In: Campolongo, P., Fattore, L. (eds) Cannabinoid Modulation of Emotion, Memory, and Motivation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2294-9_6

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