Super Bowl Anxiety? ~ Count on the Cannabinoid System Notes Publius

“Super Bowl Sunday will be a test for players and fans alike,” opened Bryan W. Brickner, part of Publius and The Cannabis Papers: A citizen’s guide to cannabinoids (2011), “as the fear and anxieties of the big game run their course. No worries though, as effective modulation of the cannabinoid system will help get everyone through.”

Brickner’s reference is to the January 17 publication in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, Cannabinoid modulation of predator fear: involvement of the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray. This brain area is modulated by the cannabinoid system and plays a role in analgesia, reproduction, consciousness and maternal and defensive behaviors.

The abstract states: “The present study investigated the effects of systemic or intra-dorsolateral periaqueductal gray (dlPAG) administration of CB1 agonists on behavioural changes induced in rats by predator (a live cat) exposure, a model of panic responses.”

Brickner explained: “The research examines the interaction of nitric oxide with the cannabinoid system by noting how rats respond to seeing a cat; researchers use this to measure defensive response.”

The abstract summed: “These results suggest that modulation of the cannabinoid system could be a target in the treatment of panic disorders. However, the biphasic effects of these compounds could limit their therapeutic potential.”

“Their cautionary note regarding biphasic (two phases) effects,”  Brickner noted, “is also reminiscent of Super Bowl Sunday – the phases of winning and losing: although, with our cannabinoid systems, we’re all winners.”

Brickner has a 1997 political science doctorate from Purdue University and is the author of several political theory books, to include The Promise Keepers (1999), Article the first of the Bill of Rights (2006), and The Book of the Is (2013).

The Cannabis Papers is available at online retailers and for free by download.