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2024-11-11

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Cannabis activates specific hunger neurons in brain (news.wsu.edu)

submitted 10 months ago by MicroWave to c/science

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While it is well known that cannabis can cause the munchies, researchers have now revealed a mechanism in the brain that promotes appetite in a set of animal studies at Washington State University.

The discovery, detailed in the journal Scientific Reports, could pave the way for refined therapeutics to treat appetite disorders faced by cancer patients as well as anorexia and potentially obesity.

After exposing mice to vaporized cannabis sativa, researchers used calcium imaging technology, which is similar to a brain MRI, to determine how their brain cells responded. They observed that cannabis activated a set of cells in the hypothalamus when the rodents anticipated and consumed palatable food that were not activated in unexposed mice.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Been using cannabis daily for several years now and I've always disagreed with the claim that weed causes the munchies. Rather, I would argue that weed blocks communication between the stomach and the brain. Essentially, if you start eating, it is easier to keep eating because the message that your stomach is getting full gets lost ("the munchies"). However, if you are hungry right before you smoke, the urge to eat goes away after smoking (or at least becomes a lot easier to ignore). I lost a lot of weight thanks to weed simply by never eating when I was high.

This is all anecdotal of course, but every daily smoker I've talked to agrees with me.

[–] renrenPDX 1 points 10 months ago

Same for me. I also smoke daily when I water fast and have no issues not eating for extended durations. If anything, I find it helps avoid eating.