title: Endogenous cannabinoids in amygdala and hippocampus in post-mortem brains of Cloninger type 1 and 2 alcoholics.
abstract: Accumulating evidence continues to link certain aspects of the endogenous cannabinoid (EC) system with alcohol dependence, negative-reinforcement learning, and the modulation of stress responses. Specific alterations in brain regions that are related to stress and negative-reinforcement learning have been reported to exist in Cloninger type 1 and type 2 alcoholics. To study possible differences in profiles of EC systems between Cloninger type 1 (n = 9) and type 2 (n = 8) alcoholics and non-alcoholic control subjects (n = 10), we analyzed post-mortem amygdala and hippocampus brain samples for several ECs by quantitative liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass-spectrometric detection. A significant difference was found between these 3 groups in terms of EC profiles in the amygdala (p = 0.037). In particular, this difference was prominent for variations in docosahexaenoylethanolamide levels, which were significantly higher in type 1 alcoholics (p = 0.022) when compared to controls. There was also a large negative correlation between anandamide concentration and mGlu1/5 receptor density in the hippocampi of Cloninger type 1 alcoholics (R = -0.88, p = 0.002), which was not seen in Cloninger type 2 alcoholics or in controls. Although preliminary, and from relatively small diagnostic groups, these results suggest that the EC system profile may be altered in the hippocampus and amygdala of Cloninger type 1 alcoholics.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Olli K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Kärkkäinen
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
authors.forename: Virpi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Laukkanen
authors.forename: Erkki
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tupala
authors.forename: Petri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hyytiä
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kautiainen
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tiihonen
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Callaway
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Storvik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D063388:Endocannabinoids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064529:Receptor, Metabotropic Glutamate 5 / Q000378:metabolism; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D063388:Endocannabinoids; D064529:Receptor, Metabotropic Glutamate 5; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate; C104077:metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1