Cannabinoids
The mysteries of the brain’s own cannabinoid system exposed and explained.

Though cannabis has been used, for pain or pleasure, for over 4000 years, only lately have we learned, first, what makes it work and, more recently, how. Unraveling the mystery of the human brain’s special relationship with a psychoactive chemical derived from a plant—tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, specifically—neuroscientist Linda Parker recounts the discovery of the brain’s own THC, called endocannabinoids, and describes the remarkable brain chemical system this discovery revealed.

In expert yet accessible terms, Cannabinoids explains what we know about this system, how it functions, and how it interacts with the plant materials in cannabis. Parker explores the role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating emotion, anxiety, depression, psychosis, learning, memory, feeding, nausea, pain, epilepsy, and neurological disorders—as well as, naturally, the brain’s reward system. Examining the link between anecdotal reports and the current scientific literature, the book offers a balanced presentation of the scientific evidence for the medicinal use of marijuana, providing a timely intervention in ongoing debates about cannabis’s medicinal value and its legal status.
1147444451
Cannabinoids
The mysteries of the brain’s own cannabinoid system exposed and explained.

Though cannabis has been used, for pain or pleasure, for over 4000 years, only lately have we learned, first, what makes it work and, more recently, how. Unraveling the mystery of the human brain’s special relationship with a psychoactive chemical derived from a plant—tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, specifically—neuroscientist Linda Parker recounts the discovery of the brain’s own THC, called endocannabinoids, and describes the remarkable brain chemical system this discovery revealed.

In expert yet accessible terms, Cannabinoids explains what we know about this system, how it functions, and how it interacts with the plant materials in cannabis. Parker explores the role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating emotion, anxiety, depression, psychosis, learning, memory, feeding, nausea, pain, epilepsy, and neurological disorders—as well as, naturally, the brain’s reward system. Examining the link between anecdotal reports and the current scientific literature, the book offers a balanced presentation of the scientific evidence for the medicinal use of marijuana, providing a timely intervention in ongoing debates about cannabis’s medicinal value and its legal status.
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Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids

by Linda A. Parker
Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids

by Linda A. Parker

Paperback

$18.95 
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Overview

The mysteries of the brain’s own cannabinoid system exposed and explained.

Though cannabis has been used, for pain or pleasure, for over 4000 years, only lately have we learned, first, what makes it work and, more recently, how. Unraveling the mystery of the human brain’s special relationship with a psychoactive chemical derived from a plant—tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, specifically—neuroscientist Linda Parker recounts the discovery of the brain’s own THC, called endocannabinoids, and describes the remarkable brain chemical system this discovery revealed.

In expert yet accessible terms, Cannabinoids explains what we know about this system, how it functions, and how it interacts with the plant materials in cannabis. Parker explores the role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating emotion, anxiety, depression, psychosis, learning, memory, feeding, nausea, pain, epilepsy, and neurological disorders—as well as, naturally, the brain’s reward system. Examining the link between anecdotal reports and the current scientific literature, the book offers a balanced presentation of the scientific evidence for the medicinal use of marijuana, providing a timely intervention in ongoing debates about cannabis’s medicinal value and its legal status.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780262051392
Publisher: MIT Press
Publication date: 02/17/2026
Series: The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series
Pages: 232
Product dimensions: 5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Linda A. Parker is University Faculty Emeritus and former Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
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