Self-administering cannabinoids

Abstract

Endocannabinoids, which are typically released by principal cells in response to prolonged depolarization, act as retrograde messengers to inhibit synaptic transmission. A recent study shows that in a specific subtype of cortical interneuron, endocannabinoids released under similar circumstances can also act cell-autonomously. Here, endocannabinoids endow these neurons with a memory of their own activity in the form of a long-term change in excitability.