Endocannabinoids, Cannabinoids and Psychiatry: Biological Mechanisms—3rd Edition
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2026) | Viewed by 2009
Special Issue Editors
Interests: endocannabinoids; biological psychiatry; epigenetics; developmental psychobiology; behavioral neuroscience; psychoneuroendocrinology; animal models of obesity; binge eating; depression; infant–mother attachment; emotion-regulation
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue is the continuation of our previous special issue “Endocannabinoids, Cannabinoids and Psychiatry: Biological Mechanisms 2.0”.
During the past decade, scientific knowledge on the role and contributions of endocannabinoids and cannabinoids to the optimal functioning of the human brain has advanced considerably. Currently, the endocannabinoid system is regarded, based on recent scientific findings, as a modulatory system of brain connectivity and top-down bottom-up structural pathways’ protection against extreme inhibitory or extreme excitatory cortical and sub-cortical conditions. Such extreme conditions have been suggested to underlie psychopathology. Additionally, the stabilizing effect of cannabinoids in cases of mood disorders, anxiety, depression and schizophrenia, social phobia, personality disorders, bipolar disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder has been shown in recent years by various researchers including those using animal models. Research on the role of endocannabinoids in the development of psychiatric disorders, their course and remission has also recently advanced. The field of clinical trials on cannabinoid treatment in psychiatry is just emerging. This timely issue will be among the first to publish novel data on endocannabinoids and cannabinoids in various psychiatric disorders. This is a call for papers on underlying biological, including molecular and neural, mechanisms of endocannabinoid and cannabinoid functions in psychiatric disorders based on animal models, in vitro and ex vivo, models and human clinical trials. Data on age and gender, as well as early development and life span, considerations of endocannabinoids and cannabinoids in psychiatric disorders are also encouraged. Epigenetic and genetic vulnerabilities interacting with the environmental impact related to the endocannabinoid system in psychopathology are also welcome. In this context, magnetic resonance and other imaging studies and studies on crosstalk with other neurotransmitter systems are among the top interests of this issue. The vulnerability of the endocannabinoid system under stressful conditions will also be a focus of this issue, including interactions of this system with stress exposure. Risk factors for the development of psychiatric disorders related to the endocannabinoid system and identified within the fields of brain research, epigenetic, genetic, and molecular research are important components to be included in this issue. Cutting-edge reviews are also invited. We note that non-randomized clinical research and survey studies are not suitable for IJMS.
Prof. Aron Weller
Prof. Dr. Nicholas V. DiPatrizio
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- endocannabinoids
- cannabinoids
- psychiatry
- neural mechanisms
- molecular mechanisms
- epigenetics
- imaging
- psychopathology
- stress
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