Exploring the basis of cannabinoid analgesia in humans

大麻历来被用于止痛，但它是如何起作用的仍有争议。从大麻中提取的大麻素（类似大麻的药物）中，德尔塔-9-四氢大麻酚(？发现-9-四氢大麻酚（thc）对患者有镇痛作用。动物研究表明？-9-四氢大麻酚和其他大麻素通过激活大脑疼痛处理区域的“受体”来起作用。然而，这样的结果并不总是适用于人类，进一步开发用于患者的大麻素需要更好地了解它们在人脑中的作用方式和位置。这可以通过使用功能性磁共振成像来记录在受到-9-四氢大麻酚影响时，大脑各区域对疼痛的反应来实现。成像技术是成熟的，研究将在健康的志愿者中进行，他们可以安全、可逆地诱导实验性疼痛。这项研究将深入了解疼痛处理过程中特定大脑区域的功能，并为未来开发针对这些区域的大麻素提供信息，以缓解疼痛。

Cannabis is historically used to provide analgesia (pain relief) but how it does so remains debatable. Of the cannabinoids (cannabis-like drugs) derived from cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (?-9-THC) is found to provide analgesia in patients. Animal studies have shown that ?-9-THC and other cannabinoids work by activating ‘receptors‘ which are found in pain processing areas of the brain. However, such results cannot always be translated to man, and further development of cannabinoids for use in patients requires better understanding of how and where they act in the human brain. This can be achieved by using functional magnetic resonance imaging to record how the various brain areas respond to pain when influenced by ?-9-THC. The imaging technique is well-established and the studies would be undertaken in healthy volunteers in whom experimental pain can be safely and reversibly induced. The research would provide insight into the functions of specific brain areas during pain processing and inform the development of future cannabinoids that target them for pain relief.