Endocannabinoids (Anandamide, 2-AG)
Endocannabinoids such as anandamide and 2-AG are lipid signaling molecules that act "backward" across synapses to dampen neurotransmitter release, fine-tuning excitability. Through CB1 and CB2 receptors — the same targets as THC — they regulate appetite, pain, mood, stress, and memory, and mediate effects like exercise-induced euphoria. The system broadly serves to restore balance after neural activity.
Too little may be associated with
Anxiety, chronic pain
Too much may be associated with
Memory impairment, increased appetite
Informational only — not medical advice.
Stimuli that influence it
Functions
Substances
- Food (↕)
Behaviors
Books (1)
Research (53)
- Diagnosis and Management of Resistant Hypertension: A Review Azizi et al. (2026) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Exercise biomarkers Siebers et al. (2026) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Hypothalamic Dysfunction Casipit et al. (2026) PubMed ↗
- Circulating endocannabinoids in children and adolescents: associations with anxiety and the impact of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Marusak et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Uncovering the role of Gpr45 in obesity regulation Li et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- About Sugar Addiction Guo et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- High-intensity interval training exercise decreases brain CB1 receptor levels in male and female adult rats Tyler et al. (2025) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Ultra-Processed Foods and Mental Health: Where Do Eating Disorders Fit into the Puzzle? Wiss et al. (2024) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Obesity as a Neuroendocrine Disorder Ferreira-Hermosillo et al. (2023) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Sex- and age-specific respiratory alterations induced by prenatal exposure to the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 in rats Gargaglioni et al. (2023) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Injuries Common to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Practitioner Khoury et al. (2023) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- The Endocannabinoid System and Physical Exercise Matei et al. (2023) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu players' motivations to train Tarver et al. (2023) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- Restless Legs Syndrome in Chronic Kidney Disease- a Systematic Review Safarpour et al. (2023) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
- A microbiome-dependent gut-brain pathway regulates motivation for exercise Dohnalová et al. (2022) Full text ↗ PubMed ↗
Links
Recovery resources
For stimuli that influence Endocannabinoids (Anandamide, 2-AG). Not medical advice — see all recovery resources.
SMART Recovery · general recovery
Compulsive Eaters Anonymous - HOW (CEA-HOW) · process addiction
Food Addicts Anonymous (FAA) · process addiction
- Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) · process addiction
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) · process addiction