ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2009
Circulating endocannabinoids and N-acyl ethanolamines are differentially regulated in major depression and following exposure to social stress.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 156 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
156 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 320 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cross-ancestry genome-wide association study and systems-level integrative analyses implicate new risk genes and therapeutic targets for depression.Nature human behaviour · 2025Pooled it
- Endocannabinoids and Stress-Related Neurospsychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Basal Concentrations and Response to Acute Psychosocial Stress.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2024Pooled it
- Peripheral endocannabinoids in major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Endocannabinoid levels in female-sexed individuals with diagnosed depression: a systematic review.BMC women's health · 2024Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Exercise on the Endocannabinoid System.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2022Pooled it
- Contributions of yoga and aerobic exercise to acute changes in state affect, circulating BDNF and eCB concentrations, and memory.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Trial
- The effect of methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on peripheral endocannabinoid concentrations: a study in healthy adults.Psychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Circulating endocannabinoids in children and adolescents: associations with anxiety and the impact of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- Major depressive disorder in children and adolescents is associated with reduced hair cortisol and anandamide (AEA): cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from a large randomized clinical trial.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Effects of cannabidiol on anandamide levels in individuals with cannabis use disorder: findings from a randomised clinical trial for the treatment of cannabis use disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Psychological and endocannabinoid responses to aerobic exercise in substance use disorder patients.Substance abuse · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Acute stress increases circulating anandamide and other N-acylethanolamines in healthy humans.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2012Trial
- Motion sickness, stress and the endocannabinoid system.PloS one · 2010Trial
- Enhancing anandamide signalling through fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibition: An update on the pharmacological strategy for treating psychiatric disorders.Translational psychiatry · 2026Review
- Memory impairment and chronic high-dose Δ9-THC/cannabis exposure: a narrative review of molecular mechanisms underlying neurotoxic effects.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Relationship between circulating plasma endocannabinoids in adolescents and maternal depressive symptoms.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Endocannabinoid response to social stress in chronic non-medical prescription opioid users.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Relationships among peri-traumatic circulating endocannabinoids and long-term, negative outcomes following traumatic injury.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Endocannabinoid dysregulation and PTSD in urban adolescents: Associations with anandamide concentrations and FAAH genotype.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
96 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Central endocannabinoid signaling is known to be responsive to stressful stimuli; however, there is no research to date characterizing the effects of stress on peripheral endocannabinoid content. The current study examined serum content of the endocannabinoid ligands N-arachidonylethanolamide (anandamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and the non-cannabinoid N-acyl ethanolamine (NAE) molecules palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and oleoylethanolamide (OEA) under basal conditions, immediately following the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and 30 min thereafter, in 15 medication-free women diagnosed with major depression, and 15 healthy matched controls. Basal serum concentrations of AEA and 2-AG, but not PEA or OEA, were significantly reduced in women with major depression relative to matched controls, indicating a deficit in peripheral endocannabinoid activity. Immediately following the TSST, serum 2-AG concentrations were increased compared to baseline; serum AEA concentration was unchanged at this time point. Serum concentrations of PEA and OEA were significantly lower than baseline 30 min following the cessation of the TSST. The magnitude of these responses did not differ between depressed and control subjects. These are the first data to demonstrate that the peripheral endocannabinoid/NAE system is responsive to exposure to stress.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.