When humans ingest cannabis, they get the munchies. As [neuroscientist Shawn] Lockery wrote in his report: “cannabinoids can amplify existing preferences for calorically dense, palatable food sources.”
He wanted to test if worms had the same reaction.
The cannabinoid that we’re most familiar with is the THC inside cannabis, a “phytocannabinoid,” meaning it comes from plants. But there are other types of cannabinoids, including endocannabinoids, which are naturally occurring chemicals in most animals, including humans and C. elegans.
“At the behavioral level, it suggests, basically, that our common ancestor with worms got the munchies,” Lockery said.
The ancestors of C. elegans and the ancestors of humans diverged 500 million years ago. Lockery said that’s a long, long time in evolution, so it’s extraordinary that both species still share this trait.
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One hypothesis is that cannabinoids are released when an animal is facing starvation, and it makes them attracted to high-calorie food.
The similarity in response between worms and humans also suggests that worms could be a useful model for studying the endocannabinoid system, potentially revealing more about the broad-ranging effects of weed.
