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I am Intramural Blog

Back to the Future of Brain Research

By Michele Lyons

Friday, December 19, 2014

Herkenham Cannabinoid receptor hippocampus

“Here is an image that is historical because it represents the era (1980s and 1990s) when drug receptors were first being localized in the brain," writes Miles Herkenham, Ph.D. "It comes from work that I published while working in Bldg. 36 here on the NIH campus. It’s a computer color-coded image of a brain autoradiograph showing cannabinoid (marijuana) and opiate receptor distributions in brain.”

Dr. Herkenham joined the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 1977. He is now the Chief of the Section on Functional Neuroanatomy in the NIMH Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Regulation (LCMR), as well as Acting Chief of the LCMR and Associate Director for Basic Science in the NIMH Intramural Research Program. He has published research on neural connectivity, opioid and cannabinoid receptor localization, and the therapeutic actions of antidepressant drugs. He’s currently working on the psychosocial stress/environmental enrichment paradigm.

Explore more beautiful scientific images of the brain and neurons on the NIH Office of History and Stetten Museum's Tumblr page.


Category: NIH History
Tags: brain, hippocampus, cannabinoid, opioid, opiate, receptor, drug, Building 36, antidepressant

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This page was last updated on Wednesday, January 31, 2024

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