Baenas, IsabelSolé Morata, Neus, 1988-Granero, RoserFernández Aranda, FernandoPujadas Bastardes, MitonaMora-Maltas, BernatLucas, IgnacioGómez-Peña, MónicaMoragas, LauraPino-Gutiérrez, Amparo delTapia-Martínez, JavierTorre Fornell, Rafael de laPotenza, Marc N.Jiménez Murcia, Susana2024-01-122024-01-122023Baenas I, Solé-Morata N, Granero R, Fernández-Aranda F, Pujadas M, Mora-Maltas B, Lucas I, Gómez-Peña M, Moragas L, Del Pino-Gutiérrez A, Tapia-Martínez J, de la Torre R, Potenza MN, Jiménez-Murcia S. Anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol baseline plasma concentrations and their clinical correlate in gambling disorder. Eur Psychiatry. 2023 Nov 8;66(1):e97. DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.24600924-9338http://hdl.handle.net/10230/58670Introduction: Different components of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system such as their most well-known endogenous ligands, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), have been implicated in brain reward pathways. While shared neurobiological substrates have been described among addiction-related disorders, information regarding the role of this system in behavioral addictions such as gambling disorder (GD) is scarce. Aims: Fasting plasma concentrations of AEA and 2-AG were analyzed in individuals with GD at baseline, compared with healthy control subjects (HC). Through structural equation modeling, we evaluated associations between endocannabinoids and GD severity, exploring the potentially mediating role of clinical and neuropsychological variables. Methods: The sample included 166 adult outpatients with GD (95.8% male, mean age 39 years old) and 41 HC. Peripheral blood samples were collected after overnight fasting to assess AEA and 2-AG concentrations (ng/ml). Clinical (i.e., general psychopathology, emotion regulation, impulsivity, personality) and neuropsychological variables were evaluated through a semi-structured clinical interview and psychometric assessments. Results: Plasma AEA concentrations were higher in patients with GD compared with HC (p = .002), without differences in 2-AG. AEA and 2-AG concentrations were related to GD severity, with novelty-seeking mediating relationships. Conclusions: This study points to differences in fasting plasma concentrations of endocannabinoids between individuals with GD and HC. In the clinical group, the pathway defined by the association between the concentrations of endocannabinoids and novelty-seeking predicted GD severity. Although exploratory, these results could contribute to the identification of potential endophenotypic features that help optimize personalized approaches to prevent and treat GD.application/pdfeng© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.24602-arachidonoylglycerolAddictive behaviorsAnandamideGambling disorderImpulsive behaviorsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess