Maldonado, Rafael, 1961-Cabañero Ferri, DavidMartín García, Elena, 1975-2021-06-172021-06-172020Maldonado R, Cabañero D, Martín-García E. The endocannabinoid system in modulating fear, anxiety, and stress. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2020;22(3):229-39. DOI: 10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.3/rmaldonado1294-8322http://hdl.handle.net/10230/47915The endocannabinoid system is widely expressed in the limbic system, prefrontal cortical areas, and brain structures regulating neuroendocrine stress responses, which explains the key role of this system in the control of emotions. In this review, we update recent advances on the function of the endocannabinoid system in determining the value of fear-evoking stimuli and promoting appropriate behavioral responses for stress resilience. We also review the alterations in the activity of the endocannabinoid system during fear, stress, and anxiety, and the pathophysiological role of each component of this system in the control of these protective emotional responses that also trigger pathological emotional disorders. In spite of all the evidence, we have not yet taken advantage of the therapeutic implications of this important role of the endocannabinoid system, and possible future strategies to improve the treatment of these emotional disorders are discussed.application/pdfeng© 2020, AICHServier Group. Copyright © 2020 AICH Servier Group. All rights reserved. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.3/rmaldonado2-arachidonoylglycerolCB1 receptorCB2 receptorHPA axisTHCAmygdalaAnandamideEmotional responseLimbic systeminfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess