Keywords: cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol, endocannabinoid system, pregnancy

In Canada, 2-11% of pregnant women have reported using cannabis during their pregnancy, often to manage symptoms of nausea and insomnia. Despite its legalization and widespread use, high quality evidence on the effects of prenatal cannabis exposure on fetal development remains limited. My research interests include exploring how developmental exposure to cannabinoids, particularly tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), affects the brain. More specifically, I am interested in how prenatal THC exposure modulates synaptic plasticity and the endocannabinoid system, our body’s natural cannabinoid signalling system. In addition, I am interested in understanding the role of the endocannabinoid system in normal physiological processes. The cannabinoid type-1 receptor is one of the most abundant receptors in our nervous system and is a key modulator in a wide range of neural processes that we are only beginning to understand .

Przy, R., Jacoby, B., & Christie, B. (2025). Synaptic Signatures of Perinatal Cannabinoids: A Systematic Review of Rodent Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity, Learning, and Memory. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 16, 100353. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dadr.2025.100353

Przy, R., Wade, M., Welter, P., Brocardo, P., & Christie, B. (2025). Lateral Thinking: Exploring the Lateral Entorhinal Cortex Projections to the Hippocampus. 2024. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 533(7), e70069. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.70069.