London, United Kingdom: Cannabidiol administration is associated with changes in brain activity that may potentially lower subjects’ risk for a psychotic episode, according to clinical trial data published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Researchers from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands assessed the brain activating effects of a single dose of 600mg of CBD in subjects at a high risk for psychosis.
Investigators reported: “Cannabidiol may partially normalize alterations in parahippocampal, striatal, and midbrain function associated with the CHR (clinical high risk of psychosis) state. As these regions are critical to the pathophysiology of psychosis, the influence of CBD at these sites could underlie its therapeutic effects on psychotic symptoms.”
Clinical trial data has previously reported that the daily, adjunctive administration of CBD mitigates psychotic symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.
For more information, contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, “Effect of cannabidiol on medial temporal, midbrain, and striatal dysfunction in people at clinical high risk of psychosis,” appears in JAMA Psychiatry.