Abstract Cannabis use can be traced back to several centuries before the Common Era, when it was used for industrial, medicinal and recreational purposes. More recently, over 100 different cannabinoid compounds have been identified, one of which is cannabidiol (CBD), a compound widely used for anti-inflammatory and anxiolytic treatment. The literature surrounding the cognitive effects of CBD is limited, with most studies focusing on the effects of other cannabinoids on cognition. To expand this literature, this study investigated whether CBD causes significant differences to working memory (WM) functioning, as measured by the N-back task. It was hypothesised that CBD does not cause statistically significant...

Abstract Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating phytocannabinoid whose purported therapeutic benefits and impression of a high safety profile has promoted its increasing popularity. CBD’s popularity is also increasing among children and adolescents who are being administered CBD, off label, for the treatment of numerous symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and depression. The relative recency of its use in the adolescent population has precluded investigation of its impact on the developing brain and the potential consequences that may present in adulthood. Therefore, there’s an urgency to identify whether prolonged adolescent CBD exposure has substantive impacts on the developing brain...

Abstract Statewide legislation has increased public access to high-potency cannabis flower and concentrates, yet federal restrictions limit researchers’ access to relatively low-potency whole-plant cannabis. The goal of this study was to examine the acute effects of high-potency cannabis on cognition using a novel methodology. We further sought to compare cognitive effects of high-potency cannabis flower with and without cannabidiol (CBD), as well as cannabis concentrates to cannabis flower. 80 cannabis users were randomly assigned to stay sober or use their funds to purchase one of three high-potency cannabis products: (1) high-potency flower (≥ 20% THC) without CBD, (2) high-potency flower with CBD, (3) high-potency concentrates...

Abstract Introduction: Medicinal cannabis has proliferated around the world and there is increasing interest in the therapeutic potential of individual plant-derived cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids). Preclinical evidence suggests the phytocannabinoid cannabigerol (CBG) could be useful in treating brain disorders, including stress and anxiety-related disorders. In this study, we aimed to explore whether CBG disrupts various contextually conditioned fear memory processes and trauma-induced anxiety-related behavior in a mouse model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Materials and Methods: All mice underwent contextual fear conditioning. CBG was administered between 1 and 60 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.). We first assessed the effects of repeated CBG exposure on long-term fear memories. We also...

Please use this link to access publication Abstract Hypothesis: Administration of the phytocannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) will enhance brain repair and improve short-term spatial working memory in mice following controlled cortical impact (CCI) by upregulating granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and other neurotrophic factors (brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF], glial-derived neurotrophic factor [GDNF]) in hippocampus (HP), cerebral cortex, and striatum. Materials and Methods: C57BL/6J mice underwent CCI and were treated for 3 days with Δ9-THC 3 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.). Short-term working memory was determined using the spontaneous alternations test during exploratory behavior in a Y-maze. Locomotor function was measured as latency to fall from a rotating drum (rotometry). These behaviors...

ABSTRACT There is evidence that cannabis use during adolescence leads to memory and cognitive problems in young adulthood but little is known about effects of early life cannabis exposure on synaptic operations that are critical for encoding and organizing information. We report here that a 14-day course of daily Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol treatments administered to adolescent rats and mice (aTHC) leads to profound but selective deficits in synaptic plasticity in two axonal systems in female, and to lesser extent male, hippocampus as assessed in adulthood. Adolescent-THC exposure did not alter basic synaptic transmission (input/output curves) and had only modest effects on frequency facilitation. Nevertheless, aTHC...

Please use this link to access this publication Abstract Executive functions including working memory (WM) and attention are altered following Cannabis exposure in humans. To test for similar effects in a rodent model, we exposed adult male rats to acute Cannabis smoke before testing them on touchscreen-based tasks that assess these executive processes. The trial-unique, delayed nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) task was used to evaluate WM, task performance at different spatial pattern separations, and response latencies. The five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) was used to measure attention, impulsivity, perseveration, and response latencies. Rats were exposed acutely to high- Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), low-CBD (Mohawk) and low-THC, high-CBD (Treasure Island) strains of Cannabis smoke...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Women present increased susceptibility to anxiety- and stress-related disorders compared to men. A potentially promising pharmacological-based strategy to regulate abnormal aversive memories disrupts their reconsolidation stage after reactivation and destabilization. Male rodent findings indicate that cannabidiol (CBD), a relatively safe and effective treatment for several mental health conditions, can impair the reconsolidation of aversive memories. However, whether and how CBD influences it in females is still unknown. The present study addressed this question in contextually fear-conditioned female rats. We report that systemically administered CBD impaired their reconsolidation, reducing freezing expression for over a week. This action was restricted...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Growing evidence indicates that cannabidiol (CBD), a substance present in the Cannabis sativa plant, has potential therapeutic value to regulate abnormal emotional memories associated with post-traumatic stress and drug use disorders. CBD can attenuate their valence after retrieval (i.e., during reconsolidation) or potentiate their suppression by extinction. Pharmacological research has now focused on elucidating how it acts. Systemic antagonism of cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors has often prevented the abovementioned effects of CBD. However, it is unknown in which brain regions CBD stimulates CB1 receptors and how it interferes with local activity-related plasticity to produce these effects. The present study addressed these questions considering...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Introduction: Using nanoparticle (NP) drugs can have better effects on the target tissue in various diseases. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the degenerative neurological diseases that due to its high prevalence, requires the use of more appropriate treatments. Therefore, the aim of this study was consideration of the effect of cannabidiol (CBD) coated by nano-chitosan on learning and memory, hippocampal cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB2) levels, and amyloid plaques in an AD rat model. Material and Methods: Thirty-five male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 7 in each):...