Phytocannabinoids and schizophrenia: Focus on adolescence as a critical window of enhanced vulnerability and opportunity for treatment.
Tibor Stark, Serena di Martino, Filippo Drago, Carsten T. Wotjak, Vincenzo Micale
Pharmacological Research December 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105938 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Cannabis CBD |
| Keywords | Adolescence Animal model Neurodevelopment Schizophrenia |
| Key findings | Adolescent THC exposure is a critical window of neurophysiological vulnerability that may contribute to schizophrenia, and CBD shows promise as an early intervention for neurodevelopmental disorders. |
Abstract
The recent shift in socio-political debates and growing liberalization of Cannabis use across the globe has raised concern regarding its impact on vulnerable populations such as adolescents. Concurrent with declining perception of Cannabis harms, more adolescents are using it daily in several countries and consuming marijuana strains with high content of psychotropic delta (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). These dual, related trends seem to facilitate the development of compromised social and cognitive performance at adulthood, which are described in preclinical and human studies. Cannabis exerts its effects via altering signalling within the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which modulates the stress circuitry during the neurodevelopment. In this context early interventions appear to circumvent the emergence of adult neurodevelopmental deficits. Accordingly, Cannabis sativa second-most abundant compound, cannabidiol (CBD), emerges as a potential therapeutic agent to treat neuropsychiatric disorders. We first focus on human and preclinical studies on the long-term effects induced by adolescent THC exposure as a "critical window" of enhanced neurophysiological vulnerability, which could be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and related primary psychotic disorders. Then, we focus on adolescence as a "window of opportunity" for early pharmacological treatment, as novel risk reduction strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders. Thus, we review current preclinical and clinical evidence regarding the efficacy of CBD in terms of positive, negative and cognitive symptoms treatment, safety profile, and molecular targets.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on CBD, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- The Effects of Peripubertal THC Exposure in Neurodevelopmental Rat Models of Psychopathology International Journal of Molecular Sciences February 15, 2023
- The Relationship Between Cannabis, Cognition, and Schizophrenia: It’s Complicated Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2022
- A Comparison of Acute Neurocognitive and Psychotomimetic Effects of a Synthetic Cannabinoid and Natural Cannabis at Psychotropic Dose Equivalence Frontiers in Psychiatry May 19, 2022
- Prolonged incubation with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol but not with cannabidiol induces synaptic alterations and mitochondrial impairment in immature and mature rat organotypic hippocampal slices. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie February 1, 2025
- Unraveling Cannabidiol's Dual Modulatory Role in Schizophrenia: Network Pharmacology and In Vivo Validation of Neuroinflammatory and Behavioral Modulation Molecular Neurobiology December 10, 2025
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Cites 42
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- Chronic cannabis promotes pro-hallucinogenic signaling of 5-HT2A receptors through Akt/mTOR pathway Neuropsychopharmacology April 27, 2018
and 37 more in the library