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Probing the endocannabinoid system in healthy volunteers: Cannabidiol alters fronto-striatal resting-state connectivity.

Oliver Grimm, Martin Löffler, Sandra Kamping, Aljoscha Hartmann, Cathrin Rohleder, Markus Leweke, Herta Flor

European Neuropsychopharmacology July 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.04.004 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Randomized crossover pharmaco-fMRI study Peer reviewed
Sample size 16
Population Healthy male volunteers
Interventions Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Cannabidiol (CBD)
Dose 10 mg oral THC, 600 mg oral CBD
Topics Cannabis CBD
Keywords Frontal cortex Functional connectivity Resting State FMRI Striatum
Key points CBD increased fronto-striatal connectivity compared with placebo, whereas THC showed no significant effects versus placebo, possibly because THC concentrations during scanning were insufficient. The authors suggest CBD's effect on fronto-striatal connectivity may be a neural correlate of its anti-psychotic effect in patients.

Abstract

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) are two substances from cannabis sativa that have beenimplicated in the treatment of mental and neurological disorders. We concentrated on a previously validated neuroimaging phenotype, fronto-striatal connectivity across different striatal seeds, because of this loop's relevance to executive functioning, decision making, salience generation and motivation and its link to various neuropsychiatric conditions. Therefore, we studied the effect of THC and CBD on fronto-striatal circuitry by a seed-voxel connectivity approach using seeds from the caudate and the putamen. We conducted a cross-over pharmaco-fMRI study in 16 healthy male volunteers with placebo, 10 mg oral THC and 600 mg oral CBD. Resting state was measured in a 3 T scanner. CBD lead to an increase of fronto-striatal connectivity in comparison to placebo. In contrast to our expectation that THC and CBD show opposing effects, THC versus placebo did not show any significant effects, probably due to insufficient concentration of THC during scanning. The effect of CBD on enhancing fronto-striatal connectivity is of interest because it might be a neural correlate of its anti-psychotic effect in patients.

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on CBD, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Cannabidiol inhibits THC-elicited paranoid symptoms and hippocampal-dependent memory impairment Healthy participants 2012 Randomized controlled trial n = 48
Distinct Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Neural Activation During Emotional Processing Healthy, English-native, right-handed men who had used cannabis 15 times or less in... 2009 Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial n = 15
Inverted U-Shaped Dose-Response Curve of the Anxiolytic Effect of Cannabidiol during Public Speaking in Real Life Healthy subjects aged 18 to 35 years 2017 Randomized controlled trial n = 60
Acute Effects of a Single, Oral dose of d9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) Administration in Healthy Volunteers Healthy male subjects 2012 Randomized controlled trial n = 16
Modulation of Mediotemporal and Ventrostriatal Function in Humans by Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Healthy, native English-speaking, right-handed men of white race/ethnicity who had used... 2009 Randomized controlled trial n = 15

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