“Emotional dysregulation and anxiety are common in people at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) and are associated with altered neural responses to emotional stimuli in the striatum and medial temporal lobe.
Using a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group design, 33 CHR patients were randomised to a single oral dose of CBD (600 mg) or placebo. Healthy controls (n = 19) were studied under identical conditions but did not receive any drug. Participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a fearful face-processing paradigm. Activation related to the CHR state and to the effects of CBD was examined using a region-of-interest approach.
During fear processing, CHR participants receiving placebo (n = 15) showed greater activation than controls (n = 19) in the parahippocampal gyrus but less activation in the striatum. Within these regions, activation in the CHR group that received CBD (n = 15) was intermediate between that of the CHR placebo and control groups.
These findings suggest that in CHR patients, CBD modulates brain function in regions implicated in psychosis risk and emotion processing. These findings are similar to those previously evident using a memory paradigm, suggesting that the effects of CBD on medial temporal and striatal function may be task independent.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32921794/
“This study is the first to demonstrate that a single dose of CBD modulates activation of the medial temporal cortex and striatum during fear processing in CHR patients. In showing that CBD modulates function of the neural circuitry directly implicated in psychosis onset, these results add to previous evidence that CBD may be a promising novel therapeutic for patients at CHR. Our results also support further investigation of the potential utility of CBD outside of the CHR field in other populations, such as in those with anxiety.”
“There is no argument with regard to the physical and psychological stress-related nature of neuropsychiatric disorders. Yet, the mechanisms that facilitate disease onset starting from molecular stress responses are elusive.
“The endocannabinoid signaling system (ECSS) is altered by exposure to stress and mediates and modulates the effects of stress on the brain.
“Recent studies have shown that cannabidiol (CBD) could have a great therapeutic potential for treating disorders such as chronic pain and anxiety. In the target article, the authors propose that CBD modulates serotonergic transmission and reverses allodynia and anxiety-like behaviour in a rat model of neuropathic pain. Furthermore, this study shows an antinociceptive effect mediated by TRPV1 and partially by 5-HT1A receptors, as well as an anxiolytic effect mediated by 5-HT1A receptors.”
“Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may stem from the formation of aberrant and enduring aversive memories. Some PTSD patients have recreationally used Cannabis, probably aiming at relieving their symptomatology.
“Cannabidiol (
“The major phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (
“The prevalence rates of depression and anxiety are at least two times higher in diabetic patients, increasing morbidity and mortality.
“Chronic stress causes a variety of physiological and behavioral alterations, including social impairments, altered endocrine function, and an increased risk for psychiatric disorders. Thereby, social stress is one of the most effective stressful stimuli among mammals and considered to be one of the major risk factors for the onset and progression of neuropsychiatric diseases.
“Despite the increasing prevalence and acceptance of the medical