The research was conducted to examine how cannabidiol influences cerebral blood flow in different brain regions linked to memory.
According to the new research by the researchers from University College London (UCL), a single dose of cannabidiol (CBD) helps increase cerebral blood flow in brain regions, such as the hippocampus, associated with emotion and memory. The hippocampus is a brain structure deeply embedded in the temporal lobe of each cerebral cortex. It is an important part of the limbic system that regulates learning, emotion, motivation, and memory. The team says that it can be an important finding for disorders that affect memory, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer’s disease, and could help develop new and effective therapies.
The research was published in the Psychopharmacology journal. CBD is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis and accounts for 40% of the plant's extract. Whereas, tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH) is one of more than 100 cannabinoids found in cannabis plants. TCH is linked to the plant’s psychoactive euphoric effects, while CBD confers to the number of positive health outcomes. Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved one CBD product, a prescription drug to treat severe forms of epilepsy.
The research was conducted to examine how cannabidiol influences blood flow in different brain regions linked to memory. During this research, the team recruited around 15 healthy individuals and assigned them to either a placebo or a 600 mg dose of CBD. The researchers used an MRI imaging technique to measure cerebral blood flow in different regions of the brain. The team observed significant increases in blood flow to the brain’s hippocampus following a single CBD dose. However, the same increase has not been observed in the medial temporal lobe. According to new research, this may help treat neurological conditions known to be associated with area-specific blood flow abnormalities.
