Berlin, Germany: The administration of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) increases adult neurogenesis (the active production of new neurons) in laboratory animals, according to preclinical trial data published online in the journal Cell Communication and Signaling.

An international team of researchers from Germany, Switzerland, and Mexico assessed the effect of the chronic administration of THC and CBD on spatial learning (memory) and neruogenesis. Authors reported: “THC and CBD differed in their effects on spatial learning and adult neurogenesis. CBD did not impair learning but increased adult neurogenesis, whereas THC reduced learning without affecting adult neurogenesis.”

They concluded, “The pro-neurogenic effects of CBD might explain some of the positive therapeutic features of CBD-based compounds. … Taken together, the findings suggest diverse effects of the cannabinoid system on memory and cellular plasticity.”

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, Cannabinoid receptor CB1 mediates baseline and activity-induced survival of new neurons in adult hippocampal neurogenesis,” is available online at: http://www.biosignaling.com/content/8/1/12.

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