New study suggests CBD may reverse cognitive impairment caused by THC

People familiar with the health effects of consuming cannabis are aware of the negative effects of its component, THC, on memory. However, a new study that made its way into the prestigious Journal of Psychiatric Research was conducted on a broader topic. It suggests that CBD, which is also a cannabis component, might counteract this. The study found that participants had better verbal episodic memory when vaping CBD. The placebo group of participants, on the other hand, showed no such improvements.

THC negatively affects memory

The negative effects of cannabis on memory is a widely accepted assumption, with both personal reports from cannabis users and medical studies pointing in this direction. Experts believe that the psychoactive THC found in cannabis is behind these cognitive defects. So it’s very, very interesting that another cannabis compound actually serves to counteract this and improve a person’s verbal memory.

CBD could improve verbal episodic memory

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Academics, including study author Janine Hotz and her team, found the promise of an additional line of treatment for mental illness associated with fading verbal memory interesting. Such symptoms are common in several mental health conditions, including PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and dementia. However, the scientific evidence available prior to the study was inconclusive and mixed. Nonetheless, it encouraged Hotz and colleagues to break new ground with a unique focused experimental study of CBDs and placebos.

A new study

The Swiss study involved 34 adults in the 18 to 30 age group. The study was conducted on two nearly identical but different dates. The researchers asked participants to complete a series of memory tasks. On one of the study days, the participants vaped 12.5 mg of e-liquid with a 5% concentration of CBD. Recently, a scented placebo e-liquid replaced the CBD liquid. While all participants were vaping on both days, use of placebo or CBD was random.

The memory tasks learned three sets of unrelated live words before the vaping activity. Then, twenty minutes after they learned the terms, they were asked to recall as many learned words as possible. This was a verbal episodic memory test. In addition, the subjects also completed back tasks that assessed their attention and memory.

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According to the study’s observations, subjects who consumed CBD were able to remember the words they had learned better than their placebo users. The improved memory performance was about 10%. Factors such as gender, age, medium-term cannabis use and depressive symptoms did not appear to have an impact on the memory performance results. Interestingly, working memory and attention were unaffected by CBD use. It suggested that CBD had no effect on these facets of working memory. No complaints of side effects were reported, except for headaches in one member of the CBD group and complaints of abdominal pain in one member of the placebo group.

Interesting insights

Another interesting finding of the study was that people with a higher BMI (Body Mass Index) had a greater improvement in memory after consuming CBD. Therefore, researchers believe that for optimal memory enhancement, there must be a balance between BMI and CBD concentrations consumed.

Go forward

Researchers are quick to point out that more studies are needed on CBD’s effect on memory consolidation and retrieval. In addition, they emphasized the need to conduct CBD consumption studies in people with episodic memory lapses.