A team of researchers at University College London has discovered that cannabidiol makes brain blood circulation better, thereby helping to improve memory. The UCL researchers state that the discoveries could play a part in improving treatment options for health conditions such as PTSD and Alzheimer’s disease. It is worth noting that the cannabidiol (CBD) in this regard refers to the phytocannabinoid derived from marijuana. CBD is also present in industrial hemp, also known as cannabis sativa.
It has already been discovered that the hemp derivative treat pain, anxiety, and insomnia. When it comes to its effect on human blood, it has earlier been discovered that CBD possibly helps people to deal with hypertension. Therefore, several individuals are trying CBD for high blood pressure.
This study discovered that just a single dosage of the marijuana-based phytocannabinoid can make the blood circulate better to the brain area known as ‘hippocampus’. Hippocampus is thought to play a part in functions such as memory and learning.
The main author of the study and University College London’s psychiatry professor, Michael Bloomfield stated, “To our knowledge, this is the first study to find that CBD increases blood flow to key regions involved in memory processing, particularly the hippocampus.”
The improved blood circulation will also help the CBD user in staying more attentive and being more energetic for anything that should be done.
Up to 15 healthy youngsters took part in the study, and they had not utilized cannabis before. Over 7 days, 0.6 grams of CBD were orally administered to some of those participants, whereas the rest of them consumed a placebo. The term ‘placebo’ refers to a substance that does not have any therapeutic effect. The phrase ‘placebo effect’ is used to describe how certain individuals feel after consuming this substance, and it only lasts for a short while.
Placebo is utilized in most clinical studies without letting participants know that they are consuming it. So, the study that uses it is known as ‘blind’ trial and the ones who consume it belong to the ‘placebo control’ group.
A week after consuming CBD, every single participant’s levels of blood oxygen was measured with arterial spin labeling (ASL). The researchers arrived at the findings by using the aforementioned substance as a measure of comparison, and these are featured in the peer-reviewed ‘Journal of Psychopharmacology’.