A recent investigation conducted by University College London has discovered that CBD significantly improves blood flow to the brain’s hippocampus. The brain’s hippocampus is the structure deeply embedded in the temporal lobe, it’s main function is to regulate motivation, emotion, learning and memory.
The investigation, led by Dr Michael Bloomfield a UCL psychiatry, constituted 15 young participants (all in good health) who did not have a history of cannabis use taking a 600mg dose of CBD or a placebo. What is commonly known as the ‘placebo effect,’ is widely used within medical research. When administered correctly this phenomenon can lead to people feeling benefits of an in-active substance- in this case CBD. Researches who worked on the controlled study measured blood flow to the brain structure- the hippocampus- using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The dosage given within this study translates to a single 600mg dose of CBD and therefore cannot be representative of people who actively use and repeat dose CBD.
Dr Bloomfield stated that this is the first study to have discovered and provided evidence that CBD does in fact increase blood flow to vital regions of the brain. As such, this study and studies which follow suit, could be producing essential discovery leading to CBD being prescribed to patients to prevent and aid conditions such as PTSD. However, there is no significant evidence (within this specific study) to suggest that CBD improves memory task performance. This is not to be confused with or discredit any scientific evidence which demonstrates a positive correlation between Alzheimer’s and CBD.
It could be construed as counterproductive to suggest that a compound in cannabis can prevent and assist such degenerative diseases but as new evidence comes to light, it cannot be disputed. New investigations are pioneering discovery into the advantages of CBD and ultimately closing the stigma around medicinal cannabis.
