Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31237191›Full record

Trial reportJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)2019

The effect of cannabidiol (CBD) on low-frequency activity and functional connectivity in the brain of adults with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Charlotte M Pretzsch, Bogdan Voinescu, Maria A Mendez, Robert Wichers, Laura Ajram, Glynis Ivin, Martin Heasman, Steven Williams, Declan Gm Murphy, Eileen Daly and 1 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04831294 (Effects of Cannabidiol), which is not on this map. Cited by 44 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
7.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04831294 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) on the Brain

TypeinterventionalSponsorAuburn UniversityRan2021 to 2023Enrolled15ConditionsCBD, Fear, InhibitionArmsCannabidiol, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. The Autism-Psychosis Continuum Conundrum: Exploring the Role of the Endocannabinoid System.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Pooled it
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  6. The neural and psychophysiological effects of cannabidiol in youth with alcohol use disorder: A randomized controlled clinical trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Trial
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  10. Observational
  11. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Charlotte M PretzschDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2761-6628
Bogdan VoinescuDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0258-5917
Maria A MendezDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Robert WichersDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Laura AjramDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Glynis IvinSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Pharmacy, London, UK.
Martin HeasmanSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Pharmacy, London, UK.
Steven WilliamsDepartment of Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Declan Gm MurphyDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
Eileen DalyDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3625-3467
Gráinne M McAlonanDepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
King's College London · GBSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe potential benefits of cannabis and its major non-intoxicating component cannabidiol (CBD) are attracting attention, including as a potential treatment in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the neural action of CBD, and its relevance to ASD, remains unclear. We and others have previously shown that response to drug challenge can be measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), but that pharmacological responsivity is atypical in ASD.

aimsWe hypothesized that there would be a (different) fMRI response to CBD in ASD.

methodsTo test this, task-free fMRI was acquired in 34 healthy men (half with ASD) following oral administration of 600 mg CBD or matched placebo (random order; double-blind administration). The 'fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations' (fALFF) was measured across the whole brain, and, where CBD significantly altered fALFF, we tested if functional connectivity (FC) of those regions was also affected by CBD.

resultsCBD significantly increased fALFF in the cerebellar vermis and the right fusiform gyrus. However, post-hoc within-group analyses revealed that this effect was primarily driven by the ASD group, with no significant change in controls. Within the ASD group only, CBD also significantly altered vermal FC with several of its subcortical (striatal) and cortical targets, but did not affect fusiform FC with other regions in either group.

conclusionOur results suggest that, especially in ASD, CBD alters regional fALFF and FC in/between regions consistently implicated in ASD. Future studies should examine if this affects the complex behaviours these regions modulate.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderBrainCannabidiolAdultAttentionBrain MappingCannabisCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleNeural PathwaysCannabidiolautism spectrum disorderCannabidiolCannabis sativafunctional connectivitylow-frequency fluctuations

Identifiers

PMID31237191
PMCPMC6732821
OpenAlexW2953662225

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.