Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33813611›Full record

Trial reportPsychopharmacology2021

Evaluating cannabidiol (CBD) expectancy effects on acute stress and anxiety in healthy adults: a randomized crossover study.

Toni C Spinella, Sherry H Stewart, Julia Naugler, Igor Yakovenko, Sean P Barrett

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
7.3field-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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Does acute cannabidiol (CBD) use impair performance? A meta-analysis and comparison with placebo and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Pooled it
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  17. Parasympathetic decreases immediately following self-reported cannabis smoking among adults living with cannabis use disorder.International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology · 2025
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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

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Toni C SpinellaDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, 1355 Oxford Street, PO Box 15000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Sherry H StewartDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, 1355 Oxford Street, PO Box 15000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Julia NauglerDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, 1355 Oxford Street, PO Box 15000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Igor YakovenkoDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, 1355 Oxford Street, PO Box 15000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Sean P BarrettDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, 1355 Oxford Street, PO Box 15000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada. Sean.Barrett@dal.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9495-8265
Dalhousie University · CA

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Catalyst Grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleCannabidiol (CBD) has been reported to attenuate stress and anxiety, but little is known about the extent to which such effects result from pharmacological versus expectancy factors.

objectivesWe evaluated whether CBD expectancy alone could influence stress, anxiety, and mood, and the extent to which beliefs regarding CBD effects predicted these responses.

methodsIn this randomized crossover study, 43 health adults (23 women) attended two experimental laboratory sessions, where they self-administered CBD-free hempseed oil sublingually. During one session, they were (incorrectly) informed that the oil contained CBD and in the other session, that the oil was CBD-free. Following administration, participants engaged in the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST). Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed continuously, and subjective state was assessed at baseline, 90-min following oil administration, immediately following the MAST, and after a 10-min recovery period.

resultsThe CBD expectancy condition was associated with increased sedation as well as with changes in HRV that were consistent with heightened anticipatory stress regulation. Overall, there were no systematic changes in subjective stress, or anxiety, according to expectancy condition. However, participants who endorsed strong a priori beliefs that CBD has anxiolytic properties reported significantly diminished anxiety in the CBD expectancy condition.

conclusionsCBD expectancy alone impacted several subjective and physiological responses. Additionally, expectancy-related factors were implicated in anxiolytic effects of CBD for those who believed it was helpful for such purposes, emphasizing the need to measure and control for CBD-related expectancies in clinical research that involves the administration of CBD.

Indexed as

Administration, SublingualAdultAffectAnti-Anxiety AgentsAnxietyCannabidiolCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodElectrocardiographyFemaleHeart RateHumansMaleMiddle AgedMotivationSelf AdministrationAnti-Anxiety AgentsCannabidiolAffectAnxietyAnxiolyticCannabidiolCannabisCBDExpectancyPlaceboStressSubjective response

Identifiers

PMID33813611
PMCPMC8233292
OpenAlexW3150972124

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.