Abstract
Background: Cannabidiol has potential therapeutic benefits for people with psychiatric disorders characterised by reward function impairment. There is existing evidence that cannabidiol may influence some aspects of reward processing. However, it is unknown whether cannabidiol acutely affects brain function underpinning reward anticipation and feedback. Hypotheses: We predicted that cannabidiol would augment brain activity associated with reward anticipation and feedback. Methods: We administered a single 600 mg oral dose of cannabidiol and matched placebo to 23 healthy participants in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures design. We employed the monetary incentive delay task during functional magnetic resonance imaging to assay the neural correlates of reward anticipation and feedback. We conducted whole brain analyses and region-of-interest analyses in pre-specified reward-related brain regions. Results: The monetary incentive delay task elicited expected brain activity during reward anticipation and feedback, including in the insula, caudate, nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex. However, across the whole brain, we did not find any evidence that cannabidiol altered reward-related brain activity. Moreover, our Bayesian analyses showed that activity in our regions-of-interest was similar following cannabidiol and placebo. Additionally, our behavioural measures of motivation for reward did not show a significant difference between cannabidiol and placebo. Discussion: Cannabidiol did not acutely affect the neural correlates of reward anticipation and feedback in healthy participants. Future research should explore the effects of cannabidiol on different components of reward processing, employ different doses and administration regimens, and test its reward-related effects in people with psychiatric disorders.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 969-980 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 9 |
Early online date | 5 Aug 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2020 |
Funding
Cannabidiol did not acutely affect the neural correlates of reward anticipation and feedback in healthy participants. Future research should explore the effects of cannabidiol on different components of reward processing, employ different doses and administration regimens, and test its reward-related effects in people with psychiatric disorders. Cannabidiol reward functional magnetic resonance imaging motivation anticipation feedback cannabis marijuana British Medical Association Foundation for Medical Research Margaret Temple Award UCL Excellence Fellowship medical research council https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000265 national institute for health research biomedical research centre at moorfields eye hospital nhs foundation trust and ucl institute of ophthalmology https://doi.org/10.13039/501100012618 society for the study of addiction https://doi.org/10.13039/100014660 Invicro LLC edited-state corrected-proof typesetter ts1 The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by a British Medical Association Foundation for Medical Research Margaret Temple Award to MAP Bloomfield. MAP Bloomfield is funded by a UCL Excellence Fellowship. W Lawn is funded by an unrelated Medical Research Council project grant. MAP Bloomfield, C Hindocha and HV Curran are supported by the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre. TP Freeman was funded by a senior academic fellowship from the Society for the Study of Addiction. MB Wall is employed by Invicro LLC, a private company which performs contract research work for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Keywords
- anticipation
- Cannabidiol
- cannabis
- feedback
- functional magnetic resonance imaging
- marijuana
- motivation
- reward
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)