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Cited by 241Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchMedicinal Plant Extracts EffectsPsychedelics and Drug Studies

Cannabidiol presents an inverted U-shaped dose-response curve in a simulated public speaking test

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Linares, Ila M., Zuardi, Antonio W., Pereira, Luis C., Queiroz, Regina H., Mechoulam, Raphael, Guimarães, Francisco S., Crippa, José A.·2019·Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1590/1516-4446-2017-0015PMC PMC6781714
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the non-psychotomimetic compounds of Cannabis sativa, causes anxiolytic-like effects in animals, with typical bell-shaped dose-response curves. No study, however, has investigated whether increasing doses of this drug would also cause similar curves in humans. The objective of this study was to compare the acute effects of different doses of CBD and placebo in healthy volunteers performing a simulated public speaking test (SPST), a well-tested anxiety-inducing method. METHOD: A total of 57 healthy male subjects were allocated to receive oral CBD at doses of 150 mg (n=15), 300 mg (n=15), 600 mg (n=12) or placebo (n=15) in a double-blind procedure. During the SPST, subjective ratings on the Visual Analogue Mood Scale (VAMS) and physiological measures (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate) were obtained at six different time points. RESULTS: Compared to placebo, pretreatment with 300 mg of CBD significantly reduced anxiety during the speech. No significant differences in VAMS scores were observed between groups receiving CBD 150 mg, 600 mg and placebo. CONCLUSION: Our findings confirm the anxiolytic-like properties of CBD and are consonant with results of animal studies describing bell-shaped dose-response curves. Optimal therapeutic doses of CBD should be rigorously determined so that research findings can be adequately translated into clinical practice.

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  • The efficacy and safety of beta-adrenergic receptor blockers and benzodiazepines for performance anxiety have never been confirmed in well-controlled clinical trials.

    “but their efficacy and safety have never been confirmed in well-controlled clinical trials. 5,6”

    From Efficacy and safety of an alpha 7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, VQW-765, in subjects with performance anxiety: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (2025) · cites this paper as [6]

    The Introduction discusses CBD and a simulated-public-speaking trial that included diazepam as a comparator, but does not assess the efficacy or safety of benzodiazepines for performance anxiety. Searches for beta-adrenergic blockers and well-controlled clinical trials found no passage addressing the claimed lack of confirmation. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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Authors
Linares, I. M., Zuardi, A. W., Pereira, L. C., Queiroz, R. H., Mechoulam, R., Guimarães, F. S., & Crippa, J. A.
Affiliations
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil; Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (BR)
ORCID
Venue
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
EDITORA SCIENTIFIC
Published
2019-02
Volume
41
Issue
1
Pages
9-14
ISSN
  • 1516-4446 (ISSN-L)
  • 1809-452X
DOI
10.1590/1516-4446-2017-0015
PMC
PMC6781714
OpenAlex
W2896857564
Cited by
241
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
12.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (26/2014, 466805/2014‐4, 2014-4)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Medicinal Plant Extracts Effects
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
Keywords
cannabidiol, dose-response relationship, inverted U-shaped relationship, public speaking anxiety, social anxiety, anxiolytic effects, acute drug effects, speaking anxiety, blood pressure, heart rate, healthy volunteers
MeSH terms
Anxiety, Cannabidiol, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Male, Socioeconomic Factors, Speech, Anti-Anxiety Agents

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