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Updated: Feb 14, 2026
07:02
Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice
Published on: March 20, 2014
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Learning and memory is modulated by cannabidiol when administered during trace fear-conditioning
A L Uhernik1, Z T Montoya1, C D Balkissoon1
1Colorado State University-Pueblo, United States.
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
|February 13, 2018
Summary
Cannabidiol (CBD) may alter fear learning and memory when given before conditioning. This research suggests caution for clinical use as an anxiolytic and highlights the need for further memory disorder research.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychopharmacology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Cannabidiol (CBD) shows therapeutic promise for psychiatric conditions impacting learning and memory, such as anxiety and PTSD.
- Previous studies indicate CBD enhances fear memory extinction when administered post-conditioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of CBD on fear learning and memory when administered prior to a trace fear conditioning protocol.
- To explore how pre-conditioning CBD administration modulates cognitive processes relevant to PTSD treatment.
Main Methods:
- Mice were administered CBD before undergoing a trace fear conditioning protocol.
- Behavioral assessments of freezing, fear generalization, and memory extinction were conducted.
- Synaptic plasticity, specifically dendritic spine density, was analyzed in the amygdala and hippocampus.
Main Results:
- CBD pre-treatment increased freezing during conditioning and generalized fear.
- Cue-dependent memory extinction was inhibited, while contextual fear memory increased.
- CBD mildly enhanced spine densities independently of conditioning and inhibited conditioning-dependent spine increases in the hippocampus.
Conclusions:
- A single pre-conditioning dose of CBD exhibits memory-modulating effects.
- Clinical use of CBD as an anxiolytic warrants caution due to its impact on fear memory.
- Further research is needed to fully characterize CBD's basic effects on memory and its therapeutic potential for memory-loss disorders.
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