Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Tobacco Hornworm as an Insect Model System for Cannabinoid Pre-clinical Studies
Published on: December 29, 2021
Preclinical and Clinical Evidence Supporting Use of Cannabidiol in Psychiatry
Gioacchino Calapai1, Carmen Mannucci1, Ioanna Chinou2
1Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Background:
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major chemical compound present in Cannabis sativa. CBD is a nonpsychotomimetic substance, and it is considered one of the most promising candidates for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
Objective:
The aim of this review is to illustrate the state of art about scientific research and the evidence of effectiveness of CBD in psychiatric patients.
Methods:
This review collects the main scientific findings on the potential role of CBD in the psychiatric field, and results of clinical trials carried out on psychiatric patients are commented. A research was conducted in the PUBMED, SCOPUS, and ScienceDirect databases using combinations of the words cannabidiol, psychiatry, and neuropsychiatric.
Results:
Preclinical and clinical studies on potential role of CBD in psychiatry were collected and further discussed. We found four clinical studies describing the effects of CBD in psychiatric patients: two studies about schizophrenic patients and the other two studies carried out on CBD effects in patients affected by generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD).
Conclusion:
Results from these studies are promising and suggest that CBD may have a role in the development of new therapeutic strategies in mental diseases, and they justify an in-depth commitment in this field. However, clinical evidence we show for CBD in psychiatric patients is instead still poor and limited to schizophrenia and anxiety, and it needs to be implemented with further studies carried out on psychiatric patients.
Related Concept Videos
Preclinical Development: Overview
Psychosis: Goals of Pharmacotherapy
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Cannabinoids
Two synthetic agonists of THC,...
Psychosis and Antipsychotic Drugs: Overview
Antipsychotic Drugs: Therapeutic Uses and Side Effects
Despite these side effects, antipsychotics are used therapeutically for various purposes, including managing schizophrenia, preventing nausea and vomiting, curbing...
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications

