The Nonpsychoactive Cannabis Constituent Cannabidiol Is a Wake-Inducing Agent.
Murillo-Rodriguez, Eric 1; Millan-Aldaco, Diana 2; Palomero-Rivero, Marcela 2; Mechoulam, Raphael 3; Drucker-Colin, Rene 2
[Miscellaneous Article] Behavioral Neuroscience. 122(6):1378-1382, December 2008.

(Format: HTML, PDF)

: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a constituent of Cannabis sativa that induces nonpsychotropic effects, and some of its biological actions in sleep have been described by the authors' group. Here, the authors report that when administered 10 or 20 [mu]g/1 [mu]l during the lights-on period directly into either lateral hypothalamus (LH) or dorsal raphe nuclei (DRN), which are wake-inducing brain areas, CBD enhanced wakefulness and decreased slow wave sleep and REM sleep. Furthermore, CBD increased alpha and theta power spectra but diminished delta power spectra. Additionally, CBD increased c-Fos expression in LH or DRN. These findings suggest that this cannabinoid is a wake-inducing compound that presumably activates neurons in LH and DRN.

(C) 2008 by the American Psychological Association