New research published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience finds that daily cannabidiol (CBD) treatment may help slow cognitive decline in aging, without impairing motor skills or causing negative side effects.
Researchers from the University of Lethbridge and McGill University studied the impact of CBD in an animal model over a seven-month period. Starting at 14 months of age—roughly the equivalent of middle age in humans—mice were administered daily oral doses of CBD until they were 21 months old. They were then evaluated using a variety of cognitive and behavioral tests.
Mice that received CBD demonstrated notable improvements in memory. In the novel object recognition (NOR) task, CBD-treated mice explored new objects more consistently than control animals, indicating better long-term memory retention. Spatial memory was also enhanced: in the Morris water maze task, CBD-treated mice spent more time in the target quadrant during probe trials, suggesting better recall of the platform’s location. However, CBD had no measurable impact on motor function or balance.
At the cellular level, long-term CBD treatment reduced markers of inflammation. Astrocytosis in the hippocampus and microglial activation in the medial prefrontal cortex were both lower in CBD-treated mice. These findings align with the growing evidence that inflammation plays a key role in age-related cognitive decline.
Despite these improvements, researchers noted that CBD did not affect all brain systems. It had no measurable impact on motor coordination, contextual fear conditioning, hippocampal volume, or cholinergic neuron density in the basal forebrain. This suggests CBD may be most beneficial in targeting specific brain regions linked to memory and inflammation rather than providing broad neurological effects.
The study highlights CBD’s potential as a long-term, preventive supplement for age-related memory loss. While more research—particularly in humans—is needed, the results point to a promising role for CBD in maintaining cognitive health as the brain ages.
