“There are several lines of evidence indicating a possible therapeutic action of cannabidiol (CBD) in schizophrenia treatment.

Studies with rodents have demonstrated that CBD reverses MK-801 effects in prepulse inhibition (PPI) disruption, which may indicate that CBD acts by improving sensorimotor gating deficits.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of CBD on a PPI learned response of capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.).

A total of seven monkeys were employed in this study. In Experiment 1, we evaluated the CBD (doses of 15, 30, 60 mg/kg, i.p.) effects on PPI. In Experiment 2, the effects of sub-chronic MK-801 (0.02 mg/kg, i.m.) on PPI were challenged by a CBD pre-treatment.

No changes in PPI response were observed after CBD-alone administration. However, MK-801 increased the PPI response of our animals.

CBD pre-treatment blocked the PPI increase induced by MK-801.

Our findings suggest that CBD’s reversal of the MK-801 effects on PPI is unlikely to stem from a direct involvement on sensorimotor mechanisms, but may possibly reflect its anxiolytic properties.”