BIO

I am a Senior Biology Major at Florida State University. I am in a research lab in the Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Biophysics, at FSU. In this lab, we are using mice to study olfaction and neuron excitability. I am working on my Honors in The Major thesis, where I am looking at the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties of CBD in the olfactory system of mice.

After my undergraduate studies, I hope to get into a PhD program studying neuroscience. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than the pursuit of scientific knowledge and discovery. Being involved in undergraduate research at FSU has solidified my love for science, and made it clear for me that I want to pursue a career in scientific research.

The Therapeutic Potential of Cannabidiol

Abstract

As the medicalization of marijuana occurs across the United States, the main non-psychoactive component of the marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), has gained recognition for its therapeutic potential. CBD has been marketed to treat an array of illnesses, notably anxiety. Given the accessibility of CBD, and that anxiety is the most common type of mental illness in the United States, our objective was to access the therapeutic potential of acute administration of CBD. Our methods employed two-month-old Kv1.3-/- (KO) anxiety prone mice, or wildtype (WT) mice. The mice were behaviorally assessed using five tasks. Mice were dosed daily, 30 minutes prior to performing a behavioral test. Mice of both sexes were separated into cohorts in which they were designated to receive an intraperitoneal injection of drug (CBD = 10 or 20 mg/kg) or vehicle solution at equivalent volume. The tests showed CBD decreased obsessive compulsive behavior in male but not female mice, and the required dose to produce this behavior was higher for the KO mice. In one of the tests CBD lessened anxiety for both sexes, yet females required a lower CBD dose than males in WT mice; in KO mice, CBD was angiogenic rather than anxiolytic for both sexes. In another test, female KO mice became angiogenic to CBD. In conclusion, there is a sex-dependent, genotype-dependent, and dose-dependent effect of CBD on anxiety behaviors. My future studies will explore the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective therapeutic properties of CBD in the olfactory system of mice.

Keywords: Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Behavior, CBD, Cannabinoids