Prenatal broad-spectrum cannabidiol administration prevents an autism-like phenotype in male offspring from a maternal stress/terbutaline rat model

Recently, the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased from 1 in 150 to every 1 in 36 children in the United States, warranting a need for novel prevention and therapeutic strategies. Broad-spectrum cannabidiol oil, free from delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis, may be one such therapeutic. It has a high safety profile and is frequently used as a complementary and integrative intervention by persons experiencing symptoms of anxiety, stress, and inflammation. Using a neurodevelopmental rat model of ASD (based on neuroinflammation induced by stress and terbutaline exposure during pre- and postnatal development), we sought to prevent the development of ASD-like behaviors in male offspring by administering broad-spectrum cannabidiol oil to dams throughout pregnancy (10 mg/kg, i.p., daily, embryonic days 3–16). To assess an ASD-like phenotype in the offspring, we used three behavioral measures relevant to three core ASD symptoms: 1) social communication (time spent vocalizing when alone); 2) repetitive behavior (marbles buried during a marble burying test); and 3) social interaction (time spent interacting with a novel conspecific during the three-chamber social interaction test). Broad-spectrum cannabidiol oil given during pregnancy decreased scores for all three ASD-related behavioral responses, resulting in an overall significant prevention of the ASD-like phenotype. These findings highlight the potential of broad-spectrum cannabidiol oil as a complementary and integrative approach for prevention of stressor-induced sequelae relevant to development of an ASD-like phenotype.