Analysis of the post-treatment social interaction test with cannabidiol in an animal model for autism

*Correspondence: [e-mail].

Abstract

Background: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed through the presence of impairments both in interaction and social communication, as well as in repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. When testing autistic-type animals, the social interaction test (SIT) is one of the most relevant and presents an adequate performance for social deficits. This consists of 3 chambers, chamber one which contains a new object never socialized with the animal under test (chamber 1), the central chamber (chamber 2) where the animal is placed at the beginning of the test and the chamber which contains a new animal unknown to the test animal (chamber 3).

Objective: To analyze the behavioral effects after treatment with Cannabidiol (CBD) on TIS in an animal model for autism.

Methods: 105 male Wistar rats that had intrauterine exposure with valproic acid or sodium chloride solution were used. After completing 27 days, they were treated for 15 days with CBD at a dosage of 30mg/kg or sesame oil (vehicle) and after the treatment period, they were submitted to TIS, where each animal remained for 10 minutes.

Results: The variables time in chambers 1, 2 and 3 and time spent socializing with a new animal and with a new object did not show significant differences in relation to the vehicle-treated non-autistic control group. When compared among themselves and not just with the non-autistic and vehicle-treated group, all groups, autistic and non-autistic, spent more time in chamber 2, to which they were exposed at the beginning of the test. When compared to the non-autistic control group, the vehicle-only autistic control group spent more time in chamber 1, but not the same amount of time in chamber 3. In addition, the vehicle-treated autistic control group spent more time in the test. interacting with the object (chamber 1), while the autistic group treated with 30mg/kg of CBD spent more time interacting with the new animal (chamber 3), which denotes that CBD was able to act on the behavior of these animals, decreasing their anxiety about the environment and the unknown. It was possible to demonstrate the autistic-like behavior induced by valproic acid through the greater time spent by the vehicle-treated autistic animals interacting with a new object, but not with an unknown animal.

Conclusion: The activity of CBDl in increasing social interaction is also demonstrated, as the animals spent more time interacting with the unknown animal.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2025