Can CBD improve the way we understand and relate to others? Cannabis contains compounds that act on the brain and which, according to scientific studies, may influence our ability to understand other people's emotions, intentions and thoughts – in other words, our social cognition.
The cannabis plant has a multitude of components that are able to interact with our brain, altering how it works and therefore altering how the mind works.
The brain is responsible for a wide range of cognitive functions, but on our CBD blog we are going to focus on the effects of cannabis use on social cognition. To do so, we are joined by researcher Alberto Sainz, who holds a research master's in neuroscience and a PhD in cannabinoid psychopharmacology, and collaborates with the ICEERS foundation.
What is social cognition?
Social cognition is our ability to understand others: how they think, what they feel and why they behave as they do. It is a fundamental ability for relating to other people, and it requires a set of skills that allow us to understand, interpret and predict other people's behaviour in a social context, such as recognising emotions or understanding the intentions of others.
Two fundamental skills stand out within social cognition:
- Empathy: the ability to understand and share what another person feels. It can be cognitive (recognising emotions without feeling them), emotional (feeling what the other person feels) or compassionate (wanting to help the other person).
- Theory of mind (ToM): the ability to understand that other people have thoughts, desires, beliefs, emotions or intentions that are different from ours. It can be cognitive (recognising ideas and intentions) or affective (understanding the other person's emotions and connecting with them).
These skills are key to maintaining healthy social relationships and communicating better.
How does cannabis use influence the way we understand others?
How the brain works is still not fully understood, but little by little neuroscientists are uncovering the inner workings of this fascinating organ. One of the current areas of research is how cannabis compounds, such as THC and CBD, affect complex mental functions such as social skills.
This interest stems both from the effects observed in regular cannabis users, in whom differences have been described in how emotions are regulated and understood, and from the possible impact of the therapeutic use of cannabis on patients who do not use cannabis regularly.
How can cannabis affect the brain? Mechanism of action
Cannabinoids are the components of cannabis that interact with our endocannabinoid system (ECS), a biological system present in the brain that regulates processes such as mood, appetite, memory and pain.
The endocannabinoid system is found in brain regions such as the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, which are responsible for emotional processing.
Cannabis cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD, interact with these receptors and can modulate how these brain regions work. That is why a growing number of studies are investigating how these compounds may influence cognitive skills, including social skills, which could help to understand the role of cannabis in social cognition and its possible relationship with psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia or autism.
To assess how cannabis use affects social cognition, studies use facial expression comprehension tasks, theory of mind tests and functional neuroimaging techniques (fMRI), which make it possible to see which areas of the brain are activated during social interaction.
THC and social cognition
Some scientific studies have associated cannabis use with changes in cognitive skills related to social cognition. In general, studies that assess cannabis use tend to use cannabis with a high THC content (the psychoactive compound in cannabis) and very low (or zero) levels of other cannabinoids. The results of these studies suggest that cannabis users show lower cognitive empathy when they are under the effects of THC. The conclusion is that THC reduces cognitive empathy, that is, the ability to recognise other people's emotions, as well as reducing the processing of negative emotions (1–11).
In addition, a scientific study that used neuroimaging techniques to see which areas of the brain were activated under the effects of THC showed that THC use is associated with differences in the activation of brain areas involved in theory of mind (12), which could mean that THC alters skills such as understanding other people's thoughts, beliefs and intentions.
CBD and social cognition
As for CBD, there are very few scientific studies assessing its effects on skills related to social cognition. One of the main studies found no difference in cognitive skills during CBD use (10), while another study found that CBD improved cognitive empathy, that is, the recognition of other people's emotions, but only of positive emotions, compared with placebo (6). In addition, CBD was able to counteract the effects of THC on cognitive empathy.
One study showed that CBD helped people recognise positive emotions better and could also reduce the negative effects of THC on empathy.
Study of cannabis and social cognition in Barcelona's cannabis clubs
Recently, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study carried out in cannabis clubs in Barcelona, led by José Carlos Bouso of the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education Research and Service (ICEERS) foundation and researcher Alberto Sainz, confirmed that chronic THC use reduces emotion recognition in regular cannabis users, as well as reducing emotional empathy for negative emotions. The study also showed that THC and CBD have opposite effects on emotion recognition, with a better ability to recognise emotions when people are under the effects of CBD. The results of the study showed, for the first time, that CBD improves theory of mind skills in regular cannabis users, specifically cognitive theory of mind skills: the ability to understand what other people think, believe or want (13,14).
Conclusion: does cannabis use affect how we understand others?
According to current scientific evidence, it appears that THC reduces the ability to recognise the emotions others are feeling, as well as reducing the ability to empathise affectively with another person when the emotions are negative.
CBD appears to have opposite effects, improving the ability to recognise emotions compared with THC, and even counteracting the negative effects of THC. In addition, CBD improves the ability to understand other people's thoughts and intentions.
In short, studies show that regular cannabis users may see their social cognition skills reduced, mainly because of THC. CBD, on the other hand, may counteract this or even improve them. In any case, current studies are fairly limited, and we will have to wait for further research to reinforce the results.
References
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- Freeman D, Dunn G, Murray RM, Evans N, Lister R, Antley A, et al. How cannabis causes paranoia: using the intravenous administration of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to identify key cognitive mechanisms leading to paranoia. Schizophr Bull. 2015 Mar;41(2):391–9.
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- Woelfl T, Rohleder C, Mueller JK, Lange B, Reuter A, Schmidt AM, et al. Effects of Cannabidiol and Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Emotion, Cognition, and Attention: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Experimental Trial in Healthy Volunteers. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11:576877.
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- Sainz-Cort A, Martín-Islas M, Jimenez-Garrido D, López-Navarro M, Oña G, Muñoz-Marron E, et al. Validation of the Spanish version of the multifaceted empathy test: comparison between cannabis use effects and controls in social cognition. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2025 Mar 1;40(2):100–9.
- Sainz-Cort A, Jimenez-Garrido D, Muñoz-Marron E, Viejo-Sobera R, Heeroma J, Bouso JC. The Effects of Cannabidiol and δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Social Cognition: A Naturalistic Controlled Study. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2024 Feb;9(1):230–40.
