CBD given to newborn rats did not prevent long-term anxiety caused by early pain exposure and raised some safety concerns | Research

The takeaway

In newborn rats exposed to repeated painful procedures, CBD treatment reduced some immediate vocal responses but failed to prevent increased anxiety in adulthood, and raised concerns including elevated stress hormones in adult males and reduced body weight in adult females.

Neonatal pain researchers, pediatric pharmacologists, and scientists studying CBD safety across the lifespan.

CBD failed to prevent pain-induced adult anxiety; raised adult corticosterone

What the researchers found

Neonatal pain exposure decreased ultrasonic vocalizations and increased adult anxiety-like behavior in male rats. CBD treatment also decreased vocalizations but could not rescue the pain-related anxiety increase in adulthood. CBD raised baseline corticosterone levels in adult males and decreased body weight in adult females.

Why it matters

Preterm infants undergo hundreds of painful procedures with inadequate pain management. While CBD has shown promise in adult pain, this study suggests it may not be safe or effective in the neonatal period and could have lasting developmental effects.

The numbers in context

Neonatal pain decreased USV emission. CBD decreased USV lengths and male pup USV counts. CBD failed to rescue pain-induced adult anxiety. CBD increased adult male corticosterone. CBD decreased adult female body weight.

How the study worked

Neonatal rats were exposed to repeated painful procedures with or without CBD treatment. Ultrasonic vocalizations were measured during the neonatal period. Adult anxiety-like behavior was assessed through behavioral tests. Corticosterone levels and body weight were measured in adulthood.

What this study cannot tell us

Animal study with limited translation to human neonates. Specific CBD doses and routes may not match potential clinical use. Only one dosing regimen tested. Long-term effects may differ across species.

How to read the evidence

Preliminary: single animal study with one dosing regimen testing an important but niche application.

When this study was published

Published 2026.

The bigger picture

The neonatal period is a critical developmental window where interventions can have lasting effects. This study adds caution to the enthusiasm about CBD as a pain treatment by showing that neonatal exposure may have unintended long-term consequences.

Questions still open

Would different CBD doses or timing windows be more effective and safer? Do the elevated corticosterone and reduced body weight indicate meaningful developmental disruption? Could CBD combined with other analgesics work better than CBD alone?

Common questions

Could CBD help with pain in newborns?

This rat study found CBD reduced some immediate vocal responses to pain but could not prevent the long-term anxiety that develops from neonatal pain exposure, and it caused some concerning lasting effects.

Is neonatal CBD exposure safe?

This study raised concerns: male rats given CBD as newborns had elevated stress hormones in adulthood, and female rats had reduced body weight, suggesting potential developmental effects that need further investigation.

Read the original research

Investigating Cannabidiol's Effectiveness to Mitigate the Adverse Consequences of Exposure to Neonatal Procedural Pain.

Developmental psychobiology, 68(2), e70125

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Timmerman, Brian; Honeycutt, Jennifer A; Skully, Jordan; Patel, Deep; Khan, Waris; Neagu, Alan; Baez, Eshani; Battagliese, Quinn; Brummelte, Susanne. (2026). Investigating Cannabidiol's Effectiveness to Mitigate the Adverse Consequences of Exposure to Neonatal Procedural Pain.. Developmental psychobiology, 68(2), e70125. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70125