A new study from NYU Grossman School of Medicine has uncovered a previously unknown way that CBD, a substance found in cannabis, reduces seizures in pediatric epilepsy. The study found that CBD blocks signals carried by a molecule called lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), which can be hijacked by disease to promote seizures. LPI is thought to amplify nerve signals in the brain but the study argues for the first time that LPI also weakens signals that counter seizures. The results build on how each neuron "fires" to send an electrical pulse down an extension of itself until it reaches a synapse. The proposed vicious cycle provides one process that could explain repeated epileptic seizures.