Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
June 3, 2026
Isabella Goodwin, Dominic Oliver, Edward Chesney et al.
Global shifts towards the liberalisation of cannabis policies have increased the potency of cannabis products, alongside their accessibility, diversity, and the number of inexperienced cannabis consumers. There is a lack of systematic evidence on the subjective effects of cannabis' main psychoactive compound, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). We systematically reviewed and meta-analysed data from...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
June 5, 2025
Ekaterina Shatalina, Natalie Ertl, Kat Petrilli et al.
1 citation
preprint
Abstract Background Cannabis is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances in the world and is increasingly investigated as a treatment for neuropsychiatric conditions. Cannabis contains delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is thought to underlie its main psychoactive effects, and cannabidiol (CBD), which has been proposed to modulate the effects of THC on the brain. Both have...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
February 1, 2025
Martine Skumlien, Tom P. Freeman, Daniel L. Hall et al.
Abstract Background Cannabis, and its main psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), may alter the brain’ s reward system both acutely and over time. The endocannabinoid and reward systems mature during adolescence and adolescents may therefore respond differently to acute cannabis exposure compared with adults. Despite this, no previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)...
Neuropsychopharmacology
May 28, 2024
Natalie Ertl, Tom P. Freeman, Claire Mokrysz et al.
19 citations
Adolescence is a time of rapid neurodevelopment and the endocannabinoid system is particularly prone to change during this time. Cannabis is a commonly used drug with a particularly high prevalence of use among adolescents. The two predominant phytocannabinoids are Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), which affect the endocannabinoid system. It is unknown whether this...
Psychopharmacology
February 28, 2024
Daniel L. Hall, Will Lawn, Shelan Ofori et al.
5 citations
RATIONALE: Attentional bias to drug-related stimuli is hypothesised to contribute towards addiction. However, the acute effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on attentional bias to cannabis cues, the differential response in adults and adolescents, and the moderating effect of cannabidiol (CBD) are unknown. OBJECTIVES: Our study investigated (1) the acute effects of vaporised cannabis on...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
July 29, 2023
Natalie Ertl, Will Lawn, Claire Mokrysz et al.
17 citations
BACKGROUND/AIM: Cannabis use is highly prevalent in adolescents; however, little is known about its effects on adolescent brain function. METHOD: = 70, 35 adolescents/35 adults). Pre-registered analyses examined the connectivity of seven major cortical and sub-cortical brain networks (default mode network, executive control network (ECN), salience network, hippocampal network and three striatal...
Addiction
February 8, 2023
Will Lawn, Katie Trinci, Claire Mokrysz et al.
36 citations
Abstract Background and Aims Long‐term harms of cannabis may be exacerbated in adolescence, but little is known about the acute effects of cannabis in adolescents. We aimed to (i) compare the acute effects of cannabis in adolescent and adult cannabis users and (ii) determine if cannabidiol (CBD) acutely modulates the effects of delta‐9‐tetrahydocannabinol (THC). Design Randomised, double‐blind,...
Pharmacology & Therapeutics
October 20, 2018
Michael Bloomfield, Chandni Hindocha, Sebastian F Green et al.
236 citations
receptor. Acutely, cannabis and THC produce a range of effects on several neurocognitive and pharmacological systems. These include effects on executive, emotional, reward and memory processing via direct interactions with the endocannabinoid system and indirect effects on the glutamatergic, GABAergic and dopaminergic systems. Cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid found in some forms of...