Addiction
July 7, 2026
A. P. G. Donate, Janna Cousijn, Emese Kroon et al.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although many people who use cannabis report mood-enhancing effects, affective responses are thought to vary within and between individuals. This study examined the bidirectional associations between momentary affect and cannabis use and the potential moderating role of emotion regulation in this. DESIGN Intensive longitudinal observational study using experience sampling...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
April 1, 2026
Che Liu, Janna Cousijn, Emese Kroon et al.
Although behavioral and epidemiological studies demonstrate high co-morbidity between cannabis use and depression, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this relationship remain poorly understood. This study evaluated the interaction between cannabis use and depression on brain resting state functional connectivity using graph theory network properties in 223 individuals who currently...
Neuropsychopharmacology
May 2025
Janna Cousijn, Yara J Toenders, Anne Marije Kaag et al.
While Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is twice as prevalent in males, females transition more quickly from heavy use to CUD and experience more severe withdrawal. These clinically relevant sex differences contrast the lack of knowledge about the underlying brain mechanisms. This study investigated the relationship between CUD and resting-state functional brain connectivity (RSFC), assessing...
Addiction
April 1, 2024
Sammie Back, Emese Kroon, Karis Colyer-Patel et al.
AbstractBackgroundPrevalence of nitrous oxide (N2O) use appears to be increasing in numerous countries worldwide, and excessive use has been associated with physical and mental problems. Because there currently is no consensus whether N2O has addictive potential, we aimed to evaluate the evidence for the presence and prevalence of DSM‐5 substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms in N2O...
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
March 16, 2023
Claire M. Gorey, Emese Kroon, N. Runia et al.
Aims: This study experimentally tested whether there is a gateway-type effect of cannabis administration on tobacco and cocaine motivation and whether motivational responses predicted use 6 months later. Methods: A 2 (condition: active cannabis vs. placebo joint)×3 (substance stimulus type: tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine) factor within-subjects design for both implicit and explicit motivation....
Current Opinion in Psychology
July 16, 2020
Emese Kroon, Lauren Kuhns, Janna Cousijn
The aim of this review is to discuss the most recent evidence for the short-term and long-term effects of cannabis on cognition. The evidence that cannabis intoxication is associated with short-term impairment across several basal cognitive domains, including learning and (episodic) memory, attentional control, and motor inhibition is increasing. However, evidence regarding the effects of...
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
January 24, 2019
Claire M. Gorey, Lauren Kuhns, Eleni Smaragdi et al.
118 citations
The impact of cannabis on the adolescent compared to adult brain is of interest to researchers and society alike. From a theoretical perspective, adolescence represents a period of both risk and resilience to the harms of cannabis use and cannabis use disorders. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a critical examination of the moderating role of age on the relationship between...
Tracy Brown, Che Liu, Emese Kroon et al.
Abstract Background Chronic pain is one of the most common reasons for medicinal cannabis use, yet the neural mechanisms underlying cannabis-related modulation of pain remain poorly understood. Both pain and cannabis use independently alter functional connectivity within the brain’s default mode network (DMN) that modulate interoception and self-referential aspects of pain processing. The goal...
Emese Kroon, Yara J Toenders, Lauren Kuhns et al.
preprint
Background. The global increase in lenient cannabis policy has been paralleled by reduced harm perception, which has been associated with cannabis use initiation and persistent use. However, it is unclear how cultural attitudes towards cannabis use might affect the brain processes underlying cannabis use. Methods. Resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) within and between the executive...