Decoding the Neural Correlates of Social Cognition and Emotion Recognition in Cannabis Users: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Studies.
Behavioural Brain Research August 1, 2025 C. Romein, Mika Mautner-Rohde, Karis Colyer-Patel et al.
Long-term cannabis use may alter brain responses to social situations, increasing neural sensitivity to social influence while decreasing sensitivity to social exclusion, stress, and reward, according to a systematic review of 8 studies on social cognition. Findings from 21 studies on emotion recognition are inconsistent, with some showing increased and others decreased activity in the amygdala, cingulate cortex, and frontal areas in cannabis users compared to controls. The authors caution that results are preliminary due to few studies per area and methodological differences. Causal relationships and the roles of user characteristics like symptom severity, gender, and age remain unclear.