Introduction: Cannabis use is associated with brain functional changes in regions implicated in prominent neuroscientific theories of addiction. Emerging evidence suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) is neuroprotective and may reverse structural brain changes associated with prolonged heavy cannabis use. In this study, we examine how an ∼10-week exposure of CBD in cannabis users affected...
Cannabis produces a broad range of acute, dose-dependent psychotropic effects. Only a limited number of neuroimaging studies have mapped these effects by examining the impact of cannabis on resting state brain neurophysiology. Moreover, how genetic variation influences the acute effects of cannabis on resting state brain function is unknown. Here we investigated the acute effects of...
Cannabis remains the most frequently used illicit drug worldwide. It produces a broad range of acute effects, such as euphoria, increased heart rate and perceptual alterations. Over the last few decades, a substantial number of experiments have been conducted to provide insight into the acute effects of cannabis on cognition. Here, we systematically review studies that investigated the impact...
Introduction: Chronic cannabis use has been associated with impaired cognition and elevated psychological symptoms, particularly psychotic-like experiences. While Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is thought to be primarily responsible for these deleterious effects, cannabidiol (CBD) is purported to have antipsychotic properties and to ameliorate cognitive, symptomatic, and brain harms in cannabis...
Cannabis use has been associated with impaired cognition during acute intoxication as well as in the unintoxicated state in long-term users. However, the evidence has been mixed and contested, and no systematic reviews of the literature on neuropsychological task-based measures of cognition have been conducted in an attempt to synthesize the findings. We systematically review the empirical...
Prolonged heavy exposure to cannabis is associated with impaired cognition and brain functional and structural alterations. We recently reported attenuated mismatch negativity (MMN) and altered P50 sensory gating in chronic cannabis users. This study investigated the extent of brain functional recovery (indexed by MMN and P50) in chronic users after cessation of use. Eighteen ex-users (median...
Disturbed reward processing in humans has been associated with a number of disorders, such as depression, addiction, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system has been implicated in reward processing in animals, but in humans, the relation between eCB functioning and reward is less clear. The current study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to...
The main reason for recreational use of cannabis is the 'high', the primary psychotropic effect of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This psychoactive compound of cannabis induces a range of subjective, physical and mental reactions. The effect on heart rate is pronounced and complicates bloodflow-based neuroimaging of psychotropic effects of THC. In this study we investigated the effects of THC...
Various lines of (pre)clinical research indicate that cannabinoid agents carry the potential for therapeutic application to reduce symptoms in several psychiatric disorders. However, direct testing of the involvement of cannabinoid brain systems in psychiatric syndromes is essential for further development. In the Pharmacological Imaging of the Cannabinoid System (PhICS) study, the involvement...