Altered Reward Processing in Abstinent Dependent Cannabis Users: Social Context Matters
Kaeli Zimmermann, Keith M. Kendrick, Dirk Scheele et al. preprint
Cannabis-dependent men show blunted neural and behavioral responses to social reward, specifically when receiving touch from a woman compared to a man. In a study of 23 abstinent cannabis-dependent men and 24 matched non-using controls, dependent users reported less pleasure and showed reduced striatal brain activation during female (versus male) touch, with stronger alterations linked to greater lifetime cannabis exposure. Neural processing of pleasant touch itself remained intact. The findings suggest that cannabis dependence produces lasting neuroadaptations in reward processing similar to other drugs of abuse, but deficits depend on social context.