A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies of Youth Cannabis Use: Alterations in Executive Control, Social Cognition/Emotion Processing, and Reward Processing in Cannabis Using Youth
Brain Science September 23, 2022 C. Hammond, Aliyah Allick, Grace Park et al.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 45 fMRI studies comparing 1216 adolescent cannabis users with 1486 non-using typically developing youth found differences in brain activity during cognitive and emotional tasks. Cannabis users showed greater activation in the rostral medial prefrontal cortex and reduced activation in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Differences varied by sex, severity of cannabis use disorder, psychiatric comorbidity, and length of abstinence. The authors note that whether these brain activity differences stem from pre-existing factors, cannabis-induced changes, or both requires further study.