Psychopharmacology
May 11, 2026
Gabrielle Abbott, Lisa-Marie Greenwood, Jessica G. Bartschi et al.
Abstract Introduction The regular consumption of cannabis has been associated with changes in cognition. However it is unclear how cognitive performance changes over time with continued cannabis use and whether cognitive alterations predate the onset of cannabis use. We conducted a narrative review of longitudinal observational naturalistic studies of cognition in people who use cannabis....
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
July 26, 2023
Valentina Lorenzetti, Eugene McTavish, Samantha J Broyd et al.
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...
The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry
March 22, 2022
Deepak C. D’Souza, Marta DiForti, Suhas Ganesh et al.
Abstract Objectives The liberalisation of cannabis laws, the increasing availability and potency of cannabis has renewed concern about the risk of psychosis with cannabis. Methods The objective of the WFSBP task force was to review the literature about this relationship. Results Converging lines of evidence suggest that exposure to cannabis increases the risk for psychoses ranging from...
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
March 1, 2018
Nadia Solowij, Samantha J Broyd, Camilla Beale et al.
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...
Biological Psychiatry
April 1, 2016
Samantha J Broyd, Hendrika H Van Hell, Camilla Beale et al.
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...
Journal of Neural Transplantation and Plasticity
February 25, 2016
Samantha J Broyd, L. Greenwood, Hendrika H Van Hell et al.
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...
Translational Psychiatry
January 12, 2016
Murat Yücel, Valentina Lorenzetti, Chao Suo et al.
Shifting policies towards legalisation of cannabis for therapeutic and recreational use raise significant ethical issues for health-care providers seeking evidence-based recommendations. We investigated whether heavy cannabis use is associated with persistent harms to the hippocampus, if exposure to cannabidiol offers protection, and whether recovery occurs with abstinence. To do this, we...
Current Pharmaceutical Design
2014
Valentina Lorenzetti, Nadia Solowij, Alex Fornito et al.
Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, though it is unclear whether its regular use is associated with persistent alterations in brain morphology. This review examines evidence from human structural neuroimaging investigations of regular cannabis users and focuses on achieving three main objectives. These include examining whether the literature to date provides evidence that...
Psychopharmacology
December 2010
Robert A Battisti, Steven Roodenrys, Stuart J Johnstone et al.
Chronic cannabis use has been related to deficits in cognition (particularly memory) and the normal functioning of brain structures sensitive to cannabinoids. There is increasing evidence that conflict monitoring and resolution processes (i.e. the ability to detect and respond to change) may be affected. This study examined the ability to inhibit an automatic reading response in order to...
Substance Use & Misuse
September 2010
Valentina Lorenzetti, Dan I Lubman, Sarah Whittle et al.
In animal studies, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been found to affect brain morphology, particularly within areas rich in cannabinoid receptors (e.g., hippocampus, cerebral cortex). While cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, there has been limited work investigating its effects on human brain tissue. In this paper, we conducted a systematic review of existing...
Schizophrenia Bulletin
July 25, 2010
Murat Yücel, Emre Bora, Dan Ian Lubman et al.
256 citations
Cannabis use is highly prevalent among people with schizophrenia, and coupled with impaired cognition, is thought to heighten the risk of illness onset. However, while heavy cannabis use has been associated with cognitive deficits in long-term users, studies among patients with schizophrenia have been contradictory. This article consists of 2 studies. In Study I, a meta-analysis of 10 studies...
Psychopharmacology
May 2010
Robert A Battisti, Steven Roodenrys, Stuart J Johnstone et al.
The endogenous cannabinoid system is sensitive to the introduction of exogenous cannabinoids such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which are known to impact upon memory functioning. We sought to examine the impact of chronic cannabis use upon memory-related brain function via examination of the subsequent memory effect (SME) of the event-related potential (ERP). The SME is predictive of recall...
British Journal of Addiction
August 1, 1992
Nadia Solowij, Wayne Hall, Nicole Lee
417 citations
Abstract ‘Ecstasy’ (3,4‐methylenedioxymethampketamine or MDMA) is a recreational drug that is gaining popularity world wide. There is a paucity of research regarding the ways in which Ecstasy is used and the nature of its effects. A ‘snowball’ peer network technique was used to recruit 100 users who completed anonymous questionnaires. The research revealed that Ecstasy is primarily used by...