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Investigating the interaction between schizotypy, divergent thinking and cannabis use

Gráinne Schäfer, Amanda Feilding, Celia J. A. Morgan, Maria Agathangelou, Tom P. Freeman, Valerie H. Curran

Consciousness and Cognition January 10, 2012 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2011.11.009 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Peer reviewed
Sample size 160
Population Cannabis users
Intervention cannabis
Duration Two test days (sober and intoxicated)
Topics Cannabis
Keywords Schizotypy Trait Psychosis Creativity Developmental psychology Divergent thinking Verbal fluency test Schizophrenia object-oriented programming Clinical psychology Cognition Neuropsychology
Citations 60
Key findings Acute cannabis use increases verbal fluency in low-creative individuals to the level of high-creative individuals, but does not affect high-creatives' fluency.

Abstract

Cannabis acutely increases schizotypy and chronic use is associated with elevated rates of psychosis. Creative individuals have higher levels of schizotypy, however links between cannabis use, schizotypy and creativity have not been investigated. We investigated the effects of cannabis smoked naturalistically on schizotypy and divergent thinking, a measure of creativity. One hundred and sixty cannabis users were tested on 1 day when sober and another day when intoxicated with cannabis. State and trait measures of both schizotypy and creativity were administered. Quartile splits compared those lowest (n=47) and highest (n=43) in trait creativity. Cannabis increased verbal fluency in low creatives to the same level as that of high creatives. Cannabis increased state psychosis-like symptoms in both groups and the high creativity group were significantly higher in trait schizotypy, but this does not appear to be linked to the verbal fluency change. Acute cannabis use increases divergent thinking as indexed by verbal fluency in low creatives.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on cannabis, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
High-potency cannabis and the risk of psychosis People with first episode of psychosis and healthy controls from the local population 2009 Case-control study n = 454
Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada Rural aboriginal population 2013 Observational study
Impaired cognitive performance in drug free users of recreational ecstasy (MDMA) Otherwise healthy young people 2000 Observational
Continued cannabis use and risk of incidence and persistence of psychotic symptoms: 10 year follow-up cohort study Individuals from the general population in Germany aged 14-24 at baseline 2011 Observational cohort n = 1,923
Cannabis-induced psychosis and subsequent schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: follow-up study of 535 incident cases Patients treated for cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms in Denmark between 1994 and... 2005 Observational cohort n = 535

Citations in the library

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