Telling true from false: cannabis users show increased susceptibility to false memories
Jordi Riba, Marta Valle, Frederic Sampedro, Aina Rodríguez‐pujadas, Saul Martinez-Horta, Jaime Kulisevsky, Antoni Rodríguez‐fornells
Molecular Psychiatry March 31, 2015 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2015.36 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Chronic cannabis users |
| Topics | Cannabis CBD |
| Keywords | Neurocognitive Effects of cannabis Cognition False memory Episodic memory Recall Frontal lobe Cognitive psychology Abstinence |
| Citations | 41 |
| Key findings | Abstinent cannabis users show increased susceptibility to false memories and reduced activation in brain regions involved in memory processing and cognitive control. |
Abstract
Previous studies on the neurocognitive impact of cannabis use have found working and declarative memory deficits that tend to normalize with abstinence. An unexplored aspect of cognitive function in chronic cannabis users is the ability to distinguish between veridical and illusory memories, a crucial aspect of reality monitoring that relies on adequate memory function and cognitive control. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that abstinent cannabis users have an increased susceptibility to false memories, failing to identify lure stimuli as events that never occurred. In addition to impaired performance, cannabis users display reduced activation in areas associated with memory processing within the lateral and medial temporal lobe (MTL), and in parietal and frontal brain regions involved in attention and performance monitoring. Furthermore, cannabis consumption was inversely correlated with MTL activity, suggesting that the drug is especially detrimental to the episodic aspects of memory. These findings indicate that cannabis users have an increased susceptibility to memory distortions even when abstinent and drug-free, suggesting a long-lasting compromise of memory and cognitive control mechanisms involved in reality monitoring.