Abnormal medial prefrontal cortex activity in heavy cannabis users during conscious emotional evaluation.
Michael J Wesley, Joshua A Lile, Colleen Hanlon, Linda J Porrino
Psychopharmacology March 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-4180-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 33 |
| Population | Long-term heavy cannabis users and non-cannabis-using controls |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Emotion Human Medial pfc FMRI |
| Key findings | Medial prefrontal cortex activity during conscious evaluation of emotional stimuli is significantly hypoactive in long-term heavy cannabis users compared to non-users. |
Abstract
Long-term heavy cannabis users (cannabis users) who are not acutely intoxicated have diminished subconscious neural responsiveness to affective stimuli. This study sought to determine if abnormal processing extends to the conscious evaluation of emotional stimuli. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activity as cannabis users (N = 16) and non-cannabis-using controls (N = 17) evaluated and categorized standardized International Affective Picture System (IAPS) stimuli. Individual judgments were used to isolate activity during the evaluation of emotional (i.e., emotional evaluation) or neutral (i.e., neutral evaluation) stimuli. Within- and between-group analyses were performed. Both groups judged the same stimuli as emotional and had activations in visual, midbrain, and middle cingulate cortices during emotional evaluation, relative to neutral. Within-group analyses also revealed amygdalar and inferior frontal gyrus activations in controls, but not cannabis users, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) deactivations in cannabis users, but not controls, during emotional evaluation, relative to neutral. Between-group comparisons found that mPFC activity during positive and negative evaluation was significantly hypoactive in cannabis users, relative to controls. Abnormal neural processing of affective content extends to the level of consciousness in cannabis users. The hypoactive mPFC responses observed resembles the attenuated mPFC responses found during increased non-affective cognitive load in prior research. These findings suggest that abnormal mPFC singling in cannabis users during emotional evaluation might be associated with increased non-affective cognitive load.
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
Cited by 8
- Impaired cognitive performance under psychosocial stress in cannabis-dependent men is associated with attenuated precuneus activity Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience February 26, 2020
- Impaired cognitive performance under psycho-social stress in cannabis-dependent males is mediated by attenuated precuneus activity bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) September 29, 2018
- Decoding the Neural Correlates of Social Cognition and Emotion Recognition in Cannabis Users: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Studies. Behavioural Brain Research August 1, 2025
- Effects of Cannabis Use on Neurocognition: A Scoping Review of MRI Studies Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 29, 2024
- Combining noninvasive brain stimulation with behavioral pharmacology methods to study mechanisms of substance use disorder. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023
and 3 more in the library
Cites 6
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- Chronic cannabis users show altered neurophysiological functioning on Stroop task conflict resolution. Psychopharmacology December 2010
- Chronic use of cannabis and poor neural efficiency in verbal memory ability. Psychopharmacology May 2010
- Altered affective response in marijuana smokers: an FMRI study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence November 1, 2009
- Cannabinoid Modulation of Amygdala Reactivity to Social Signals of Threat in Humans Journal of Neuroscience March 5, 2008
and 1 more in the library