Altered brain structural and functional connectivity in cannabis users
Najme Soleimani, Kamran Kazemi, Mohammad Sadegh Helfroush, Ardalan Aarabi
Scientific Reports April 10, 2023 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32521-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 146 |
| Population | Cannabis users and healthy controls aged 22–36 |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Cannabis users exhibited alterations in local topological properties of structural and functional brain networks, particularly in the insular, frontal opercular, and temporal cortices, while global network organization remained intact. |
Abstract
AbstractCannabis is one of the most used and commodified illicit substances worldwide, especially among young adults. The neurobiology mechanism of cannabis is yet to be identified particularly in youth. The purpose of this study was to concurrently measure alterations in brain structural and functional connectivity in cannabis users using resting-state functional magnetic resonance images (rs-fMRI) and diffusion-weighted images (DWI) from a group of 73 cannabis users (age 22–36, 19 female) in comparison with 73 healthy controls (age 22–36, 14 female) from Human Connectome Project (HCP). Several significant differences were observed in local structural/functional network measures (e.g. degree and clustering coefficient), being prominent in the insular and frontal opercular cortex and lateral/medial temporal cortex. The rich-club organization of structural networks revealed a normal trend, distributed within bilateral frontal, temporal and occipital regions. However, minor differences were found between the two groups in the superior and inferior temporal gyri. Functional rich-club nodes were mostly located within parietal and posterior areas, with minor differences between the groups found mainly in the centro-temporal and parietal regions. Regional network measures of structural/functional networks were associated with times used cannabis (TUC) in several regions. Although the structural/functional network in both groups showed small-world property, no differences between cannabis users and healthy controls were found regarding the global network measures, showing no association with cannabis use. After FDR correction, all of the significant associations between network measures and TUC were found to be insignificant, except for the association between degree and TUC within the presubiculum region. To recap, our findings revealed alterations in local topological properties of structural and functional networks in cannabis users, although their global brain network organization remained intact.
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 3
- The intersectionality of cannabis use and depression symptoms on functional brain topology in adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence April 1, 2026
- EEG-based network dynamics in cannabis and polydrug use: a directed transfer function approach. Psychopharmacology October 20, 2025
- Chronic cannabis use associated with subcortical topological reorganization of structural connectivity in adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence September 1, 2024
Cites 7
- The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies Pharmacology & Therapeutics October 20, 2018
- Subcortical Local Functional Hyperconnectivity in Cannabis Dependence Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging November 23, 2017
- Functional brain connectomes reflect acute and chronic cannabis use Scientific Reports February 14, 2022
- Aberrant structural-functional coupling in adult cannabis users. Human Brain Mapping January 2019
- Combined effects of marijuana and nicotine on memory performance and hippocampal volume. Behavioural Brain Research October 15, 2015
and 2 more in the library