The short-term and long-term effects of cannabis on cognition: recent advances in the field.
Emese Kroon, Lauren Kuhns, Janna Cousijn
Current Opinion in Psychology July 16, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.07.005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Cannabis intoxication causes short-term impairment in learning, episodic memory, attentional control, and motor inhibition, but evidence for long-term cognitive effects from heavy use remains inconclusive. |
Abstract
The aim of this review is to discuss the most recent evidence for the short-term and long-term effects of cannabis on cognition. The evidence that cannabis intoxication is associated with short-term impairment across several basal cognitive domains, including learning and (episodic) memory, attentional control, and motor inhibition is increasing. However, evidence regarding the effects of long-term heavy cannabis use on cognition remains equivocal. Cannabis research suffers from difficulties in measuring cannabis exposure history, poor control over potential subacute effects, and heterogeneity in cognitive measures and sample composition. Multidisciplinary collaborations and investment in studies that help overcome these difficulties should be prioritized.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Causal association between cannabis and psychosis: examination of the evidence | 2004 | Review | |
| Cannabis sativa: A comprehensive ethnopharmacological review of a medicinal plant with a long history. General (historical and pharmacological review) | 2018 | Review | |
| Psychiatric effects of cannabis | 2001 | Review | |
| Beyond THC: The New Generation of Cannabinoid Designer Drugs | 2011 | Review | |
| Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an antipsychotic drug | 2006 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Not Just a Pot: Visual Episodic Memory in Cannabis Users and Polydrug Cannabis Users: ROC and ERP Preliminary Investigation Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 11, 2021
- Impaired mnemonic pattern separation associated with PTSD symptoms paradoxically improves with regular cannabis use npj Mental Health Research April 24, 2025
- Longer chronic cannabis use in humans is associated with impaired implicit motor learning and supranormal resting state cortical activity bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) April 21, 2025
- Validation of the Spanish version of the multifaceted empathy test: comparison between cannabis use effects and controls in social cognition International Clinical Psychopharmacology June 27, 2024
- Effects of acute Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol on behavior and the endocannabinoid system in HIV-1 Tat transgenic female and male mice Research Square December 29, 2022
and 9 more in the library
Cites 14
- Distinct Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Neural Activation During Emotional Processing Archives of General Psychiatry 2009
- Neurophysiological functioning of occasional and heavy cannabis users during THC intoxication Psychopharmacology October 5, 2011
- Reduced responsiveness of the reward system is associated with tolerance to cannabis impairment in chronic users Addiction Biology December 22, 2019
- Cannabis increases susceptibility to false memory Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences February 10, 2020
- Urinary tetrahydrocannabinol is associated with poorer working memory performance and alterations in associated brain activity. Neuropsychopharmacology February 2019
and 9 more in the library