Chronic cannabis use differentially modulates neural oscillations serving the manipulate versus maintain components of working memory processing.
Peihan J Huang, Jake J Son, Yasra Arif, Jason A John, Lucy K Horne, Mikki Schantell, Seth D Springer, Maggie P Rempe, Hannah J Okelberry, Abraham D Killanin, Ryan Glesinger, Anna T Coutant, Thomas Ward, Madelyn P Willett, Hallie J Johnson, Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham, Tony W Wilson
Neurobiology of Disease February 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2025.106792 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 45 |
| Population | 22 heavy cannabis users and 23 nonusers |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Meg Magnetoencephalography Short-term memory Substance use Cannabis use disorder |
| Key findings | Chronic cannabis users exhibit weaker alpha oscillations during working memory encoding but stronger oscillatory responses during memory maintenance, especially during manipulation tasks. |
Abstract
The legalization of recreational cannabis use has expanded the availability of this psychoactive substance in the United States. Research has shown that chronic cannabis use is associated with altered working memory function, however, the brain areas and neural dynamics underlying these affects remain poorly understood. In this study, we leveraged magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate neurophysiological activity in 45 participants (22 heavy cannabis users) during a numerical WM task, whereby participants were asked to either maintain or manipulate (i.e., rearrange in ascending order) a group of visually presented numbers. Significant oscillatory responses were imaged using a beamformer and subjected to whole-brain ANOVAs. Notably, we found that cannabis users exhibited significantly weaker alpha oscillations in superior parietal, occipital, and other regions during the encoding phase relative to nonusers. Interestingly, during the maintenance phase, there was a group-by-condition interaction in the right inferior frontal gyrus, left prefrontal, parietal, and other regions, such that cannabis users exhibited weaker alpha and beta oscillations relative to nonusers during maintain trials. Additionally, chronic cannabis users exhibited stronger alpha and beta maintenance responses in these same brain regions and prolonged reaction times during manipulate relative to maintain trials, while no such differences were found in nonusers. Neurobehavioral relationships were also detected in the prefrontal cortices of nonusers, but not cannabis users. In sum, chronic cannabis users exhibit weaker neural oscillations during working memory encoding but may compensate for these deficiencies through stronger oscillatory responses during memory maintenance, especially during strenuous tasks such as manipulating the to-be remembered items.
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 2
- Personality, not cognition, distinguishes chronic ayahuasca and cannabis users from non-users European Neuropsychopharmacology February 12, 2026
- Same dose, different impact: acute cannabis intoxication impairs visuospatial working memory in both sexes, with disproportionate male vulnerability Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience April 16, 2026
Cites 13
- The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies Pharmacology & Therapeutics October 20, 2018
- Theta and Alpha Oscillatory Activity During Working Memory Maintenance in Long-Term Cannabis Users: The Importance of the Polydrug Use Context Frontiers in Human Neuroscience October 18, 2021
- Chronic cannabis use alters the spontaneous and oscillatory gamma dynamics serving cognitive control. Human Brain Mapping August 1, 2024
- The neural oscillations serving task switching are altered in cannabis users. Journal of Psychopharmacology May 2024
- Altered functional connectivity and oscillatory dynamics in polysubstance and cannabis only users during visuospatial processing. Psychopharmacology April 2023
and 8 more in the library