Exploring the relationship between frequent cannabis use, belief updating under uncertainty and psychotic-like symptoms.
Xinyi Liang, Maria-Mihaela Avram, Toni Gibbs-Dean, Edward Chesney, Dominic Oliver, Simiao Wang, Stiliyana Obreshkova, Tom Spencer, Amir Englund, Kelly Diederen
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1309868 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 101 |
| Population | Regular cannabis users and non-cannabis users |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Belief-updating Learning Online assessment Psychosis |
| Key findings | Belief updating under uncertainty was not affected by cannabis use status, but within cannabis users, frequent users showed worse performance than less frequent users. |
Abstract
Cannabis users present an important group for investigating putative mechanisms underlying psychosis, as cannabis-use is associated with an increased risk of psychosis. Recent work suggests that alterations in belief-updating under uncertainty underlie psychosis. We therefore compared belief updating under uncertainty between cannabis and non-cannabis users. 49 regular cannabis users and 52 controls completed the Space Game, via an online platform used for behavioral testing. In the task, participants were asked to predict the location of the stimulus based on previous information, under different uncertainty conditions. Mixed effects models were used to identify significant predictors of mean score, confidence, performance error and learning rate. Both groups showed decreased confidence in high noise conditions, and increased belief updating in more volatile conditions, suggesting that they could infer the degree and sources of uncertainty. There were no significant effects of group on any of the performance indices. However, within the cannabis group, frequent users showed worse performance than less frequent users. Belief updating under uncertainty is not affected by cannabis use status but could be impaired in those who use cannabis more frequently. This finding could show a similarity between frequent cannabis use and psychosis risk, as predictors for abnormal belief-updating.
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
Cites 11
- Cannabis-induced psychosis and subsequent schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: follow-up study of 535 incident cases The British Journal of Psychiatry November 30, 2005
- The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies Pharmacology & Therapeutics October 20, 2018
- Risk-thresholds for the association between frequency of cannabis use and the development of psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis Psychological Medicine March 24, 2022
- Stronger Top-Down and Weaker Bottom-Up Frontotemporal Connections During Sensory Learning Are Associated With Severity of Psychotic Phenomena Schizophrenia Bulletin December 7, 2020
- Does cannabis use predict psychometric schizotypy via aberrant salience? Schizophrenia Research April 6, 2020
and 6 more in the library