Regular Recreational Cannabis Users Exhibit Altered Neural Oscillatory Dynamics during Attention Reorientation
Seth D. Springer, Rachel K. Spooner, Mikki D. Schantell, Yasra Arif, Michaela R. Frenzel, Jacob A. Eastman, T. Wilson
Psychological Medicine September 22, 2021 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721002671 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 53 |
| Population | 21 regular cannabis users and 32 demographically matched non-user controls |
| Measures | modified Posner cueing task, magnetoencephalography (MEG) |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Despite similar behavioral performance, regular cannabis users showed stronger theta-band activity in bilateral inferior frontal gyri during attentional reorienting and reduced pre-stimulus spontaneous theta activity compared with non-users. The authors suggest this pattern may reflect compensatory prefrontal processing that helps users reorient attention efficiently. |
Abstract
Abstract Background Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States and is often associated with changes in attention function, which may ultimately impact numerous other cognitive faculties (e.g. memory, executive function). Importantly, despite the increasing rates of cannabis use and widespread legalization in the United States, the neural mechanisms underlying attentional dysfunction in chronic users are poorly understood.
Methods: We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a modified Posner cueing task in 21 regular cannabis users and 32 demographically matched non-user controls. MEG data were imaged in the time−frequency domain using a beamformer and peak voxel time series were extracted to quantify the oscillatory dynamics underlying use-related aberrations in attentional reorienting, as well as the impact on spontaneous neural activity immediately preceding stimulus onset.
Results: Behavioral performance on the task (e.g. reaction time) was similar between regular cannabis users and non-user controls. However, the neural data indicated robust theta-band synchronizations across a distributed network during attentional reorienting, with activity in the bilateral inferior frontal gyri being markedly stronger in users relative to controls (p's < 0.036). Additionally, we observed significantly reduced spontaneous theta activity across this distributed network during the pre-stimulus baseline in cannabis users relative to controls (p's < 0.020).
Conclusions: Despite similar performance on the task, we observed specific alterations in the neural dynamics serving attentional reorienting in regular cannabis users compared to controls. These data suggest that regular cannabis users may employ compensatory processing in the prefrontal cortices to efficiently reorient their attention relative to non-user controls.