The effects of cannabis use on salience attribution: a systematic review.
Surapi Bhairavi Wijayendran, Aisling O'Neill, Sagnik Bhattacharyya
Acta Neuropsychiatrica February 2018 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2016.58 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Cognition disorders Functional neuroimaging Marijuana smoking Psychotic disorders |
| Key findings | The review reports that acute THC administration impairs immediate salience processing, and that long-term cannabis users show normal salience task performance apparently underpinned by abnormal neural processes. The authors conclude that the scarcity of research directly examining cannabis and salience processing weakens any conclusions and call for further study. |
Abstract
The relationship between cannabis use and the onset of psychosis is well established. Aberrant salience processing is widely thought to underpin many of these symptoms. Literature explicitly investigating the relationship between aberrant salience processing and cannabis use is scarce; with those few studies finding that acute tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration (the main psychoactive component of cannabis) can result in abnormal salience processing in healthy cohorts, mirroring that observed in psychosis. Nevertheless, the extent of and mechanisms through which cannabis has a modulatory effect on aberrant salience, following both acute and chronic use, remain unclear. Here, we systematically review recent findings on the effects of cannabis use - either through acute THC administration or in chronic users - on brain regions associated with salience processing (through functional MRI data); and performance in cognitive tasks that could be used as either direct or indirect measures of salience processing. We identified 13 studies either directly or indirectly exploring salience processing. Three types of salience were identified and discussed - incentive/motivational, emotional/affective, and attentional salience. The results demonstrated an impairment of immediate salience processing, following acute THC administration. Amongst the long-term cannabis users, normal salience performance appeared to be underpinned by abnormal neural processes. Overall, the lack of research specifically exploring the effects of cannabis use on salience processing, weaken any conclusions drawn. Additional research explicitly focussed on salience processing and cannabis use is required to advance our understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the association between cannabis use and development of psychosis.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effects of cannabis use on outcomes of psychotic disorders: systematic review People with psychotic disorders, as examined in 13 longitudinal studies | 2008 | Systematic review | |
| The Impact of Cannabis Use on Cognitive Functioning in Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-analysis of Existing Findings and New Data in a First-Episode Sample Patients with established schizophrenia (meta-analysis: 572) and patients with... | 2010 | Meta-analysis and cross-sectional observational study | n = 700 |
| Medicinal cannabis for psychiatric disorders: a clinically-focused systematic review | 2020 | Systematic review | |
| Neuroimaging in cannabis use: a systematic review of the literature Cannabis users and controls in neuroimaging studies | 2009 | Systematic review | |
| Human Laboratory Studies on Cannabinoids and Psychosis. Healthy human subjects and individuals with schizophrenia | 2016 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 11
- Ayahuasca blocks the reinstatement of methylphenidate-induced conditioned place preference in mice: behavioral and brain Fos expression evaluations Psychopharmacology July 16, 2020
- Acute effects of different types of cannabis on young adult and adolescent resting-state brain networks Neuropsychopharmacology May 28, 2024
- Does cannabis use predict psychometric schizotypy via aberrant salience? Schizophrenia Research April 6, 2020
- Aberrant Salience among Young Healthy Postgraduate University Students: The Role of Cannabis Use, Psychotic-Like Experiences, and Personality. Psychopathology 2022
- Cannabis Use, Schizotypy and Kamin Blocking Performance Frontiers in Psychiatry November 23, 2021
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Cites 22
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- Modulation of Mediotemporal and Ventrostriatal Function in Humans by Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Archives of General Psychiatry April 1, 2009
- Association Between Continued Cannabis Use and Risk of Relapse in First-Episode Psychosis JAMA Psychiatry September 28, 2016
- Effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on evaluation of emotional images Journal of Psychopharmacology May 13, 2012
- Effects of continuation, frequency, and type of cannabis use on relapse in the first 2 years after onset of psychosis: an observational study. The Lancet Psychiatry October 1, 2016
and 17 more in the library