Non-Dependent and Dependent Daily Cannabis Users Differ in Mental Health but Not Prospective Memory Ability
Ruth Braidwood, Samantha Mansell, Jon Waldron, Peter G. Rendell, Sunjeev K. Kamboj, Helen Valerie Curran
Frontiers in Psychiatry March 27, 2018 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00097 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional study with an experimental manipulation Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 54 |
| Population | Young near-daily cannabis users (18 dependent, 18 non-dependent) and 18 non-using controls |
| Intervention | Future event simulation (FES) |
| Measures | Virtual Week, immediate and delayed prose recall, phonemic and category fluency, Spot-the-Word test, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), O-LIFE: Unusual Experiences subscale |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | No group differences appeared in prospective memory performance on the Virtual Week, and future event simulation did not improve performance in any group. Dependent cannabis users scored higher on depression, anxiety, and schizotypy than both other groups, while non-dependent users scored similarly to controls. The authors suggest that when carefully matched on baseline variables, young near-daily cannabis users do not differ from non-using controls in prospective memory. |
Abstract
Research suggests that daily cannabis users have impaired memory for past events, but it is not clear whether they are also impaired in prospective memory (PM) for future events. The present study examined prospective memory in daily cannabis users who were either dependent (n = 18) or non-dependent (n = 18), and compared them with non-using controls (n = 18). The effect of future event simulation (FES) on PM performance was also examined. Participants were matched across groups on age, gender, and highest level of education. The Virtual Week was used to objectively assess PM abilities, both at baseline and following FES. Other measures used were: cannabis use variables, immediate and delayed prose recall, phonemic and category fluency, Spot-the-Word test (pre-morbid intelligence), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and a measure of schizotypy (O-LIFE: Unusual Experiences subscale). No group differences were found in PM performance on the Virtual Week, and FES did not improve PM performance in any group. Dependent cannabis users scored higher on depression, anxiety and schizotypy than both other groups with non-dependent cannabis users scoring at a similar level to controls. There were no group differences in alcohol use. Findings suggest that when carefully matched on baseline variables, and not differing in premorbid IQ or alcohol use, young, near-daily cannabis users do not differ from non-using controls in PM performance.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoked Cannabis' Psychomotor and Neurocognitive Effects in Occasional and Frequent Smokers Occasional (<2x/week) and frequent (≥4x/week) cannabis smokers | 2015 | Controlled within-subjects study | n = 25 |
| Dissociable effects of cannabis with and without cannabidiol on the human brain’s resting-state functional connectivity Healthy volunteers experienced with cannabis but not regular users | 2019 | Within-subjects experimental design | n = 17 |
| Which biological and self-report measures of cannabis use predict cannabis dependency and acute psychotic-like effects? Young cannabis users | 2018 | Observational study (naturalistic, within-subject counterbalanced design) | n = 410 |
| Cannabis Essential Oil: A Preliminary Study for the Evaluation of the Brain Effects Healthy volunteers | 2018 | Experimental study | n = 5 |
| Coming off cannabis: a cognitive and magnetic resonance imaging study in patients with multiple sclerosis Patients with multiple sclerosis who began using cannabis after disease onset, used it... | 2019 | Quasi-experimental study with odd-even allocation | n = 40 |
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- Ecstasy use and higher-level cognitive functions: weak effects of ecstasy after control for potential confounds Psychological Medicine September 1, 2008
- Cannabis‐related deficits in real‐world memory Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental March 1, 2012
- Continued versus discontinued cannabis use in patients with psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry March 1, 2016