Chronic cannabis use and ERP correlates of visual selective attention during the performance of a flanker go/nogo task.
Clare Nicholls, Raimondo Bruno, Allison J Matthews
Biological Psychology September 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.07.013 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | 15 male chronic cannabis users (minimum two years of use, at least once per week) and 15 drug-naive male controls |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Cannabis use Erps Flanker Go/nogo N1 N2 Selective attention |
| Key findings | Chronic cannabis users had longer reaction times than controls with equivalent accuracy, and showed a reduced N2 'nogo effect' at frontal sites, particularly for incongruent stimuli and in the right hemisphere, suggesting differences in inhibitory processing within the executive control network. Preliminary evidence also suggested controls but not cannabis users showed N1 amplitude modulation by flanker congruency. |
Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between chronic cannabis use and visual selective attention by examining event-related potentials (ERPs) during the performance of a flanker go/nogo task. Male participants were 15 chronic cannabis users (minimum two years use, at least once per week) and 15 drug naive controls. Cannabis users showed longer reaction times compared to controls with equivalent accuracy. Cannabis users also showed a reduction in the N2 'nogo effect' at frontal sites, particularly for incongruent stimuli, and particularly in the right hemisphere. This suggests differences between chronic cannabis users and controls in terms of inhibitory processing within the executive control network, and may implicate the right inferior frontal cortex. There was also preliminary evidence for differences in early selective attention, with controls but not cannabis users showing modulation of N1 amplitude by flanker congruency. Further investigation is required to examine the potential reversibility of these residual effects after long-term abstinence and to examine the role of early selective attention mechanisms in more detail.
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 3
- Aberrant inhibitory processing in the somatosensory cortices of cannabis-users. Journal of Psychopharmacology November 2021
- Altered Fronto-Occipital Connectivity during Visual Selective Attention in Regular Cannabis Users Psychopharmacology November 25, 2020
- Cannabis-associated impairments in the fading affect bias and autobiographical memory specificity. Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2019
Cites 7
- Long-term effects of marijuana use on the brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 25, 2014
- Reversible and regionally selective downregulation of brain cannabinoid CB1 receptors in chronic daily cannabis smokers Molecular Psychiatry July 12, 2011
- An evidence based review of acute and long-term effects of cannabis use on executive cognitive functions. Journal of Addiction Medicine March 2011
- Chronic cannabis users show altered neurophysiological functioning on Stroop task conflict resolution. Psychopharmacology December 2010
- Neuroimaging of marijuana smokers during inhibitory processing: a pilot investigation. Brain research. Cognitive brain research April 2005
and 2 more in the library