Cannabis use and memory brain function in adolescent boys: a cross-sectional multicenter functional magnetic resonance imaging study.
Gerry Jager, Robert I Block, Maartje Luijten, Nick F. Ramsey
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry April 14, 2010 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2010.02.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional functional MRI study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 45 |
| Population | Abstinent but frequent cannabis-using boys aged 13-19 and nonusing peers |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Prefrontal cortex Humans Marijuana abuse Magnetic resonance imaging Cross-sectional studies Marijuana smoking Association learning Memory, short-term Attention Conduct disorder Neuropsychological tests Psychometrics Image processing, computer-assisted Adolescent Male Executive function |
| Key findings | Cannabis users performed normally on working memory and associative memory tasks, but showed excessive prefrontal activity during a novel working memory task; automatization reduced activity to control levels, and no effect on associative memory brain function was found. The authors suggest this overactivity reflects functional compensation and that inefficient working memory recruitment becomes evident with continuously changing information, which they say seems to confirm the vulnerability of developing frontal lobe functioning to early-onset cannabis use. |
Abstract
Objective: Early-onset cannabis use has been associated with later use/abuse, mental health problems (psychosis, depression), and abnormal development of cognition and brain function. During adolescence, ongoing neurodevelopmental maturation and experience shape the neural circuitry underlying complex cognitive functions such as memory and executive control. Prefrontal and temporal regions are critically involved in these functions. Maturational processes leave these brain areas prone to the potentially harmful effects of cannabis use.
Method: We performed a two-site (United States and The Netherlands; pooled data) functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study with a cross-sectional design, investigating the effects of adolescent cannabis use on working memory (WM) and associative memory (AM) brain function in 21 abstinent but frequent cannabis-using boys (13-19) years of age and compared them with 24 nonusing peers. Brain activity during WM was assessed before and after rule-based learning (automatization). AM was assessed using a pictorial hippocampal-dependent memory task.
Results: Cannabis users performed normally on both memory tasks. During WM assessment, cannabis users showed excessive activity in prefrontal regions when a task was novel, whereas automatization of the task reduced activity to the same level in users and controls. No effect of cannabis use on AM-related brain function was found.
Conclusions: In adolescent cannabis users, the WM system was overactive during a novel task, suggesting functional compensation. Inefficient WM recruitment was not related to a failure in automatization but became evident when processing continuously changing information. The results seem to confirm the vulnerability of still developing frontal lobe functioning for early-onset cannabis use.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabis use before age 15 and subsequent executive functioning 104 chronic cannabis users (49 early-onset before age 15, 55 late-onset after age 15)... | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional study | n = 148 |
| Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students | 2006 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 149 |
| Persisting Reductions in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Misuse After Naturalistic Psychedelic Use: An Online Survey Online survey respondents | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study Users of hallucinogenic drugs who completed a web-based questionnaire | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 600 |
| Illicit Use of LSD or Psilocybin, but not MDMA or Nonpsychedelic Drugs, is Associated with Mystical Experiences in a Dose-Dependent Manner Adults recruited from the MAPS website and newsletter, most reporting use of various... | 2012 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 337 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 27
- The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies Pharmacology & Therapeutics October 20, 2018
- Long-term consequences of adolescent cannabinoid exposure in adult psychopathology Frontiers in Neuroscience November 10, 2014
- Cannabis use and cognitive dysfunction Indian Journal of Psychiatry 2011
- Mood Fluctuation and Psychobiological Instability: The Same Core Functions Are Disrupted by Novel Psychoactive Substances and Established Recreational Drugs Brain Sciences March 13, 2018
- Cannabis Use and Neuroadaptation: A Call for Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Challenge Studies Frontiers in Psychiatry April 14, 2022
and 22 more in the library
Cites 4
- Abstinent adolescent marijuana users show altered fMRI response during spatial working memory. Psychiatry Research May 30, 2008
- The relationship between non‐acute adolescent cannabis use and cognition Drug and Alcohol Review May 1, 2007
- Neural substrates of faulty decision-making in abstinent marijuana users. Neuroimage June 2005
- Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol effects in schizophrenia: implications for cognition, psychosis, and addiction. Biological Psychiatry March 15, 2005