Chronic cannabis users show altered neurophysiological functioning on Stroop task conflict resolution.
Robert A Battisti, Steven Roodenrys, Stuart J Johnstone, Nicole Pesa, Daniel F. Hermens, Nadia Solowij
Psychopharmacology December 2010 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-1988-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | 21 chronic cannabis users (mean 16.4 years of near-daily use) and 19 non-using controls |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Chronic cannabis users made more errors than controls on colour-incongruent Stroop trials but performed similarly on congruent and neutral trials; earlier age of onset of regular use predicted poorer incongruent performance. Users also showed altered late sustained brain potentials related to conflict resolution and different brain-behaviour relationships than controls, which the authors suggest may impair the ability to respond optimally during conflict resolution. |
Abstract
Chronic cannabis use has been related to deficits in cognition (particularly memory) and the normal functioning of brain structures sensitive to cannabinoids. There is increasing evidence that conflict monitoring and resolution processes (i.e. the ability to detect and respond to change) may be affected. This study examined the ability to inhibit an automatic reading response in order to activate a more difficult naming response (i.e. conflict resolution) in a variant of the discrete trial Stroop colour-naming task. Event-related brain potentials to neutral, congruent and incongruent trials were compared between 21 cannabis users (mean 16.4 years of near daily use) in the unintoxicated state and 19 non-using controls. Cannabis users showed increased errors on colour-incongruent trials (e.g. "RED" printed in blue ink) but no performance differences from controls on colour congruent (e.g. "RED" printed in red ink) or neutral trials (e.g. "*****" printed in green ink). Poorer incongruent trial performance was predicted by an earlier age of onset of regular cannabis use. Users showed altered expression of a late sustained potential related to conflict resolution, evident by opposite patterns of activity between trial types at midline and central sites, and altered relationships between neurophysiological and behavioural outcome measures not evident in the control group. These findings indicate that chronic use of cannabis may impair the brain's ability to respond optimally in the presence of events that require conflict resolution and hold implications for the ability to refrain from substance misuse and/or maintain substance abstention behaviours.
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 10
- Cannabis affects people differently: inter-subject variation in the psychotogenic effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with healthy volunteers Psychological Medicine October 1, 2012
- Cognitive outcomes associated with long-term, regular, recreational cannabis use in adults: A meta-analysis. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology August 1, 2020
- Different Effects of Cannabis Abuse on Adolescent and Adult Brain. Pharmacology 2020
- The Effects of Cannabinoids on Executive Functions: Evidence from Cannabis and Synthetic Cannabinoids—A Systematic Review Brain Sciences February 27, 2018
- Longitudinal Changes in Cognition in Young Adult Cannabis Users Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology October 23, 2017
and 5 more in the library
Cites 8
- Neurophysiological and subjective profile of marijuana with varying concentrations of cannabinoids Behavioural Pharmacology September 1, 2005
- Chronic use of cannabis and poor neural efficiency in verbal memory ability. Psychopharmacology May 2010
- Neurocognitive performance during acute THC intoxication in heavy and occasional cannabis users. Journal of Psychopharmacology May 2009
- Psychophysiological evidence of altered neural synchronization in cannabis use: relationship to schizotypy. American Journal of Psychiatry October 2006
- The effect of cannabis use and gender on the visual steady state evoked potential. Clinical Neurophysiology January 2006
and 3 more in the library