Cerebellar activity and disturbed time sense after THC.
R J Mathew, W H Wilson, T G Turkington, R E Coleman
Brain Research June 29, 1998 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-8993(98)00375-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 46 |
| Population | 46 volunteers |
| Intervention | delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) |
| Measures | positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | THC infusion significantly increased cortical and cerebellar blood flow in 46 volunteers, though not all subjects showed this effect. Participants whose cerebellar blood flow decreased also had a significant alteration in time sense, a link the authors note is of interest given the cerebellum's proposed role in an internal timing system. |
Abstract
Because marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug, its effects on the brain function are of major interest. We utilized positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) infusion on brain blood flow and its behavioral correlates in 46 volunteers. Consistent with previous reports, there was a significant increase in cortical and cerebellar blood flow following THC, but not all subjects showed this effect. Those who showed a decrease in cerebellar CBF also had a significant alteration in time sense. The relationship between decreased cerebellar flow and impaired time sense is of interest because the cerebellum has been linked to an internal timing system.
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
Cited by 23
- Distinct Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Neural Activation During Emotional Processing Archives of General Psychiatry 2009
- Gone to Pot – A Review of the Association between Cannabis and Psychosis Frontiers in Psychiatry May 22, 2014
- The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies Pharmacology & Therapeutics October 20, 2018
- Neuroimaging in cannabis use: a systematic review of the literature Psychological Medicine July 23, 2009
- Evidence for involvement of the insula in the psychotropic effects of THC in humans: a double-blind, randomized pharmacological MRI study The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology April 14, 2011
and 18 more in the library