Effects of marijuana on temporal discriminations in humans.
Lori M Lieving, Scott D Lane, Don R Cherek, Oleg V Tcheremissine
Behavioural Pharmacology March 2006 DOI: 10.1097/01.fbp.0000197458.08892.fc (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Psychophysical experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human research participants |
| Dose | 2.2% Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (low potency); 3.89% Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (high potency) |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Both low-potency (2.2% THC) and high-potency (3.89% THC) marijuana cigarettes produced a bias toward judging time intervals as long, which the authors interpret as subjective time passing more quickly during intoxication. Response latency peaked at intermediate durations and shifted similarly after marijuana administration. |
Abstract
Marijuana has been reported to alter the discrimination of time. The present study used a psychophysical approach to examine the effects of marijuana on temporal discrimination in humans. Research participants were required to push one of two buttons depending on the duration of a conditional stimulus (a blue square on a computer monitor). Correct choices ('C' button after a 2-s stimulus; 'A' button after a 4-s stimulus) resulted in an increase in session earnings of 0.12 dollars. Intermediate durations (probe stimuli between 2 and 4 s) were also presented. Psychophysical functions relating the probability of judging a duration as 'long' (4 s) as a function of actual stimulus durations were characterized by a logistic function fitted to the data. Administration of both low (1/2 placebo and 1/2 2.2% Delta (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol cigarette) and high (3.89% Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol) potency marijuana cigarettes produced a bias of judging intervals as long, consistent with an interpretation that subjective time passes more quickly when an individual is intoxicated by marijuana. Deliberation time, operationally defined as response latency, peaked on trials with sample durations that corresponded to the measure of central tendency, and shifted in a similar manner after marijuana administration. The data are consistent with other studies on the effects of marijuana on time estimation.
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 3
- Acute and Chronic Effects of Cannabinoids on Human Cognition-A Systematic Review. Biological Psychiatry April 1, 2016
- Acute Effects of THC on Time Perception in Frequent and Infrequent Cannabis Users Psychopharmacology November 24, 2012
- Longitudinal study of cognition among adolescent marijuana users over three weeks of abstinence. Addictive Behaviors November 2010
Cites 6
- Effects of THC on behavioral measures of impulsivity in humans. Neuropsychopharmacology July 2003
- The effects of cannabinoids on the brain. Progress in Neurobiology July 1999
- Cerebellar activity and disturbed time sense after THC. Brain Research June 29, 1998
- Effects of tetrahydrocannabinol content on marijuana smoking behavior, subjective reports, and performance. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior September 1989
- Cannabis, atropine, and temporal information processing. Neuropsychobiology 1984
and 1 more in the library