Longitudinal study of cognition among adolescent marijuana users over three weeks of abstinence.
Karen L. Hanson, Jennifer L Winward, Alecia D Schweinsburg, Krista Lisdahl Medina, Sandra A Brown, Susan F Tapert
Addictive Behaviors November 2010 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.06.012 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | Adolescent marijuana users with limited alcohol and other drug use (n=19) and demographically similar non-using controls (n=21), ages 15-19 |
| Duration | Assessments after 3 days, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks of abstinence |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Adolescence Cognition Drug effects Neuropsychology Recovery |
| Key findings | Adolescent marijuana users performed worse than controls on verbal learning, verbal working memory, and attention accuracy during early abstinence. Verbal learning improved after 2 weeks and verbal working memory after 3 weeks of abstinence, but attention accuracy deficits persisted across the full 3 weeks. The authors propose these findings may reflect hippocampal, subcortical, and prefrontal cortex abnormalities. |
Abstract
Cognitive deficits that persist up to a month have been detected among adult marijuana users, but decrements and their pattern of recovery are less known in adolescent users. Previously, we reported cognitive deficits among adolescent marijuana users after one month of abstinence (Medina, Hanson, Schweinsburg, Cohen-Zion, Nagel, & Tapert, 2007). In this longitudinal study, we characterized neurocognitive changes among marijuana-using adolescents across the first three weeks of abstinence. Participants were adolescent marijuana users with limited alcohol and other drug use (n=19) and demographically similar non-using controls (n=21) ages 15-19. Participants completed a brief neuropsychological battery on three occasions, after 3days, 2weeks, and 3weeks of stopping substance use. Abstinence was ascertained by decreasing tetrahydrocannabinol metabolite values on serial urine drug screens. Verbal learning, verbal working memory, attention and vigilance, and time estimation were evaluated. Marijuana users demonstrated poorer verbal learning (p<.01), verbal working memory (p<.05), and attention accuracy (p<.01) compared to controls. Improvements in users were seen on word list learning after 2weeks of abstinence and on verbal working memory after 3weeks. While attention processing speed was similar between groups, attention accuracy remained deficient in users throughout the 3-week abstinence period. This preliminary study detected poorer verbal learning and verbal working memory among adolescent marijuana users that improved during three weeks of abstinence, while attention deficits persisted. These results implicate possible hippocampal, subcortical, and prefrontal cortex abnormalities.
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 35
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- Effects of Cannabis Use and Subclinical ADHD Symptomology on Attention Based Tasks in Adolescents and Young Adults Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology September 22, 2018
- Verbal Memory Performance and Reduced Cortical Thickness of Brain Regions Along the Uncinate Fasciculus in Young Adult Cannabis Users Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research March 29, 2018
- The Relationship Between Cannabis, Cognition, and Schizophrenia: It’s Complicated Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2022
- The effects of naturalistic cannabis use on cognition and subjective experience in older adults with normal cognitive function Journal of Psychopharmacology November 3, 2025
and 30 more in the library
Cites 8
- Changes in hippocampal morphology and neuroplasticity induced by adolescent THC treatment are associated with cognitive impairment in adulthood. Hippocampus August 2009
- Abstinent adolescent marijuana users show altered fMRI response during spatial working memory. Psychiatry Research May 30, 2008
- Spatial working memory performance and fMRI activation interaction in abstinent adolescent marijuana users. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors December 2007
- The relationship between non‐acute adolescent cannabis use and cognition Drug and Alcohol Review May 1, 2007
- Effects of marijuana on temporal discriminations in humans. Behavioural Pharmacology March 2006
and 3 more in the library