Prospective, longitudinal study to isolate the impacts of marijuana use on neurocognitive functioning in adolescents.
Wen Ren, Diana H Fishbein
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1048791 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective longitudinal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 529 |
| Population | Early adolescents who were substance-naïve at baseline, aged 10-12, tracked into adolescence |
| Duration | Three subsequent waves of data collection, approximately 18 months apart |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Adolescence Emotion recognition Legalization Longitudinal Marijuana use Neurocognitive functioning Substance-naïve baseline |
| Key findings | Marijuana use may be specifically related to a short-term decline in verbal learning ability and longer-term declines in emotion recognition, attention, and inhibition among adolescents who initiated use. The authors suggest these preliminary findings indicate marijuana use has the potential to adversely impact vulnerable neurodevelopmental processes during adolescence. |
Abstract
Policies to legalize possession and use of marijuana have been increasingly supported across the United States. Although there are restrictions on use in minors, many substance abuse scientists anticipate that these policy changes may alter use patterns among adolescents due to its wider availability and a softening of beliefs about its potentially harmful consequences. Despite the possibility that these policies may increase the prevalence of use among adolescents, the effects of marijuana on neurodevelopment remain unclear, clouding arguments in favor of or opposition to these policies. The present prospective, longitudinal study was designed to isolate the neurodevelopmental consequences of marijuana use from its precursors during adolescence-a period of heightened vulnerability for both substance use and disrupted development due to environmental insults. Early adolescents who were substance-naïve at baseline (N = 529, aged 10-12) were recruited and tracked into adolescence when a subgroup initiated marijuana use during one of three subsequent waves of data collection, approximately 18 months apart. Results suggest that marijuana use may be specifically related to a decline in verbal learning ability in the short term and in emotion recognition, attention, and inhibition in the longer-term. These preliminary findings suggest that marijuana use has potential to adversely impact vulnerable neurodevelopmental processes during adolescence. Intensive additional investigation is recommended given that state-level policies regulating marijuana use and possession are rapidly shifting in the absence of good scientific information.
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
Cites 9
- Cannabis use before age 15 and subsequent executive functioning The British Journal of Psychiatry May 31, 2011
- Association of Cannabis With Cognitive Functioning in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis JAMA Psychiatry June 1, 2018
- Hippocampal harms, protection and recovery following regular cannabis use. Translational Psychiatry January 12, 2016
- The impact of initiation: Early onset marijuana smokers demonstrate altered Stroop performance and brain activation. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience December 2015
- Impact of cannabis use on prefrontal and parietal cortex gyrification and surface area in adolescents and emerging adults. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience December 2015
and 4 more in the library