Urinary tetrahydrocannabinol is associated with poorer working memory performance and alterations in associated brain activity.
Max M Owens, Shannon McNally, Tashia Petker, Michael T Amlung, Iris M. Balodis, Lawrence H Sweet, James MacKillop
Neuropsychopharmacology February 2019 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0240-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study (cross-sectional analysis within the Human Connectome Project) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,038 |
| Population | Human Connectome Project participants |
| Measures | visual N-back task, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), blood-activation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | A positive urine drug screen for THC was associated with worse working memory performance and differential brain response in working memory regions, with changes in task-positive and task-negative activation mediating this relationship. Lifetime cannabis use, age of first use, and other involvement indicators were not associated with working memory performance or brain response, which the authors interpret as suggesting short-term residual effects rather than long-term persistent effects. |
Abstract
Worldwide, cannabis is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances and cannabis use has been implicated in poorer performance in several cognitive domains, including working memory (WM). However, the neural mechanisms underlying these WM decrements are not well understood and the current study investigated the association of cannabis involvement with WM performance and associated neural activation in the Human Connectome Project (N = 1038). Multiple indicators of cannabis involvement were examined in relation to behavioral performance and brain activity in a visual N-back task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. A positive urine drug screen for tetrahydocannabinol (THC+ status), the principal psychoactive constituent in cannabis, was associated with worse WM performance and differential brain response in areas previously linked to WM performance. Furthermore, decreases in blood-activation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal in WM task-positive brain regions and increases in task-negative regions mediated the relationship between THC+ status and WM performance. In contrast, WM performance and BOLD response during the N-back task were not associated with total lifetime cannabis use, age of first use, or other indicators of involvement, suggesting that the effects of cannabis on WM were short-term residual effects, rather than long-term persistent effects. These findings elucidate differential influences of cannabis involvement on neurocognition and have significant potential implications for occupational performance in diverse settings.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabis use before age 15 and subsequent executive functioning 104 chronic cannabis users (49 early-onset before age 15, 55 late-onset after age 15)... | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional study | n = 148 |
| Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students | 2006 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 149 |
| Persisting Reductions in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Misuse After Naturalistic Psychedelic Use: An Online Survey Online survey respondents | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study Users of hallucinogenic drugs who completed a web-based questionnaire | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 600 |
| Illicit Use of LSD or Psilocybin, but not MDMA or Nonpsychedelic Drugs, is Associated with Mystical Experiences in a Dose-Dependent Manner Adults recruited from the MAPS website and newsletter, most reporting use of various... | 2012 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 337 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Infraslow Dynamic Patterns in Human Cortical Networks Track a Spectrum of External to Internal Attention. Human Brain Mapping February 15, 2025
- Chronic cannabis use differentially modulates neural oscillations serving the manipulate versus maintain components of working memory processing. Neurobiology of Disease February 1, 2025
- Effects of Cannabis Use on Neurocognition: A Scoping Review of MRI Studies Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 29, 2024
- The short-term and long-term effects of cannabis on cognition: recent advances in the field. Current Opinion in Psychology July 16, 2020
- Investigation of Psychiatric and Neuropsychological Correlates of Default Mode Network and Dorsal Attention Network Anticorrelation in Children. Cerebral Cortex December 18, 2019
Cites 4
- Sleep deprivation reduces default mode network connectivity and anti-correlation during rest and task performance Neuroimage August 19, 2011
- Association of Cannabis With Cognitive Functioning in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis JAMA Psychiatry June 1, 2018
- Acute and Chronic Effects of Cannabinoids on Human Cognition-A Systematic Review. Biological Psychiatry April 1, 2016
- Shared Predisposition in the Association Between Cannabis Use and Subcortical Brain Structure. JAMA Psychiatry October 2015