Brain reactivity to alcohol and cannabis marketing during sobriety and intoxication
Elizabeth B. de Sousa Fernandes Perna, Eef Lien Theunissen, Kim P. C. Kuypers, Elisabeth A. T. Evers, Peter Stiers, Stefan W. Toennes, Jurriaan Witteman, Wim E. van Dalen, Johannes Gerardus Ramaekers
Addiction Biology January 14, 2016 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12351 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Mixed factorial experimental study with functional magnetic resonance imaging Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 61 |
| Population | Heavy alcohol users (n=20), regular cannabis users (n=21), and non-drug-using controls (n=20) |
| Interventions | Alcohol Cannabis Placebo Alcohol and cannabis marketing movies |
| Measures | functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), single-category implicit association test |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Citations | 24 |
| Key findings | Alcohol and cannabis marketing movies significantly increased striatal BOLD activation across all groups while sober, but striatal activation decreased during intoxication with alcohol and cannabis. Implicit associations with cannabis marketing cues were significantly more positive in alcohol and cannabis users than in non-drug-using controls. The authors argue that reducing marketing would reduce brain exposure to reward cues that motivate substance use. |
Abstract
Drugs of abuse stimulate striatal dopamine release and activate reward pathways. This study examined the impact of alcohol and cannabis marketing on the reward circuit in alcohol and cannabis users while sober and intoxicated. It was predicted that alcohol and cannabis marketing would increase striatal activation when sober and that reward sensitivity would be less during alcohol and cannabis intoxication. Heavy alcohol (n = 20) and regular cannabis users (n = 21) participated in a mixed factorial study involving administration of alcohol and placebo in the alcohol group and cannabis and placebo in the cannabis group. Non-drug users (n = 20) served as between group reference. Brain activation after exposure to alcohol and cannabis marketing movies was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging and compared between groups while sober and compared with placebo while intoxicated. Implicit alcohol and cannabis cognitions were assessed by means of a single-category implicit association test. Alcohol and cannabis marketing significantly increased striatal BOLD activation across all groups while sober. Striatal activation however decreased during intoxication with alcohol and cannabis. Implicit associations with cannabis marketing cues were significantly more positive in alcohol and cannabis users as compared with non-drug using controls. Public advertising of alcohol or cannabis use elicits striatal activation in the brain's reward circuit. Reduction of marketing would reduce brain exposure to reward cues that motivate substance use. Conversely, elevated dopamine levels protect against the reinforcing potential of marketing.
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 4
- Cannabis Use and Neuroadaptation: A Call for Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Challenge Studies Frontiers in Psychiatry April 14, 2022
- Systematic review of structural and functional neuroimaging studies of cannabis use in adolescence and emerging adulthood: evidence from 90 studies and 9441 participants. Neuropsychopharmacology April 2022
- The why behind the high: determinants of neurocognition during acute cannabis exposure. Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 1, 2021
- A systematic review of neuroimaging and acute cannabis exposure in age-of-risk for psychosis Translational Psychiatry April 13, 2021