Psychopharmacology
March 2013
Donald M Dougherty, Charles W Mathias, Michael A Dawes et al.
Marijuana is a popular drug of abuse among adolescents, and they may be uniquely vulnerable to resulting cognitive and behavioral impairments. Previous studies have found impairments among adolescent marijuana users. However, the majority of this research has examined measures individually rather than multiple domains in a single cohesive analysis. This study used a logistic regression model...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2013
Ryan Vandrey, Maxine L Stitzer, Miriam Z Mintzer et al.
Prior studies have separately examined the effects of dronabinol (oral THC) on cannabis withdrawal, cognitive performance, and the acute effects of smoked cannabis. A single study examining these clinically relevant domains would benefit the continued evaluation of dronabinol as a potential medication for the treatment of cannabis use disorders. Thirteen daily cannabis smokers completed a...
PLoS One
January 2, 2013
Giovanni Battistella, E. Fornari, A. Thomas et al.
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug, however its effects on cognitive functions underling safe driving remain mostly unexplored. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of cannabis on the driving ability of occasional smokers, by investigating changes in the brain network involved in a tracking task. The subject characteristics, the percentage of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in the joint, and...
European Psychiatry
2013
Ahmed Mhalla, L. Gassab, Lotfi Gaha et al.
Introduction: Neurological soft signs (NSS) are minor or subtle neurological signs indicating non-specific cerebral dysfunction. They have been conceptualized as neurodevelopmental markers that mediate the biological propensity for the development of psychosis. Their interaction with the environmental factors such as cannabis use remains little studied. Objective: To study the relationship...
European Psychiatry
2013
L. Gómez, A. Sabaté, A. Mané et al.
Introduction: There is a high prevalence of cannabis use among patients with psychosis. Persistent cannabis use in firstepisode psychosis affects prognosis and recovery. Understanding the reasons of cannabis use may help improve psychosis outcome. Several studies suggest that cannabis is used to ameliorate symptoms related to the disorder (self-medication hypothesis). Comparing the reasons of...
Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation
2013
Tabea Schoeler, Sagnik Bhattacharyya
Investigating the effects of cannabis use on memory function appears challenging. While early observational investigations aimed to elucidate the longer-term effects of cannabis use on memory function in humans, findings remained equivocal and pointed to a pattern of interacting factors impacting on the relationship between cannabis use and memory function, rather than a simple direct effect of...
eScholarship@McGill
2013
Clifford M. Cassidy
Introduction. La comorbidité entre les troubles psychotiques et l'abus de substances est associée à une évolution négative. Pour mieux traiter l'abus de substance dans la psychose, il est nécessaire d'identifier les facteurs spécifiques qui augmentent la prévalence de consommation de substances dans cette population, particulièrement les aspects du trouble psychotique qui pourraient exacerber...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2013
Benjamin J. Chadwick, M. L. Miller, Yasmin L. Hurd
216 citations
Cannabis use is increasingly pervasive among adolescents today, even more common than cigarette smoking. The evolving policy surrounding the legalization of cannabis reaffirms the need to understand the relationship between cannabis exposure early in life and psychiatric illnesses. cannabis contains psychoactive components, notably Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), that interfere with the...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2013
Jonathan Kenneth Burns
63 citations
The nature of the relationship between cannabis use (CU) and psychosis is complex and remains unclear. Researchers and clinicians remain divided regarding key issues such as whether or not cannabis is an independent cause of psychosis and schizophrenia. This paper reviews the field in detail, examining questions of causality, the neurobiological basis for such causality and for differential...
Pain
2013
Michael Lee, M. Ploner, K. Wiech et al.
Summary fMRI evidence suggests that delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis, targets the affective aspects of pain in humans by altering the activity and functional connections of the amygdala. Abstract Cannabis is reported to be remarkably effective for the relief of otherwise intractable pain. However, the bases for pain relief afforded by this psychotropic agent...
Substance abuse : research and treatment
2013
Anette Kjellgren, Helena Henningsson, Christophe Soussan
37 citations
Spice is a smoking mixture containing synthetic cannabinoids with psychoactive effects similar to herbal cannabis. It is sold on the Internet and has become popular among young people. The purpose of the present study was to investigate experiences of intoxication induced by Spice, as described on a Swedish internet-based discussion forum. A systematic search yielded 40 reports, which were...