Cannabis use could affect memory
Heavy use of cannabis could reduce brain activation during memory tasks.
In a study published in JAMA Network Open, investigators analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 1,003 participants aged 22 to 36 years who completed seven cognitive tasks as part of the Human Connectome Project. Among the participants, 88 of them were heavy cannabis users, 179 of them were moderate cannabis users and 736 of them were non-cannabis users.
The investigators found that heavy lifetime use of cannabis was correlated with lower brain activation during working memory exercises compared with those who didn’t use cannabis. The decreased brain activation was most pronounced in brain regions with high densities of cannabinoid receptors, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula. Further, recent cannabis use was shown to worsen performance on working memory, episodic verbal memory and theory of mind tasks — but these associations were not significant after adjustment for race and education.
Future studies may be needed to understand how long the effects of cannabis use could last in this patient population.
Read more: JAMA Network Open
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