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Long-term effects of cannabis on brain structure.

ABSTRACT: The dose-dependent toxicity of the main psychoactive component of cannabis in brain regions rich in cannabinoid CB1 receptors is well known in animal studies. However, research in humans does not show common findings across studies regarding the brain regions that are affected after long-term exposure to cannabis. In the present study, we investigate (using Voxel-based Morphometry) gray matter changes in a group of regular cannabis smokers in comparison with a group of occasional smokers matched by the years of cannabis use. We provide evidence that regular cannabis use is associated with gray matter volume reduction in the medial temporal cortex, temporal pole, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex; these regions are rich in cannabinoid CB1 receptors and functionally associated with motivational, emotional, and affective processing. Furthermore, these changes correlate with the frequency of cannabis use in the 3 months before inclusion in the study. The age of onset of drug use also influences the magnitude of these changes. Significant gray matter volume reduction could result either from heavy consumption unrelated to the age of onset or instead from recreational cannabis use initiated at an adolescent age. In contrast, the larger gray matter volume detected in the cerebellum of regular smokers without any correlation with the monthly consumption of cannabis may be related to developmental (ontogenic) processes that occur in adolescence.

SUBMITTER: Battistella G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4104335 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Long-term effects of cannabis on brain structure.

Battistella Giovanni G Fornari Eleonora E Annoni Jean-Marie JM Chtioui Haithem H Dao Kim K Fabritius Marie M Favrat Bernard B Mall Jean-Frédéric JF Maeder Philippe P Giroud Christian C

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 20140317 9

The dose-dependent toxicity of the main psychoactive component of cannabis in brain regions rich in cannabinoid CB1 receptors is well known in animal studies. However, research in humans does not show common findings across studies regarding the brain regions that are affected after long-term exposure to cannabis. In the present study, we investigate (using Voxel-based Morphometry) gray matter changes in a group of regular cannabis smokers in comparison with a group of occasional smokers matched ...[more]

PMID: 24633558

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Project description:Individuals differ in their cognitive resilience. Less resilient people demonstrate a greater tendency to vigilance decrements within sustained attention tasks. We hypothesized that a period of sustained attention is followed by prolonged changes in the organization of "resting state" brain networks and that individual differences in cognitive resilience are related to differences in post-task network reorganization. We compared the topological and spatial properties of brain networks as derived from functional MRI data (N = 20) recorded for 6 mins before and 12 mins after the performance of an attentional task. Furthermore we analysed changes in brain topology during task performance and during the switches between rest and task conditions. The cognitive resilience of each individual was quantified as the rate of increase in response latencies over the 32-minute time course of the attentional paradigm. On average, functional networks measured immediately post-task demonstrated significant and prolonged changes in network organization compared to pre-task networks with higher connectivity strength, more clustering, less efficiency, and shorter distance connections. Individual differences in cognitive resilience were significantly correlated with differences in the degree of recovery of some network parameters. Changes in network measures were still present in less resilient individuals in the second half of the post-task period (i.e. 6-12 mins after task completion), while resilient individuals already demonstrated significant reductions of functional connectivity and clustering towards pre-task levels. During task performance brain topology became more integrated with less clustering and higher global efficiency, but linearly decreased with ongoing time-on-task. We conclude that sustained attentional task performance has prolonged, "hang-over" effects on the organization of post-task resting-state brain networks; and that more cognitively resilient individuals demonstrate faster rates of network recovery following a period of attentional effort.

Dataset Information

Long-term effects of cannabis on brain structure.

Publications

Long-term effects of cannabis on brain structure.

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