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Saavedra MS, Thota P, Peresuodei TS, Gill A, Orji C, Reghefaoui M, Khan S. Neurocognitive Impact of Exposure to Cannabis Concentrates and Cannabinoids Including Vaping in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Cureus 2024; 16:e52362. [PMID: 38361722 PMCID: PMC10867711 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.52362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
During adolescence, significant changes unfold in the brain's maturation process. The density of white matter increases, accompanied by the pruning back of gray matter. This critical and vulnerable period becomes especially noteworthy in the context of drug use, as adolescents are extensively exposed to substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis. The concern is heightened now that cannabis has been legalized for recreational use in many places, leading to increased exposure levels. Additionally, knowledge about the impact of cannabis on neurocognitive development during this stage is limited. This knowledge gap compounds the issue, making it even more concerning. Therefore, a systematic review was carried out based on the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, using medical databases such as PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Medline, Cochrane Library, Internet Archive Scholar, and Embase-Elsevier for relevant medical literature. The identified articles were reviewed, eligibility criteria were applied, and 19 research articles were identified. The final papers explored the correlation between children's and adolescents' exposure to cannabis-containing compounds and subsequent changes in the central nervous system (CNS). Findings revealed a considerable impact, ranging from transient alterations in mood to permanent cognitive function and sensory processing changes, affecting the deterioration of the quality of life of these individuals in adulthood. Presently, most studies were conducted on animals, and the few studies on humans have considerable limitations, such as the type of study, age of the population, and small samples, among others. For this reason, it is essential for the scientific community and public health organizations, in general, to conduct more studies that demonstrate the true neurobiological impact of this drug and its accessibility to young people and, based on the results, consider its legalization or propose regulations for its use and commercialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michell S Saavedra
- Medicine, University of Cuenca, Cuenca, ECU
- Pediatrics, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Priyanka Thota
- Medicine, Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, IND
- Pediatrics, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Tariladei S Peresuodei
- Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Abhishek Gill
- Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Chijioke Orji
- Trauma and Orthopedics, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Wrexham, GBR
- Trauma and Orthopedics, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Maiss Reghefaoui
- Internal Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, HUN
- Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Safeera Khan
- Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology, Fairfield, USA
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Robinson EA, Gleeson J, Arun AH, Clemente A, Gaillard A, Rossetti MG, Brambilla P, Bellani M, Crisanti C, Curran HV, Lorenzetti V. Measuring white matter microstructure in 1,457 cannabis users and 1,441 controls: A systematic review of diffusion-weighted MRI studies. FRONTIERS IN NEUROIMAGING 2023; 2:1129587. [PMID: 37554654 PMCID: PMC10406316 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2023.1129587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cannabis is the most widely used regulated substance by youth and adults. Cannabis use has been associated with psychosocial problems, which have been partly ascribed to neurobiological changes. Emerging evidence to date from diffusion-MRI studies shows that cannabis users compared to controls show poorer integrity of white matter fibre tracts, which structurally connect distinct brain regions to facilitate neural communication. However, the most recent evidence from diffusion-MRI studies thus far has yet to be integrated. Therefore, it is unclear if white matter differences in cannabis users are evident consistently in selected locations, in specific diffusion-MRI metrics, and whether these differences in metrics are associated with cannabis exposure levels. METHODS We systematically reviewed the results from diffusion-MRI imaging studies that compared white matter differences between cannabis users and controls. We also examined the associations between cannabis exposure and other behavioral variables due to changes in white matter. Our review was pre-registered in PROSPERO (ID: 258250; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/). RESULTS We identified 30 diffusion-MRI studies including 1,457 cannabis users and 1,441 controls aged 16-to-45 years. All but 6 studies reported group differences in white matter integrity. The most consistent differences between cannabis users and controls were lower fractional anisotropy within the arcuate/superior longitudinal fasciculus (7 studies), and lower fractional anisotropy of the corpus callosum (6 studies) as well as higher mean diffusivity and trace (4 studies). Differences in fractional anisotropy were associated with cannabis use onset (4 studies), especially in the corpus callosum (3 studies). DISCUSSION The mechanisms underscoring white matter differences are unclear, and they may include effects of cannabis use onset during youth, neurotoxic effects or neuro adaptations from regular exposure to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which exerts its effects by binding to brain receptors, or a neurobiological vulnerability predating the onset of cannabis use. Future multimodal neuroimaging studies, including recently developed advanced diffusion-MRI metrics, can be used to track cannabis users over time and to define with precision when and which region of the brain the white matter changes commence in youth cannabis users, and whether cessation of use recovers white matter differences. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: 258250.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Anne Robinson
- Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - John Gleeson
- Digital Innovation in Mental Health and Well-Being Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Arush Honnedevasthana Arun
- Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Adam Clemente
- Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Alexandra Gaillard
- Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Centre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Maria Gloria Rossetti
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Brambilla
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Marcella Bellani
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Camilla Crisanti
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - H. Valerie Curran
- Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Valentina Lorenzetti
- Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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