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Hall D, Lawn W, Ofori S, Trinci K, Borissova A, Mokrysz C, Petrilli K, Bloomfield MAP, Wall MB, Freeman TP, Curran HV. The acute effects of cannabis, with and without cannabidiol, on attentional bias to cannabis related cues: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:1125-1134. [PMID: 38416223 PMCID: PMC11106134 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06543-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE Attentional bias to drug-related stimuli is hypothesised to contribute towards addiction. However, the acute effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on attentional bias to cannabis cues, the differential response in adults and adolescents, and the moderating effect of cannabidiol (CBD) are unknown. OBJECTIVES Our study investigated (1) the acute effects of vaporised cannabis on attentional bias to cannabis-related images in adults and adolescents and (2) the moderating influences of age and CBD. METHODS We conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study where three weight-adjusted vaporised cannabis preparations: 'THC' (8 mg THC for a 75-kg person), 'THC + CBD' (8 mg THC and 24 mg CBD for a 75-kg person) and PLA (matched placebo). Cannabis was administered on 3 separate days to 48 participants, who used cannabis 0.5-3 days/week: 24 adolescents (12 females, aged 16-17) and 24 adults (12 females, aged 26-29). Participants completed a visual probe task with cannabis cues. Our primary outcome was attentional bias to cannabis stimuli, measured using the differential reaction time to a cannabis vs. neutral probe, on 200-ms trials. RESULTS In contrast to hypotheses, attention was directed away from cannabis cues on placebo, and there was a main effect of the drug (F(2,92) = 3.865, p = 0.024, η2p = 0.077), indicating THC administration eliminated this bias. There was no significant impact of CBD nor an age-by-drug interaction. CONCLUSIONS Acute THC intoxication eliminated attentional bias away from cannabis cues. There was no evidence of differential response in adolescents compared to adults and no evidence that a moderate vaporised dose of CBD altered the impact of cannabis on attentional bias. TRIAL REGISTRATION This study was listed with the US National Library of Medicine and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, URL: Do Adolescents and Adults Differ in Their Acute Response to Cannabis?-Full Text View-ClinicalTrials.gov, registration number: NCT04851392.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Hall
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- Daniel Hall, Springfield University Hospital, 15 Springfield Drive, London, SW17 0YF, UK
| | - Will Lawn
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, UK
| | - Shelan Ofori
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Katie Trinci
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Anya Borissova
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, UK
- NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, University College Hospital, London, UK
| | - Claire Mokrysz
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kat Petrilli
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, London, UK
| | - Michael A P Bloomfield
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, University College Hospital, London, UK
- Translational Psychiatry Research Group, Research Department of Mental Health Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
| | - Matthew B Wall
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- Invicro London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
| | - Tom P Freeman
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, London, UK
| | - H Valerie Curran
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
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Cousijn J, Mies G, Runia N, Derksen M, Willuhn I, Lesscher H. The impact of age on olfactory alcohol cue-reactivity: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in adolescent and adult male drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2023; 47:668-677. [PMID: 36855285 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is marked not only by rapid surges in the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) but also by remarkable recovery rates, as most adolescent-onset AUDs naturally resolve over time. Little is known about the differential vulnerability of adolescents and adults. Therefore, this study aimed to unravel the moderating role of age by comparing neural alcohol cue-reactivity, an important AUD biomarker, between low-to-high beer-drinking adolescent (n = 50, 16 to 18 years), and adult (n = 51, 30 to 35 years) males matched on drinking severity. METHODS Associations between beer odor-induced brain activity and AUD diagnosis, severity of alcohol use-related problems, recent alcohol use, binge-drinking frequency, and task-induced craving were investigated across and between age groups in regions of interest thought to be central in alcohol cue-reactivity: the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and striatal subregions (nucleus accumbens and caudate putamen). These analyses were complemented by exploratory whole-brain analyses. RESULTS Pre-task beer craving increased pre-to-post task in adolescents only. Individual differences in alcohol use, binge drinking, and craving did not relate to beer odor-induced activity. Although region-of-interest analyses did not reach significance, whole-brain analyses showed that adolescents with AUD, compared with adolescents without AUD and adults with AUD, had higher beer odor-induced activity in a large mesocorticolimbic cluster encompassing the right caudate, nucleus accumbens, orbitofrontal cortex, and the olfactory sulcus. Activity in the right caudate and putamen was positively associated with the severity of alcohol use-related problems in adolescents but negatively associated in adults. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a differential role of alcohol cue-reactivity in adolescents compared with adults with AUD and highlight the need for further studies investigating the role of age in the fundamental processes underlying the development of and recovery from of AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Cousijn
- Neuroscience of Addiction (NofA) Lab, Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gabry Mies
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Nora Runia
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maik Derksen
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ingo Willuhn
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi Lesscher
- Unit Animals in Science and Society, Division of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Age-related differences in the effect of chronic alcohol on cognition and the brain: a systematic review. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:345. [PMID: 36008381 PMCID: PMC9411553 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02100-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is an important developmental period associated with increased risk for excessive alcohol use, but also high rates of recovery from alcohol use-related problems, suggesting potential resilience to long-term effects compared to adults. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the current evidence for a moderating role of age on the impact of chronic alcohol exposure on the brain and cognition. We searched Medline, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Library databases up to February 3, 2021. All human and animal studies that directly tested whether the relationship between chronic alcohol exposure and neurocognitive outcomes differs between adolescents and adults were included. Study characteristics and results of age-related analyses were extracted into reference tables and results were separately narratively synthesized for each cognitive and brain-related outcome. The evidence strength for age-related differences varies across outcomes. Human evidence is largely missing, but animal research provides limited but consistent evidence of heightened adolescent sensitivity to chronic alcohol's effects on several outcomes, including conditioned aversion, dopaminergic transmission in reward-related regions, neurodegeneration, and neurogenesis. At the same time, there is limited evidence for adolescent resilience to chronic alcohol-induced impairments in the domain of cognitive flexibility, warranting future studies investigating the potential mechanisms underlying adolescent risk and resilience to the effects of alcohol. The available evidence from mostly animal studies indicates adolescents are both more vulnerable and potentially more resilient to chronic alcohol effects on specific brain and cognitive outcomes. More human research directly comparing adolescents and adults is needed despite the methodological constraints. Parallel translational animal models can aid in the causal interpretation of observed effects. To improve their translational value, future animal studies should aim to use voluntary self-administration paradigms and incorporate individual differences and environmental context to better model human drinking behavior.
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