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Ertl N, Lawn W, Mokrysz C, Freeman TP, Alnagger N, Borissova A, Fernandez-Vinson N, Lees R, Ofori S, Petrilli K, Trinci K, Viding E, Curran HV, Wall MB. Associations between regular cannabis use and brain resting-state functional connectivity in adolescents and adults. J Psychopharmacol 2023; 37:904-919. [PMID: 37515469 DOI: 10.1177/02698811231189441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM Cannabis use is highly prevalent in adolescents; however, little is known about its effects on adolescent brain function. METHOD Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used in matched groups of regular cannabis users (N = 70, 35 adolescents: 16-17 years old, 35 adults: 26-29 years old) and non-regular-using controls (N = 70, 35 adolescents/35 adults). Pre-registered analyses examined the connectivity of seven major cortical and sub-cortical brain networks (default mode network, executive control network (ECN), salience network, hippocampal network and three striatal networks) using seed-based analysis methods with cross-sectional comparisons between user groups and age groups. RESULTS The regular cannabis use group (across both age groups), relative to controls, showed localised increases in connectivity only in the ECN analysis. All networks showed localised connectivity differences based on age group, with the adolescents generally showing weaker connectivity than adults, consistent with the developmental effects. Mean connectivity across entire network regions of interest (ROIs) was also significantly decreased in the ECN in adolescents. However, there were no significant interactions found between age group and user group in any of the seed-based or ROI analyses. There were also no associations found between cannabis use frequency and any of the derived connectivity measures. CONCLUSION Regular cannabis use is associated with changes in connectivity of the ECN, which may reflect allostatic or compensatory changes in response to regular cannabis intoxication. However, these associations were not significantly different in adolescents compared to adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Ertl
- Invicro London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
| | - Will Lawn
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Addictions, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Claire Mokrysz
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tom P Freeman
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Naji Alnagger
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Anna Borissova
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | | | - Rachel Lees
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Shelan Ofori
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kat Petrilli
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Katie Trinci
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Essi Viding
- Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology Research Department, University College London, London, UK
| | - H Valerie Curran
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Matthew B Wall
- Invicro London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
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Skumlien M, Freeman TP, Hall D, Mokrysz C, Wall MB, Ofori S, Petrilli K, Trinci K, Borissova A, Fernandez-Vinson N, Langley C, Sahakian BJ, Curran HV, Lawn W. The Effects of Acute Cannabis With and Without Cannabidiol on Neural Reward Anticipation in Adults and Adolescents. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging 2023; 8:219-229. [PMID: 36642667 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescents may respond differently to cannabis than adults, yet no previous functional magnetic resonance imaging study has examined acute cannabis effects in this age group. In this study, we investigated the neural correlates of reward anticipation after acute exposure to cannabis in adolescents and adults. METHODS This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover experiment. Forty-seven adolescents (n = 24, 12 females, ages 16-17 years) and adults (n = 23, 11 females, ages 26-29 years) matched on cannabis use frequency (0.5-3 days/week) completed the Monetary Incentive Delay task during functional magnetic resonance imaging after inhaling cannabis with 0.107 mg/kg Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol ("THC") (8 mg THC for a 75-kg person) or with THC plus 0.320 mg/kg cannabidiol ("THC+CBD") (24 mg CBD for a 75-kg person), or placebo cannabis. We investigated reward anticipation activity with whole-brain analyses and region of interest analyses in the right and left ventral striatum, right and left anterior cingulate cortex, and right insula. RESULTS THC reduced anticipation activity compared with placebo in the right (p = .005, d= 0.49) and left (p = .003, d = 0.50) ventral striatum and the right insula (p = .01, d = 0.42). THC+CBD reduced activity compared with placebo in the right ventral striatum (p = .01, d = 0.41) and right insula (p = .002, d = 0.49). There were no differences between "THC" and "THC+CBD" conditions and no significant drug by age group interaction effect, supported by Bayesian analyses. There were no significant effects in the whole-brain analyses. CONCLUSIONS In weekly cannabis users, cannabis suppresses the brain's anticipatory reward response to money, and CBD does not modulate this effect. Furthermore, the adolescent reward circuitry is not differentially sensitive to acute effects of cannabis on reward anticipation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martine Skumlien
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Tom P Freeman
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Addiction and Mental Health Group, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Hall
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Mokrysz
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew B Wall
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Invicro, London, United Kingdom; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shelan Ofori
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kat Petrilli
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Addiction and Mental Health Group, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Katie Trinci
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Borissova
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Natalia Fernandez-Vinson
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Christelle Langley
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara J Sahakian
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - H Valerie Curran
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Will Lawn
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Clinical Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Addictions, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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Lawn W, Fernandez-Vinson N, Mokrysz C, Hogg G, Lees R, Trinci K, Petrilli K, Borissova A, Ofori S, Waters S, Michór P, Wall MB, Freeman TP, Curran HV. Correction to: The CannTeen study: verbal episodic memory, spatial working memory, and response inhibition in adolescent and adult cannabis users and age‑matched controls. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:2371. [PMID: 35648202 PMCID: PMC9205827 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06169-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- W Lawn
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK. .,Department of Addictions, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. .,Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - N Fernandez-Vinson
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK.,Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - C Mokrysz
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - G Hogg
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - R Lees
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - K Trinci
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - K Petrilli
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - A Borissova
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.,NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, University College Hospital, London, UK
| | - S Ofori
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - S Waters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - P Michór
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - M B Wall
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK.,Invicro London, Hammersmith Hospital, Burlington Danes Building, Du Cane Road, London, UK
| | - T P Freeman
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK.,Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - H V Curran
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
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Lawn W, Fernandez-Vinson N, Mokrysz C, Hogg G, Lees R, Trinci K, Petrilli K, Borissova A, Ofori S, Waters S, Michór P, Wall MB, Freeman TP, Curran HV. The CannTeen study: verbal episodic memory, spatial working memory, and response inhibition in adolescent and adult cannabis users and age-matched controls. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:1629-1641. [PMID: 35486121 PMCID: PMC9110435 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06143-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preclinical and human studies suggest that adolescent cannabis use may be associated with worse cognitive outcomes than adult cannabis use. We investigated the associations between chronic cannabis use and cognitive function in adolescent and adult cannabis users and controls. We hypothesised user-status would be negatively associated with cognitive function and this relationship would be stronger in adolescents than adults. METHODS As part of the 'CannTeen' project, this cross-sectional study assessed cognitive performance in adolescent cannabis users (n = 76; 16-17-year-olds), adolescent controls (n = 63), adult cannabis users (n = 71; 26-29-year-olds) and adult controls (n = 64). Users used cannabis 1-7 days/week. Adolescent and adult cannabis users were matched on cannabis use frequency (4 days/week) and time since last use (2.5 days). Verbal episodic memory (VEM) was assessed using the prose recall task, spatial working memory (SWM) was assessed using the spatial n-back task, and response inhibition was assessed with the stop-signal task. Primary outcome variables were: delayed recall, 3-back discriminability, and stop signal reaction time, respectively. RESULTS Users had worse VEM than controls (F(1,268) = 7.423, p = 0.007). There were no significant differences between user-groups on SWM or response inhibition. Null differences were supported by Bayesian analyses. No significant interactions between age-group and user-group were found for VEM, SWM, or response inhibition. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with previous research, there was an association between chronic cannabis use and poorer VEM, but chronic cannabis use was not associated with SWM or response inhibition. We did not find evidence for heightened adolescent vulnerability to cannabis-related cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Lawn
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK.
- Department of Addictions, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - N Fernandez-Vinson
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - C Mokrysz
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - G Hogg
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - R Lees
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - K Trinci
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - K Petrilli
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - A Borissova
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, University College Hospital, London, UK
| | - S Ofori
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - S Waters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - P Michór
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - M B Wall
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
- Invicro London, Hammersmith Hospital, Burlington Danes Building, Du Cane Road, London, UK
| | - T P Freeman
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
- Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - H V Curran
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, London, UK
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