Largest study ever done on cannabis and brain function is an impact on working memory

A study published in Jama Network Open Investigates the effects of both recent and lifelong cannabis use on brain function during cognitive tasks.

The study, the largest of its kind ever to complete, investigated the effects of cannabis use on more than 1,000 young adults aged 22 to 36 with the help of Brain Imaging Technology. The researchers discovered that 63% of the heavy lifelong cannabis users showed reduced brain activity during a working memory task, while 68% of recent users also demonstrated a similar impact.

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This decrease in brain activity was associated with poorer performance on working memory – the ability to maintain and use information to perform tasks. With the working memory, for example, a person can follow instructions that he has just received or to mentally visualize and manipulate information, such as solving a math problem.

“As the use of cannabis continues to grow worldwide, studying its effects on human health has become increasingly important. This allows us to provide a well -rounded insight into both the benefits and the risk of cannabis use, which makes people established for informed decisions To take and fully understand the potential consequences, “said the first author Joshua Gowin, Ph.D., university teacher of radiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

In the study, heavy users are considered young adults who have used cannabis more than 1000 times during their lives. While the use of 10 to 999 times was considered a moderate user and was considered less than 10 times as a non -user user.

The researchers studied the neural response of participants during a magnetic resonance image formation (MRI) session and gave them seven cognitive tasks to complete. The tasks tested working memory, reward, emotion, language, motor skills – such as ticking a finger to map brain control, relational assessment and theory of the Spirit.

The researchers discovered that cannabis had a statistically significant effect on brain function during working memory tasks, which means that the observed impact is very unlikely that it is due to random opportunity. This effect was seen in both recent and lifelong cannabis users. The impact was less important for the other tasks.

“We have applied the highest standards to our research, which determines rigorous thresholds for statistical significance in all seven cognitive function tests. To minimize the risk of false positives, we have used a reduction, only the working memory task showed a statistically significant impact,” “” Gowin adds.

During working memory tasks, researchers seemed to reduce serious cannabis use to reduce brain activity in certain brain areas (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and front insula). These brain areas are involved in important cognitive functions such as decision -making, memory, attention and emotional processing.

Gowin, however, states that their research also suggests that remembering the use of cannabis before they perform a cognitive task can help improve performance. “People must be aware of their relationship with cannabis, because remembering cold turkey could also disrupt their cognition. For example, heavy users may have to be more careful,” says Gowin.

He adds: “There are many questions that we still need answers about how cannabis influences the brain. Large, long -term studies are needed to understand whether cannabis use changes brain function immediately, how long these effects last and the impact on different age groups.