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Chapter 8 - The Impact of Cannabis Exposure on the Adolescent Brain

Human Studies and Translational Insights

from Part III - Cannabis and the Brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2023

By
Jacqueline-Marie Ferland ,
Alexandra Chisholm  and
Yasmin L. Hurd
Edited by
Deepak Cyril D'Souza ,
David Castle  and
Sir Robin Murray
Deepak Cyril D'Souza
Affiliation:
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System; Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine
David Castle
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Australia
Sir Robin Murray
Affiliation:
Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychosis Service at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust; Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry
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Summary

Human studies have expanded insight about the lasting effects of adolescent cannabis use documenting structural and functional alterations in frontal and limbic regions of the brain, potentially relevant to behavioural vulnerability. Functional neuroimaging indicates that cannabis experience during adolescence is associated with perturbations in regions relevant to cognitive function such as working memory, attention, inhibitory control, and decision-making. Inconsistencies evident in the literature likely relate to variability in amount and frequency of cannabis use, potency, psychiatric comorbidity, and polysubstance use. Translational pre-clinical models help to elucidate how these factors contribute to protracted behavioural vulnerability of adolescent cannabis exposure.

Keywords

cannabiscannabinoidsTHCadolescenceneurodevelopmentmyelinationcognitionemotionrewardepigenetics
Type
Chapter
Information
Marijuana and Madness , pp. 68 - 75
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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