RESULTS Although causality is unclear , heavy and dependent cannabis use is consistently associated with a high prevalence of comorbid psychiatric disorders and learning and memory impairments that seem to recover after a period of abstinence .
Evidence regarding other cognitive domains and neurological consequences including cerebrovascular events is limited and inconsistent .
Abstinence after treatment is only achieved in a minority of cases ; treatment targeted at reduction in use appears have some success .
Potential moderators of the impact of CUD on the brain include age of onset , heaviness of use , CUD severity , the ratio of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol to cannabidiol , and severity of comorbid disorders .
Current evidence of long-term effects of daily cannabis use and cannabis use disorder on brain-related outcomes is suggestive rather than conclusive but use is associated with psychiatric morbidity and with cognitive impairments that recover after a period of abstinence
AIMS To summarize and evaluate our knowledge of the relationship between heavy cannabis use , Cannabis Use Disorder ( CUD ) , and the brain .
Cannabis cue-induced brain activation correlates with drug craving in limbic and visual salience regions: Preliminary results
Craving is a major motivator underlying drug use and relapse but the neural correlates of cannabis craving are not well understood . This study sought to determine whether visual cannabis cues increase cannabis craving and whether cue-induced craving is associated with regional brain activation in cannabis-dependent individuals . Cannabis craving was assessed in 16 cannabis-dependent adult volunteers while they viewed cannabis cues during a functional MRI ( fMRI ) scan . The Marijuana Craving Question naire was administered immediately before and after each of three cannabis cue-exposure fMRI runs . FMRI blood-oxygenation-level-dependent ( BOLD ) signal intensity was determined in regions activated by cannabis cues to examine the relationship of regional brain activation to cannabis craving . Craving scores increased significantly following exposure to visual cannabis cues . Visual cues activated multiple brain regions , including inferior orbital frontal cortex , posterior cingulate gyrus , parahippocampal gyrus , hippocampus , amygdala , superior temporal pole , and occipital cortex . Craving scores at baseline and at the end of all three runs were significantly correlated with brain activation during the first fMRI run only , in the limbic system ( including amygdala and hippocampus ) and paralimbic system ( superior temporal pole ) , and visual regions ( occipital cortex ) . Cannabis cues increased craving in cannabis-dependent individuals and this increase was associated with activation in the limbic , paralimbic , and visual systems during the first fMRI run , but not subsequent fMRI runs . These results suggest that these regions may mediate visually cued aspects of drug craving . This study provides preliminary evidence for the neural basis of cue-induced cannabis craving and suggests possible neural targets for interventions targeted at treating cannabis dependence
RESULTS Although causality is unclear , heavy and dependent cannabis use is consistently associated with a high prevalence of comorbid psychiatric disorders and learning and memory impairments that seem to recover after a period of abstinence .
Evidence regarding other cognitive domains and neurological consequences including cerebrovascular events is limited and inconsistent .
Abstinence after treatment is only achieved in a minority of cases ; treatment targeted at reduction in use appears have some success .
Potential moderators of the impact of CUD on the brain include age of onset , heaviness of use , CUD severity , the ratio of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol to cannabidiol , and severity of comorbid disorders .
Current evidence of long-term effects of daily cannabis use and cannabis use disorder on brain-related outcomes is suggestive rather than conclusive but use is associated with psychiatric morbidity and with cognitive impairments that recover after a period of abstinence
AIMS To summarize and evaluate our knowledge of the relationship between heavy cannabis use , Cannabis Use Disorder ( CUD ) , and the brain .