Chronic cannabis use differentially modulates neural oscillations serving the manipulate versus maintain components of working memory processing.
Neurobiology of disease February 1, 2025 Peihan J Huang, Jake J Son, Yasra Arif et al.
Heavy cannabis users show weaker alpha brain oscillations during the encoding phase of a working memory task, particularly in superior parietal and occipital regions, compared to nonusers. During memory maintenance, a group-by-condition interaction emerged: cannabis users exhibited weaker alpha and beta oscillations during maintain trials but stronger oscillations in the same regions during manipulate trials, alongside prolonged reaction times. Nonusers showed no such differences. Neurobehavioral relationships in prefrontal cortices appeared only in nonusers. Chronic cannabis use may impair initial memory encoding but prompt compensatory neural activity during more demanding memory manipulation.