Chronic exposure to inhaled vaporized cannabis high in Δ9-THC suppresses Adderall-induced brain activity.
Frontiers in pharmacology January 1, 2024 Jack M Ognibene, Rajeev I Desai, Praveen P Kulkarni et al.
Mice exposed daily to vaporized cannabis (10.3% Δ9-THC) for ten days showed a blunted brain response to Adderall, with decreased positive and increased negative BOLD signals in regions including the prefrontal cortex, accumbens, ventral pallidum, caudate/putamen, and thalamus. After a two-week washout without cannabis, the difference in Adderall response between cannabis-exposed and placebo groups disappeared. The findings suggest that short-term daily cannabis inhalation, comparable to recreational use, reduces sensitivity to the psychostimulant Adderall, particularly in dopaminergic circuitry, raising concerns about potential escalation of psychostimulant use.