Associations between regular cannabis use and brain resting-state functional connectivity in adolescents and adults
Natalie Ertl, Will Lawn, Claire Mokrysz, Tom P. Freeman, Naji Alnagger, Anna Borissova, Natalia Fernandez‐Vinson, Rachel Lees, Shelan Ofori, Kat Petrilli, Katie Trinci, Essi Viding, H. Valerie Curran, Matthew B. Wall
Journal of Psychopharmacology July 29, 2023 DOI: 10.1177/02698811231189441 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractRegular cannabis use is associated with localized increases in connectivity of the executive control network (ECN), which may reflect adaptive or compensatory changes in response to regular intoxication. Adolescents generally showed weaker connectivity than adults across multiple brain networks, consistent with normal developmental effects. However, there were no significant interactions between age group and cannabis user group, meaning the connectivity changes linked to cannabis use did not differ between adolescents and adults. No associations were found between cannabis use frequency and any connectivity measures.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 70 |
| Population | Adolescents and adults |
| Topics | Cannabis Default mode network |
| Keywords | Resting State FMRI Functional connectivity Young adult |
| Citations | 17 |
| Key finding | Regular cannabis use is associated with localized increases in connectivity of the executive control network, but these associations did not differ between adolescents and adults. |
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Cannabis use is highly prevalent in adolescents; however, little is known about its effects on adolescent brain function. METHOD: = 70, 35 adolescents/35 adults). Pre-registered analyses examined the connectivity of seven major cortical and sub-cortical brain networks (default mode network, executive control network (ECN), salience network, hippocampal network and three striatal networks) using seed-based analysis methods with cross-sectional comparisons between user groups and age groups. RESULTS: The regular cannabis use group (across both age groups), relative to controls, showed localised increases in connectivity only in the ECN analysis. All networks showed localised connectivity differences based on age group, with the adolescents generally showing weaker connectivity than adults, consistent with the developmental effects. Mean connectivity across entire network regions of interest (ROIs) was also significantly decreased in the ECN in adolescents. However, there were no significant interactions found between age group and user group in any of the seed-based or ROI analyses. There were also no associations found between cannabis use frequency and any of the derived connectivity measures. CONCLUSION: Regular cannabis use is associated with changes in connectivity of the ECN, which may reflect allostatic or compensatory changes in response to regular cannabis intoxication. However, these associations were not significantly different in adolescents compared to adults.