New Study Reveals More Dramatic Effects Marijuana Use Causes on Brain
By Business Standard. New researches by Canadian neuroscientists have revealed that cannabis use affects the brain of adolescents and is linked to cognitive abnormalities, impairments in working memory, and inhibitory control.
The research was presented by neuroscientists Patricia Conrod, Steven Laviolette, Iris Balodis and Jibran Khokhar at the ’13th Annual Canadian Neuroscience Meeting’.
Dr Patricia Conrod, Universite de Montreal, studied the year-to-year changes in alcohol and cannabis use and cognitive function in a sample of adolescents consisting of five per cent of all students entering high school in 2012 and 2013.
The students were assessed annually for four years on alcohol and cannabis use, and their cognitive function was evaluated using computerised cognitive tests.
According to the study, cannabis use was linked to impairments in working memory and inhibitory control, which is required for self-control. Cannabis use was also linked to deficits in memory recall and perceptual reasoning. (Read more from “New Study Reveals More Dramatic Effects Marijuana Use Causes on Brain” HERE)
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Teenage Cannabis Use Linked to Memory Problems
By Newsweek. Teenagers who use cannabis could be at risk of developing problems with memory, scientists believe.
Researchers looked at 3,826 students attending schools in the Greater Montreal area of Canada. Every year from grade seven to grade 11, the team asked the participants whether they used drugs including cannabis and alcohol. They also tested their memory, visual reasoning skills and inhibition levels. On a 6-point scale marked from ranging from “never” to “every day,” participants answered how often they used a particular substance, and answered how many alcoholic drinks they’d have in one session.
Students who took part were reassured their answers would be anonymized, so they weren’t put off from answering honestly. Information like the participants’ socioeconomic status and sex was also collected.
Using cannabis was linked to issues with memory, inhibition control and reasoning. The same was not observed in those who used alcohol. The more often the students used drugs including cannabis, the lower their scores on the memory tests, reasoning and inhibition were, the authors found.
Past studies have linked alcohol and cannabis to issues with learning, decision making and thinking, and lower grades in adolescents and adults, the authors said. (Read more from “Teenage Cannabis Use Linked to Memory Problems” HERE)
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