Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia Susceptibility
Background: We investigated how low marijuana (MJ) use levels, the typical use pattern in most adolescent users, affect cognitive maturation and schizophrenia risk. Methods: In two complementary adolescent samples where the majority reported minimal MJ use, we compared cognitive performances before...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667174322000131 |
| _version_ | 1797846357908652032 |
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| author | Beng-Choon Ho Amy B. Barry Julie A. Koeppel John Macleod Andy Boyd Anthony David Daniel S. O’Leary |
| author_facet | Beng-Choon Ho Amy B. Barry Julie A. Koeppel John Macleod Andy Boyd Anthony David Daniel S. O’Leary |
| author_sort | Beng-Choon Ho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: We investigated how low marijuana (MJ) use levels, the typical use pattern in most adolescent users, affect cognitive maturation and schizophrenia risk. Methods: In two complementary adolescent samples where the majority reported minimal MJ use, we compared cognitive performances before and after MJ use initiation. The Iowa sample (40 first-degree relatives and 54 second-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia and 117 control subjects with no schizophrenia family history) underwent a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests at 0, 18, and 36 months. Based on self-administered Timeline Followback interviews, 26.5% of adolescents had emergent MJ use (eMJ) during follow-up. The second sample (n = 3463), derived from a birth cohort, received substance use and sustained attention assessments between ages 10 and 15 years. Mixed linear models and regression analyses tested the effects of eMJ on longitudinal changes in cognitive performance. Results: In the Iowa sample, longitudinal changes in 5 of 8 cognitive domains were significantly associated with eMJ. On sustained attention, visuospatial working memory, and executive sequencing, adolescents with eMJ showed less age-expected improved performance. In addition, first-degree relatives with eMJ were less improved on processing speed and executive reasoning than first-degree relatives without eMJ. In the birth cohort, greater intraindividual variability in reaction times (indicative of poorer sustained attention) was significantly associated with more frequent MJ use and with recreational use levels. Conclusions: Nonheavy MJ use disrupts normal adolescent maturation and compounds aberrant adolescent maturation associated with familial schizophrenia risk. These findings underscore the importance of reducing adolescent MJ access in the context of increased availability to high-potency MJ. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:53:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-716079fb4fcd4fbabee0816dbeff8512 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-1743 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:53:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-716079fb4fcd4fbabee0816dbeff85122023-04-15T05:55:32ZengElsevierBiological Psychiatry Global Open Science2667-17432023-04-0132222232Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia SusceptibilityBeng-Choon Ho0Amy B. Barry1Julie A. Koeppel2John Macleod3Andy Boyd4Anthony David5Daniel S. O’Leary6Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa; Address correspondence to Beng-Choon Ho, M.D.Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IowaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IowaPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United KingdomDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IowaBackground: We investigated how low marijuana (MJ) use levels, the typical use pattern in most adolescent users, affect cognitive maturation and schizophrenia risk. Methods: In two complementary adolescent samples where the majority reported minimal MJ use, we compared cognitive performances before and after MJ use initiation. The Iowa sample (40 first-degree relatives and 54 second-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia and 117 control subjects with no schizophrenia family history) underwent a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests at 0, 18, and 36 months. Based on self-administered Timeline Followback interviews, 26.5% of adolescents had emergent MJ use (eMJ) during follow-up. The second sample (n = 3463), derived from a birth cohort, received substance use and sustained attention assessments between ages 10 and 15 years. Mixed linear models and regression analyses tested the effects of eMJ on longitudinal changes in cognitive performance. Results: In the Iowa sample, longitudinal changes in 5 of 8 cognitive domains were significantly associated with eMJ. On sustained attention, visuospatial working memory, and executive sequencing, adolescents with eMJ showed less age-expected improved performance. In addition, first-degree relatives with eMJ were less improved on processing speed and executive reasoning than first-degree relatives without eMJ. In the birth cohort, greater intraindividual variability in reaction times (indicative of poorer sustained attention) was significantly associated with more frequent MJ use and with recreational use levels. Conclusions: Nonheavy MJ use disrupts normal adolescent maturation and compounds aberrant adolescent maturation associated with familial schizophrenia risk. These findings underscore the importance of reducing adolescent MJ access in the context of increased availability to high-potency MJ.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667174322000131Brain maturationCannabisGenetic susceptibilityLongitudinal studySchizophrenia |
| spellingShingle | Beng-Choon Ho Amy B. Barry Julie A. Koeppel John Macleod Andy Boyd Anthony David Daniel S. O’Leary Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia Susceptibility Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science Brain maturation Cannabis Genetic susceptibility Longitudinal study Schizophrenia |
| title | Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia Susceptibility |
| title_full | Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia Susceptibility |
| title_fullStr | Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia Susceptibility |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia Susceptibility |
| title_short | Recreational Marijuana Use, Adolescent Cognitive Development, and Schizophrenia Susceptibility |
| title_sort | recreational marijuana use adolescent cognitive development and schizophrenia susceptibility |
| topic | Brain maturation Cannabis Genetic susceptibility Longitudinal study Schizophrenia |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667174322000131 |
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