The role of task-irrelevant cannabis distractors on working memory performance and related brain activity in heavy cannabis users compared to controls: an fMRI study
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Cannabis has become one of the most widely used substances globally, with cannabis use disorder (CUD) affecting over 24 million individuals worldwide (Shao et al, 2024). In the Netherlands, among individuals under 25 years seeking treatment for addiction, CUD is the most common diagnosis (National Alcohol and Drugs Information System, 2024). These figures underscore the importance of understanding the aetiology of CUD across both adolescence and adulthood and raise the question of which factors contribute to its development and maintenance. One aspect that has been frequently associated with both heavy cannabis use, as well as CUD, is impaired cognitive control (Cousijn et al., 2013b; Morie and Potenza, 2021). In parallel, evidence suggests heightened reactivity to cannabis cues is associated with craving and can trigger cannabis use (Norberg et al., 2016), as well as increase activity in reward-related regions such as the striatum, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (Sehl et al., 2021). To date, most studies have investigated these processes independently (Cousijn et al., 2013b; Morie and Potenza, 2021; Norberg et al., 2016). However, cognitive control may particularly be compromised in the presence of cannabis cues. Individuals with CUD often struggle to control urges triggered by cannabis cues. However, to date, there are limited studies investigating how cannabis cues impact cognitive control in heavy cannabis users compared to controls. Moreover, as the brain continues to develop during adolescence, with prefrontal regions responsible for cognitive control maturing later than reward-related areas (Casey et al., 2008), heavy cannabis use during this developmental period may result in greater reactivity to cannabis cues and more impairment in cognitive control. These effects may, in turn, increase the risk of CUD (Gorey et al., 2019). To date, it remains unclear how these effects vary with age. Accordingly, the current study investigates the role of task-irrelevant cannabis distractors on WM performance and related brain activity in heavy cannabis users compared to controls, across adolescence to young adulthood.
Language: English
Subfield: Pharmacology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7163042329