Cannabis use in early adolescence: Evidence of amygdala hypersensitivity to signals of threat
Cannabis use in adolescence may be characterized by differences in the neural basis of affective processing. In this study, we used an fMRI affective face processing task to compare a large group (n=70) of 14-year olds with a history of cannabis use to a group (n=70) of never-using controls matched...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
December 2015
|
| In: |
Developmental cognitive neuroscience
Year: 2015, Volume: 16, Pages: 63-70 |
| ISSN: | 1878-9307 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.08.007 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2015.08.007 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929315000857 
|
| Author Notes: | Philip A. Spechler, Catherine A. Orr, Bader Chaarani, Kees-Jan Kan, Scott Mackey, Aaron Morton, Mitchell P. Snowe, Kelsey E. Hudson, Robert R. Althoff, Stephen T. Higgins, Anna Cattrell, Herta Flor, Frauke Nees, Tobias Banaschewski, Arun L. W. Bokde, Robert Whelan, Christian Büchel, Uli Bromberg, Patricia Conrod, Vincent Frouin, Dimitri Papadopoulos, Jurgen Gallinat, Andreas Heinz, Henrik Walter, Bernd Ittermann, Penny Gowland, Tomáš Paus, Luise Poustka, Jean-Luc Martinot, Eric Artiges, Michael N. Smolka, Gunter Schumann, Hugh Garavan, the IMAGEN Consortium |
| Summary: | Cannabis use in adolescence may be characterized by differences in the neural basis of affective processing. In this study, we used an fMRI affective face processing task to compare a large group (n=70) of 14-year olds with a history of cannabis use to a group (n=70) of never-using controls matched on numerous characteristics including IQ, SES, alcohol and cigarette use. The task contained short movies displaying angry and neutral faces. Results indicated that cannabis users had greater reactivity in the bilateral amygdalae to angry faces than neutral faces, an effect that was not observed in their abstinent peers. In contrast, activity levels in the cannabis users in cortical areas including the right temporal-parietal junction and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex did not discriminate between the two face conditions, but did differ in controls. Results did not change after excluding subjects with any psychiatric symptomology. Given the high density of cannabinoid receptors in the amygdala, our findings suggest cannabis use in early adolescence is associated with hypersensitivity to signals of threat. Hypersensitivity to negative affect in adolescence may place the subject at-risk for mood disorders in adulthood. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Gesehen am 26.10.2017 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1878-9307 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.08.007 |