Changes in brain function during acute cannabis intoxication: preliminary findings suggest a mechanism for cannabis-induced violence
by
Howard RC, Menkes DB.
Division of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, UK.
Crim Behav Ment Health. 2007 Mar 29;17(2):113-117
ABSTRACTBackground Recent evidence suggests that cannabis use may be associated with antisocial and violent behaviour, raising the question: What brain mechanisms mediate the disinhibiting effects of cannabis on behaviour? Aims/Hypotheses To examine whether an electrocortical measure of affective impulsivity, Go/No Go contingent negative variation, is affected by acute cannabis intoxication. Methods Slow brain potentials were recorded in a Go/No Go noise avoidance task from five habitual cannabis users before, during and after they smoked a cannabis reefer containing 11 mg D-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.Results Slow brain potentials developed normally in both Go and No Go conditions before and during cannabis smoking but were severely disrupted 20-40 minutes later, coincident with peak intoxication. Cannabis effects on Go/No Go brain activity resembled those reported to occur in patients with lateral prefrontal cortex lesions.Conclusion/Implications Our findings are preliminary, calling for larger-scale studies, to confirm the present findings and to investigate whether brain responses to cannabis intoxication differentiate those who are predisposed to suffer adverse consequences of cannabis use from those who are not.Violence
Anandamide
Cannabis: effects
Forgetful rodents
Stoned chocaholics?
The nectar of delight
Cannabis and schizophrenia
Endocannabinoids and sperm mobility01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
Refs
HedWeb
Future Opioids
BLTC Research
Paradise-Engineering
Utopian Pharmacology
The Hedonistic Imperative
When Is It Best To Take Crack Cocaine?
The Good Drug Guide
The Responsible Parent's Guide
To Healthy Mood Boosters For All The Family
