Center for Addiction Medicine

In Case You Missed It: Study Spotlight

With the recent legislative approval of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, Dr. Jodi Gilman’s 2014 study documenting the disruption of neural organization in young adult recreational marijuana users continues the discussion on the drug’s cognitive effects.

Through gray matter analyses of fMRI scans of recreational, nondependent marijuana users and nonusers, Gilman et al. found quantitative differences in morphometric abnormalities between the two groups. Specifically, Gilman’s findings show associative disturbances in the a priori regions of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala of recreational marijuana users.

 

“This study indicates that marijuana it not harmless; it has effects on brain regions involved in reward and emotion, even in recreational non-addicted users.” – Jodi Gilman, Ph.D.

 

Read the full article here.