|
04-15-2014, 09:12 PM | |
The Boom Boom Room
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Far Beyond Comprehension
Casino cash: $-597187
|
BREAKING NEWS!: Casual marijuana use linked with brain abnormalities
Casual marijuana use linked with brain abnormalities, study finds
Casual marijuana use may come with some not-so-casual side effects. For the first time, researchers at Northwestern University have analyzed the relationship between casual use of marijuana and brain changes – and found that young adults who used cannabis just once or twice a week showed significant abnormalities in two important brain structures. The study’s findings, to be published Wednesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, are similar to those of past research linking chronic, long-term marijuana use with mental illness and changes in brain development. Dr. Hans Breiter, co-senior study author, said he was inspired to look at the effects of casual marijuana use after previous work in his lab found that heavy cannabis use caused similar brain abnormalities to those seen in patients with schizophrenia. "The interaction of marijuana with brain development could be a significant problem." - Dr. Hans Breiter, co-senior study author “There were abnormalities in their working memory, which is fundamental to everything you do,” Breiter, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told FoxNews.com. “When you make judgments or decisions, plan things, do mathematics – anything you do always involves working memory. It’s one of the core fundamental aspects of our brains that we use every day. So given those findings, we decided we need to look at casual, recreational use.” For their most recent study, Breiter and his team analyzed a very small sample of patients between the ages of 18 and 25: 20 marijuana users and 20 well-matched control subjects. The marijuana users had a wide range of usage routines, with some using the drug just once or twice a week and others using it every single day. Utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the researchers analyzed the participants’ brains, focusing on the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and the amygdala – two key brain regions responsible for processing emotions, making decisions and motivation. They looked at these brain structures in three different ways, measuring their density, volume and shape. According to Breiter, all three were abnormal in the casual marijuana users. “For the NAC, all three measures were abnormal, and they were abnormal in a dose-dependent way, meaning the changes were greater with the amount of marijuana used,” Breiter said. “The amygdala had abnormalities for shape and density, and only volume correlated with use. But if you looked at all three types of measures, it showed the relationships between them were quite abnormal in the marijuana users, compared to the normal controls.” Because these brain regions are central for motivation, the findings from Northwestern help support the well-known theory that marijuana use leads to a condition called amotivation. Also called amotivational syndrome, this psychological condition causes people to become less oriented towards their goals and purposes in life, as well as seem less focused in general. Given these eye-opening results, Breiter said that more research is needed to look into marijuana’s effects on the brain – even in those who use the drug only once or twice a month. “We need to see what happens longitudinally,” Breiter said. “What happens as you follow people over time? What happens if they stop using – do these bad effects continue? What happens if you can intervene early?...My worry is we haven’t studied this compound and here we are looking to change legislation on it.” Although Breiter’s team members did not examine the patients’ cognitive symptoms, they do believe that the brain abnormalities seen in their study could lead to substantial effects on brain development and behavior, especially given the young ages of the participants. Breiter also acknowledged the problems of analyzing a very small study sample – but said that their findings should still serve as a wake-up call to others. “This study is just a beginning pilot study, but at the same time, the results that came out are the same as a canary in a coal mine,” Breiter said. “...The interaction of marijuana with brain development could be a significant problem.” |
Posts: 42,525
|
04-16-2014, 02:09 PM | #166 |
MER
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Colorado
Casino cash: $1390351
|
Does the smell of your own farts bother you?
__________________
"Loving him is red." |
Posts: 23,304
|
04-16-2014, 02:10 PM | #167 |
"Think BOOM!"
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W
Casino cash: $8939900
VARSITY
|
__________________
I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you? |
Posts: 185,893
|
04-16-2014, 02:12 PM | #168 |
GBM 8-12-15
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Dayton, Oh.
Casino cash: $10052154
|
Donger is a tad prissy.
|
Posts: 59,997
|
04-16-2014, 02:13 PM | #169 |
Spiraling down the Drain
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Dante's Ninth Circle
Casino cash: $1480588
|
__________________
"We're both part of the same hypocrisy, Senator, but never think it applies to my family." "Fredo. You are my brother, and I love you. But never take sides against the Family again. Ever." 2019 Adopt a Chief - Travis Kelce #87 |
Posts: 32,271
|
04-16-2014, 02:14 PM | #170 |
GBM 8-12-15
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Dayton, Oh.
Casino cash: $10052154
|
|
Posts: 59,997
|
04-16-2014, 02:15 PM | #171 |
'Tis my eye!
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Chiefsplanet
Casino cash: $10199900
|
|
Posts: 100,072
|
04-16-2014, 02:16 PM | #172 |
'Tis my eye!
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Chiefsplanet
Casino cash: $10199900
|
|
Posts: 100,072
|
04-16-2014, 02:17 PM | #173 |
Indian Twitter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Free Agency
Casino cash: $146198
|
So much so that they've created a whole industry to it's refinement and production. ( He posts as he eyes the clock as it ticks toward 3:15......Yeah it's 4:20 somewhere.)
__________________
[/SIGPIC] |
Posts: 15,352
|
04-16-2014, 02:21 PM | #174 |
GBM 8-12-15
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Dayton, Oh.
Casino cash: $10052154
|
|
Posts: 59,997
|
04-16-2014, 02:22 PM | #175 |
a haw haw haw
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MIZZOU
Casino cash: $26365802
|
Same here haven't touched that shit in 8+ years
__________________
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. |
Posts: 27,111
|
04-16-2014, 02:25 PM | #176 |
MER
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Colorado
Casino cash: $1390351
|
I enjoy different opinions. Vigorous debate always helps me clarify my positions internally. I like the fact that we don't all think the same.
But stop ****ing talking shit about Jäger.
__________________
"Loving him is red." |
Posts: 23,304
|
04-16-2014, 02:27 PM | #177 |
GBM 8-12-15
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Dayton, Oh.
Casino cash: $10052154
|
|
Posts: 59,997
|
04-16-2014, 02:27 PM | #178 |
MVP
Join Date: May 2008
Casino cash: $4894814
|
This is obviously Donger
|
Posts: 5,095
|
04-16-2014, 02:34 PM | #179 | |
a haw haw haw
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MIZZOU
Casino cash: $26365802
|
Quote:
And no I am not telling the story on the internet.
__________________
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. |
|
Posts: 27,111
|
04-16-2014, 02:57 PM | #180 |
Needs more middle fingers
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: San Diego
Casino cash: $3103063
|
|
Posts: 65,622
|
|
|