Heavy Cannabis Use May Impair Brain's Working Memory, Study Suggests

Severe use of cannabis can adversely affect someone’s work memory, according to a new study of researchers in Colorado.

The study, which comes from researchers at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colorado, was published on January 28 Cave network openAfter being described as the “greatest of its kind” that will be completed. She has used brain recording technology to explore the use of cannabis on 1,000 young people between the ages of 22 and 36, after release from school, before suggesting that the great use of cannabis can adversely affect one’s work memory, which describes as the ability to retain and use information to perform the tasks.

As the research has discovered, 63% of heavyweight cannabis users have shown a reduced brain activity in the midst of work memory tasks. As for those who have been positively tested for the recent use of cannabis, 68% have shown “a similar influence” in the study.

“As the use of cannabis continues to grow globally, the study of its effects on human health is becoming more important. Doing this, we can provide a well -rounded understanding and benefits and risks of cannabis use, empowers people to make informed decisions and fully understand potential consequences, “said Assistant Professor Joshua Gowin, the first author of the study, in a statement.

Stock image of cannabis factories in 2007.

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In an interview with CNN, Gowin gave several examples of work memory in action, such as “checking your blind spot” while driving a vehicle. “When you look back in front of you, you have to remember what you saw at a blind spot before you make a good decision if you want to change the straps or not,” he said.

“When you are in the middle of a conversation with the boss, you have to remember what they said long enough to answer that,” Gowin added. “Loss of work memory means that keeping this information could require more effort and be more challenging.”

Carol Boyd – founder of the Center for Drug Study, Alcohol, Smoking and Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, which was not involved in the studio – said CNN that although the study could not prove that cannabis uses damages Brain, adds scientific evidence to the one that which many have long believed about the use of marijuana.

“For years, clinicians, family and friends who knew heavy cannabis users realized that their memories were ‘shooting’ – there is even an expression for it,” Stoner “, as in” Forgot a list of foods, couldn’t follow the recipe, Call Can “collect it,” Boyd told CNN.

In the study that used the information from the Human Connectome project, heavy cannabis users were described as young people who used cannabis more than 1,000 times, while those who used it 10 to 999 times considered moderate users. Those who used cannabis less than 10 times are described as insecure.

Participants participated in magnetic resonance imaging sessions (MRI) and were tasked with completing seven cognitive tasks that cover memory, reward, emotions, languages ​​and motor skills, according to researchers. According to research, work memory tasks have significantly influenced the use of cannabis in both recent and life users. Activity in certain areas of the brain has been reduced during work memory tasks.

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Stock image of cannabis factories in 2007.

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Gowin also divided the news that could avoid using cannabis before certain cognitive tasks could improve performance.

“People need to be aware of their relationship with cannabis because refraining from cold turkey could also disrupt their knowledge. For example, heavy users may need to be more careful, “Gowin said.” There are many questions we need to answer about how cannabis affect the brain. Large, long -term studies are needed to understand whether cannabis of brain function changes, how long these effects last and influence on different age groups. ”

As Boyd said CNN, the study cannot determine whether a heavy user can leave cannabis positively affect work memory.

“Can an adolescent who used cannabis more than 1000 times at the age of 15 and 20, but stopped using in 20 years, show improved working memory 10 years later?” she said. “It’s my $ 64 question-where it’s hoping for a person with a chronic disorder of use that wants their memory back?”

Gowin, according to CNN, said that there is “some evidence” that cannabis users recover some of their memory functions as they stop smoking, citing previous studies. However, “when it comes to chronic use of marijuana and brain, it is an area where the investigation lasts.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education