There has been some concern that the long-term effects of cannabis use on the brain may lead to cognitive decline. This is particularly true for youth, whose brains are still developing.
The researchers found that long-term cannabis users had lower IQs and poorer memory and attention than people who did not use marijuana. They also had smaller hippocampi, the brain area that is responsible for learning and memory.
Effects on Memory
Cannabis use has been associated with cognitive deficits and brain abnormalities that can result in a higher risk of dementia later in life. However, the question of whether these deficits are caused by the use of cannabis or other factors is an open one. The most recent research has focused on adolescents and young adults.
The effects of cannabis on cognition have been measured through a variety of assessments including cognitive tests and neuroimaging studies. These have provided a wide range of results. Some studies have shown that cognitive impairments from regular cannabis use are reversible after abstinence periods of a short duration (Scott et al., 62) and a longer duration (Schoeler et al., 64).
Generally, studies on the effects of chronic cannabis use show that users have deficits in intelligence quotient (IQ), attention and episodic memory, ranging from mild to moderate, and that these are associated with daily cannabis use. The amplitude of these deficits is similar to those found in alcohol-induced cognitive impairments.
These deficits are thought to result from a combination of neurotoxic effects and common antecedents such as family history of psychotic disorders, genetics, shared environments, trauma, and early-life experiences. While these antecedents are not necessarily causal, they can play an important role in mediating the impact of cannabis on cognitive function.
Many of these deficits are reversible after a period of abstinence from use, as demonstrated by several meta-analyses. The reversal of these cognitive deficits is seen for both heavy and regular users, with effects on the same domains. Moreover, these effects are not severe or even observable for light users and individuals who do not meet criteria for abuse or dependence.
In the present study, we assessed the acute effects of legal market THC and CBD-containing cannabis on recognition memory performance with a mobile-based, brief recognition task. We found that, as blood levels of the main active psychoactive component, THC, increased after use, recognition memory accuracy decreased to a greater degree than it did for participants using cannabis with CBD levels. This effect appeared to be a result of the impaired ability to recognize unfamiliar items (i.e., recollection), rather than an increase in the susceptibility to false memory.
Effects on Attention
As cannabis becomes legal in more states, more research is being done on the impact of the drug on cognitive function. Researchers are focusing more on the acute effects of the drug, while also investigating how it impacts executive function.
Although many studies have demonstrated that cannabis can have a negative impact on memory, attention and cognitive processing, the long-term effects of heavy use and recovery after abstinence have not yet been thoroughly explored. This is a problem for both patients and treatment professionals, as it can be difficult to identify cannabis-related impairments in cognitive function in individuals without access to neuropsychological assessment.
The acute effects of cannabis are often studied in double-blind, cross-over randomized controlled trials (RCTs). These experiments mitigate the influence of between-subject variation by testing effects at the within-subject level.
However, these methods are not ideal for examining the cognitive impact of cannabis over a long period of time and may lead to inaccurate conclusions. As a result, most research on the residual effects of cannabis is conducted in cross-sectional studies.
In these studies, participants are given a controlled dose of THC, usually in the form of a liquid extract, and are monitored for an extended period of time. The effects of the drug are then measured using various assessments.
These tests are generally used to measure cognitive domains such as attention, decision-making and memory. Several studies have found that cannabis users experience impaired performance on these assessments, while controls do not.
For example, a recent study found that young adults with a positive urine toxicology screen for THC were less effective on the picture sequence memory test and pattern comparison processing speed tests of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery than age-matched controls.
Another study showed that regular cannabis users (non-smokers) experienced impairments on the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test and the dimensional change card sort test. These impairments were not observed in light or occasional users.
As cannabis use becomes more widespread, it is important to study the impact of the drug on cognitive function in both healthy aging and chronic disease populations. This has been the focus of a recent systematic scoping review of current research.
Effects on Decision Making
The impact of cannabis on cognitive function is often studied in teens, but it can also affect adults. The drug can affect higher levels of thinking, including the ability to make decisions, remember important information and plan strategies.
Studies have found that even occasional use of cannabis can impair decision making, impulsivity and working memory, and research shows those deficits can continue to develop after long periods of abstinence. Heavy users may also experience cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that involves nausea and vomiting.
Researchers aren’t sure whether these effects can be reversed, but they do say that people who regularly use marijuana might benefit from cognitive remediation therapy, which focuses on training participants to improve their executive functions and behavior. CRT can help them learn to control their impulses and stay focused on what’s important.
A review of 63 studies assessing the impact of cannabis on decision making concluded that heavy, chronic use of the drug impaired executive function. These deficits were found to be worse in tasks that require concept formation, planning and sequencing abilities. However, some research has shown that these impairments can be reversible with short periods of abstinence.
These findings extend the results of a previous study that found that heavy, chronic cannabis users showed significant impairments on a number of decision-making tasks. This study compared three behavioral measures of decision-making in cannabis users and non-users: the Iowa Gambling Task, which assesses a participant’s preference for immediate vs. delayed rewards, the Delay Discounting Task, which evaluates a person’s reaction to different reward choices, and a choice-outcome learning task called the Probabilistic Reversal Learning Task.
In this study, cannabis users performed significantly worse than non-users on the Iowa Gambling Task and the Delay Discounting Task and significantly better on the Probabilistic Reversal Learning Task. Moreover, they were found to have greater impulsivity on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale scales than non-users.
The study included only a small sample of current cannabis users without comorbid psychiatric disorders, which is a limitation to the interpretation of these findings. Other factors that could have influenced this sample’s performance on these tests include the frequency of their cannabis use and the length of their use.
Effects on Creativity
Aside from its ability to improve attention and reduce stress, cannabis also has a few tricks up its sleeve when it comes to creativity. For instance, some studies have shown that high doses of cannabis can help increase the amount of divergent thinking an individual can accomplish.
This type of creative thinking allows an individual to take abstract ideas and connect them into unique solutions to problems. It’s a form of problem solving that can be particularly useful for artists.
However, research shows that consuming too much cannabis can actually impair the ability to come up with new creative ideas. Fortunately, there are ways to get around these effects of cannabis on your creativity.
For one, you can try microdosing with edibles instead of smoking marijuana. This approach allows you to consume a small amount of cannabis at a time, which can help to increase your focus and creativity levels. You may even want to start with a lower dose and work your way up to more potent strains.
If you’re looking for a little more help with your creativity, it might be worth trying a cannabis oil that contains CBD. These oils can help to increase your overall mood and energy levels, which can improve your focus and creativity.
In addition, the cannabis oil can also help to increase your memory and cognitive function. In fact, a study published in 2015 showed that participants who consumed the cannabis oil performed better on divergent thinking tasks than those who did not.
Finally, the cannabis oil can also help to reduce stress. This can be particularly useful for people who struggle with stress, as it can help to ease anxiety and boost their mood.
In another study, researchers from the University of Washington found that moderate everyday cannabis use can affect how you think creatively and judge other people’s ideas. The study involved two different methods: the first method tested how joviality affects creativity, while the second explored how the drug impacts the user’s perception of their own and other people’s creativity.
