Behavioral Sciences (Mar 2021)

Cognitive Development and Cannabis Use in Adolescents

  • Alessandro Frolli,
  • Maria Carla Ricci,
  • Antonella Cavallaro,
  • Agnese Lombardi,
  • Antonia Bosco,
  • Francesca Di Carmine,
  • Francesca Felicia Operto,
  • Luisa Franzese

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11030037
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 3
p. 37

Abstract

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Heavy exposure to cannabis during adolescence can cause significant neurocognitive changes. It can alter emotional responsiveness and social behavior, and cause impairments in sustained attention, learning, working memory (WM), cognitive flexibility, and the speed of information processing. It also has a significant impact on executive functions. In this study we investigated how global cognitive functions can be affected by the frequency of cannabinoid consumption in different categories of consumers (chronic, occasional, and non-users), through the evaluation of executive functions. Statistical analysis showed a significant decrease in performance in working memory tasks and processing speed by subjects using cannabis chronically (group 1) as compared to non-consumers (group 3), and occasional consumers (group 2). Future studies could verify the extent of neurocognitive alterations through re-evaluations with controlled follow-up and the addition of neuro-functional data.

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