Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (Dec 2015)
Cannabis use in early adolescence: Evidence of amygdala hypersensitivity to signals of threat
- Philip A. Spechler,
- Catherine A. Orr,
- Bader Chaarani,
- Kees-Jan Kan,
- Scott Mackey,
- Aaron Morton,
- Mitchell P. Snowe,
- Kelsey E. Hudson,
- Robert R. Althoff,
- Stephen T. Higgins,
- Anna Cattrell,
- Herta Flor,
- Frauke Nees,
- Tobias Banaschewski,
- Arun L.W. Bokde,
- Robert Whelan,
- Christian Büchel,
- Uli Bromberg,
- Patricia Conrod,
- Vincent Frouin,
- Dimitri Papadopoulos,
- Jurgen Gallinat,
- Andreas Heinz,
- Henrik Walter,
- Bernd Ittermann,
- Penny Gowland,
- Tomáš Paus,
- Luise Poustka,
- Jean-Luc Martinot,
- Eric Artiges,
- Michael N. Smolka,
- Gunter Schumann,
- Hugh Garavan
Affiliations
- Philip A. Spechler
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Catherine A. Orr
- Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Bader Chaarani
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Kees-Jan Kan
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Scott Mackey
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Aaron Morton
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Mitchell P. Snowe
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Kelsey E. Hudson
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Robert R. Althoff
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Stephen T. Higgins
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- Anna Cattrell
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom
- Herta Flor
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany
- Frauke Nees
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany
- Arun L.W. Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Robert Whelan
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Christian Büchel
- University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Haus S10, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg, Germany
- Uli Bromberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Universite de Montreal, CHU Ste Justine Hospital, Canada
- Patricia Conrod
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom
- Vincent Frouin
- Neurospin, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, CEA-Saclay Center, Paris, France
- Dimitri Papadopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- Jurgen Gallinat
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
- Henrik Walter
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestr. 2-12, Berlin, Germany
- Bernd Ittermann
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestr. 2-12, Berlin, Germany
- Penny Gowland
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Tomáš Paus
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest and Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada
- Luise Poustka
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Jean-Luc Martinot
- Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, INSERM CEAUnit1000, “Imaging & Psychiatry”, University Paris Sud, 91400 Orsay, France
- Eric Artiges
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest and Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada
- Michael N. Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Gunter Schumann
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom
- Hugh Garavan
- Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2015.08.007
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 16,
no. C
pp. 63 – 70
Abstract
Cannabis use in adolescence may be characterized by differences in the neural basis of affective processing. In this study, we used an fMRI affective face processing task to compare a large group (n = 70) of 14-year olds with a history of cannabis use to a group (n = 70) of never-using controls matched on numerous characteristics including IQ, SES, alcohol and cigarette use. The task contained short movies displaying angry and neutral faces. Results indicated that cannabis users had greater reactivity in the bilateral amygdalae to angry faces than neutral faces, an effect that was not observed in their abstinent peers. In contrast, activity levels in the cannabis users in cortical areas including the right temporal-parietal junction and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex did not discriminate between the two face conditions, but did differ in controls. Results did not change after excluding subjects with any psychiatric symptomology. Given the high density of cannabinoid receptors in the amygdala, our findings suggest cannabis use in early adolescence is associated with hypersensitivity to signals of threat. Hypersensitivity to negative affect in adolescence may place the subject at-risk for mood disorders in adulthood.
Keywords
