Reminiscence and Marijuana: Research at Olin Analysis Heart Focuses on Younger Customers

From the management room of the useful MRI on the Institute of Residing’s Olin Neuropsychiatry Analysis Heart, Dr. Alecia Dager watches the monitor for indicators of exercise within the portion of the mind that controls reminiscence, curious as to how the drug impacts this course of. (Within the picture above, the orange areas on a mind scan present areas the place marijuana customers confirmed much less mind exercise than nonusers whereas making an attempt to recall info.)

It’s the main target of analysis the analysis technologist conducts at Olin, recruiting individuals aged 18 to 22, a few of whom admit to being heavy marijuana customers and others who don’t use the drug, to check operate within the mind’s frontal lobe and hippocampus, the place recollections are made.

“My major speculation is that marijuana customers will present poor reminiscence operate and fewer mind response within the hippocampus throughout reminiscence duties,” Dr. Dager says. “For this, there must be adjustments within the neurochemicals.”

The useful MRI, or fMRI, examines neurochemical exercise within the brains of individuals in her Marijuana Reminiscence Research, fueled by a $658,940 grant from the Nationwide Institute of Drug Abuse. After launching in 2015, the examine will run by June 2019 and enroll 72.

“I’m hoping this can give us a greater understanding of the reminiscence dysfunction in marijuana customers,” Dr. Dager says. “I’m utilizing the spectroscopy to higher perceive it and discover higher remedies.

“Finally, I need folks to know the consequences. With marijuana’s legalization, folks’s notion is altering and so they suppose it’s innocent. It’s changing into extra acceptable and utilization is rising.”

She selected to concentrate on youthful folks as a result of their brains are nonetheless creating and marijuana may completely have an effect on its operate.

“We all know peak marijuana use is at that age with 20 % saying they’d used within the earlier month,” Dr. Dager says. “It’s additionally the time when the processes that assist the mind be extra environment friendly, plan for the longer term and be accountable are creating.”

Cognitive capability is vital to on a regular basis functioning, particularly for school college students, which prompted her to zero in on the mind’s capability to make and retailer recollections.

“Reminiscence operate is essentially the most persistently noticed cognitive deficiency from marijuana use,” she says, including, “Some analysis reveals that if adults cease utilizing, their reminiscence returns. It’s not clear if that occurs in younger adults. It might have an extended lasting impression on them.”

Research individuals are given a fMRI scan whereas memorizing info. They’re then requested to recollect the knowledge whereas Dr. Dager watches the scanner for breakdowns in mind operate.

The fMRI additionally examines the mind’s neurochemistry, particularly metabolites vital to varied mind processes within the frontal lobe and hippocampus. She hopes to hyperlink their operate to the presence of THC and CBD, chemical substances present in marijuana.

For extra info or to take part within the Marijuana and Reminiscence Research on the Institute of Residing’s Olin Neuropsychiatry Analysis Heart, contact Chelsea Meagher at Chelsea.meager@hhchealth.org or 860.545.7106. To go to the Olin web site, click on right here.