Cerebellar grey-matter deficits, cannabis use and first-episode schizophrenia in adolescents and young adults.
Int J Neuropsychopharmacol
; 15(3): 297-307, 2012 Apr.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21557880
ABSTRACT
Epidemiological data link adolescent cannabis use to psychosis and schizophrenia, but its contribution to schizophrenia neuropathology remains controversial. First-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients show regional cerebral grey- and white-matter changes as well as a distinct pattern of regional grey-matter loss in the vermis of the cerebellum. The cerebellum possesses a high density of cannabinoid type 1 receptors involved in the neuronal diversification of the developing brain. Cannabis abuse may interfere with this process during adolescent brain maturation leading to 'schizophrenia-like' cerebellar pathology. Magnetic resonance imaging and cortical pattern matching techniques were used to investigate cerebellar grey and white matter in FES patients with and without a history of cannabis use and non-psychiatric cannabis users. In the latter group we found lifetime dose-dependent regional reduction of grey matter in the right cerebellar lobules and a tendency for more profound grey-matter reduction in lobule III with younger age at onset of cannabis use. The overall regional grey-matter differences in cannabis users were within the normal variability of grey-matter distribution. By contrast, FES subjects had lower total cerebellar grey-mattertotal cerebellar volume ratio and marked grey-matter loss in the vermis, pedunculi, flocculi and lobules compared to pair-wise matched healthy control subjects. This pattern and degree of grey-matter loss did not differ from age-matched FES subjects with comorbid cannabis use. Our findings indicate small dose-dependent effects of juvenile cannabis use on cerebellar neuropathology but no evidence of an additional effect of cannabis use on FES cerebellar grey-matter pathology.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Esquizofrenia
/
Cerebelo
/
Abuso de Marihuana
/
Sustancia Gris
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Int J Neuropsychopharmacol
Asunto de la revista:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOFARMACOLOGIA
Año:
2012
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Australia