Cerebellar thickness changes associated with heavy cannabis use: A 3-year longitudinal study.
Addict Biol
; 26(3): e12931, 2021 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32575152
ABSTRACT
Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug in the world. Cross-sectional neuroimaging studies have revealed that chronic cannabis exposure and the development of cannabis use disorders may affect cerebllar morphology. However, cross-sectional studies cannot make a conclusive distinction between causes and consequences, and there is a lack of longitudinal neuroimaging studies. In the current study, we used longitudinal neuroimaging data to explore whether persistent cannabis use and higher levels of cannabis exposure in young adults are related to cerebellar thickness alterations. Twenty heavy cannabis users (CBs) and 22 non-cannabis-using controls (HCs) completed a comprehensive psychological assessment and a T1-structural MRI scan at baseline and a 3-year follow-up. Except for lobuleVIIB, all cerebellar subregions showed significant effects of age in both the CB and HC groups. Both VI and CrusI had higher rates of increase in CBs than in HCs. In addition, we examined the relationship between changes in cerebellar thickness and cannabis use characteristics. We found that alterations in lobule VI and CrusI were related to the age at onset first cannabis use but not the age at onset frequent cannabis use. The changes in lobule VI and CrusI were associated with the CUDIT score, even when controlling for the AUDIT score. The results indicated that an increased rate of cerebellar thickness is a risk factor for heavy cannabis use in early adulthood. Cannabis use affects the cerebellar structure, and monitoring cerebellar structural alterations that could be used as biomarkers may help guide the development of clinical tools.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cannabis
/
Imagen por Resonancia Magnética
/
Cerebelo
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Addict Biol
Asunto de la revista:
TRANSTORNOS RELACIONADOS COM SUBSTANCIAS
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China