Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol reduces willingness to exert effort in women.
Psychopharmacology (Berl)
; 239(5): 1487-1497, 2022 May.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35102424
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The use of cannabis has been clinically associated with decreased motivation to engage in normally rewarding activities. However, evidence from previous controlled studies is mixed.METHOD:
In this study, we examined the effects of acute delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) versus placebo on a task measuring willingness to exert effort for rewards. This is a secondary analysis of a larger study examining interactions between ovarian hormones and THC. In this within-subjects study, oral THC and placebo were administered under double-blind conditions in counterbalanced order to healthy young adult (M age = 24 years) women with previous cannabis experience who were not regular users. Forty subjects completed three 4-h sessions with PL, 7.5 and 15 mg THC, while an additional 18 completed only PL and 15 mg THC sessions (design abridged due to pandemic). At each session, they completed a task consisting of making repeated choices between a hard and an easy task, which were worth varying amounts of money at varying probabilities.RESULTS:
THC dose-dependently decreased hard task choices (drug effect, b = - 0.79, SE = 0.29, z = - 2.67, p < 0.01), especially at moderate to high expected values of reward (drug × probability × amount interaction, b = 0.77, SE = 0.38, z = 1.99, p = 0.04). THC also slowed task performance (drug effect, b = 0.01, SE = 0.005, t(5.24) = 2.11, p = 0.04), but the effect of THC on choice was still significant after controlling for this psychomotor slowing.CONCLUSIONS:
These findings support the idea that cannabis acutely reduces motivation to earn non-drug rewards. Still to be determined are the neurochemical mechanisms underlying this effect.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cannabis
/
Alucinógenos
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Psychopharmacology (Berl)
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos