Longitudinal associations between amygdala reactivity and cannabis use in a large sample of adolescents.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

The amygdala is a key brain structure to study in relation to cannabis use as reflected by its high-density of cannabinoid receptors and functional reactivity to processes relevant to drug use. Previously, we identified a correlation between cannabis use in early adolescence and amygdala hyper-reactivity to angry faces (Spechler et al. 2015).

Objectives

Here, we leveraged the longitudinal aspect of the same dataset (the IMAGEN study) to determine (1) if amygdala hyper-reactivity predicts future cannabis use and (2) if amygdala reactivity is affected by prolonged cannabis exposure during adolescence.

Methods

First, linear regressions predicted the level of cannabis use by age 19 using amygdala reactivity to angry faces measured at age 14 prior to cannabis exp

SUBMITTER: Spechler PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7572697 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature