Alcohol substitution during one month of cannabis abstinence among non-treatment seeking youth.

Objective: Cannabis and alcohol use are correlated behaviors among youth. It is not known whether discontinuation of cannabis use is associated with changes in alcohol use. This study assessed alcohol use in youth before, during, and after 4 weeks of paid cannabis abstinence.

Urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol elimination in adolescent and young adult cannabis users during one month of sustained and biochemically-verified abstinence.

Background: Despite adolescents and young adults being the most frequent users of cannabis, all information on cannabis drug testing interpretation is based on data from adults.

Aims: This study aimed to define the time course of urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH) excretion among 70 adolescent and young adult cannabis users during 1 month of biochemically-verified cannabis abstinence.

Methods: Urine specimens were collected at non-abstinent baseline and after 2, 3, 8, 15, 21 and 28 days of abstinence.

Cross-domain correlates of cannabis use disorder severity among young adults.

Background: Correlates of cannabis use and dependence among young adults have been widely studied. However, it is not known which factors are most strongly associated with severity of cannabis use dependence (CUD) severity. Identification of the salient correlates of CUD severity will be of increasing clinical significance as use becomes more socially normative.

One Month of Cannabis Abstinence in Adolescents and Young Adults Is Associated With Improved Memory.

Objective: Associations between adolescent cannabis use and poor neurocognitive functioning have been reported from cross-sectional studies that cannot determine causality. Prospective designs can assess whether extended cannabis abstinence has a beneficial effect on cognition.

Methods: Eighty-eight adolescents and young adults (aged 16-25 years) who used cannabis regularly were recruited from the community and a local high school between July 2015 and December 2016.

Phase IIb Trial of an α7 Nicotinic Receptor Partial Agonist With and Without Nicotine Patch for Withdrawal-Associated Cognitive Deficits and Tobacco Abstinence.

Purpose/background: The objective of this study was to determine whether a novel α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist improves cognition during nicotine withdrawal and improves abstinence rates. To do so, the effect of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, encenicline, on cognition and abstinence was evaluated when given as monotherapy and when combined with transdermal nicotine patch (nicotine replacement therapy [NRT]).

Methods: Adult daily smokers, n = 160, who were motivated to quit smoking completed cognitive testing at satiated baseline and after overnight abstinence and then were randomized to receive a 12-week trial of encenicline 1 mg twice daily or identical placebo the day of the overnight abstinent cognitive testing.

Prolonged cannabis withdrawal in young adults with lifetime psychiatric illness.

Young adults with psychiatric illnesses are more likely to use cannabis and experience problems from use. It is not known whether those with a lifetime psychiatric illness experience a prolonged cannabis withdrawal syndrome with abstinence. Participants were fifty young adults, aged 18-25, recruited from the Boston-area in 2015-2016, who used cannabis at least weekly, completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV to identify Axis I psychiatric diagnoses (PD+ vs PD-), and attained cannabis abstinence with a four-week contingency management protocol.

A contingency management method for 30-days abstinence in non-treatment seeking young adult cannabis users.

Background: Rates of young adult cannabis use are rising, perceived harm is at its historical nadir, and most users do not want to quit. Most studies evaluating effects of cannabis use in young adults are cross-sectional, limiting causal inference. A method to reliably induce abstinence periods in cannabis users would allow assessment of the effects of abstinence and resumption of use on a variety of outcomes in a within-subjects, repeated measures design.

Early onset marijuana use is associated with learning inefficiencies.

Objective: Verbal memory difficulties are the most widely reported and persistent cognitive deficit associated with early onset marijuana use. Yet, it is not known what memory stages are most impaired in those with early marijuana use.

Method: Forty-eight young adults, aged 18-25, who used marijuana at least once per week and 48 matched nonusing controls (CON) completed the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition (CVLT-II).

Ecological momentary assessment of working memory under conditions of simultaneous marijuana and tobacco use.

Background And Aims: The neuropsychological correlates of simultaneous marijuana and tobacco use are largely unknown, which is surprising as both substances have similar neural substrates and have opposing influences on working memory (WM). This study examined the effects of marijuana alone, tobacco alone and simultaneous marijuana and tobacco use on WM.

Design: Primary aims were tested using a within-subject design, controlling for multiple subject- and momentary-level confounds via ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

Acceptability and feasibility of a visual working memory task in an ecological momentary assessment paradigm.

Neuropsychological performance has historically been measured in laboratory settings using standardized assessments. However, these methods may be inherently limited in generalizability. This concern may be mitigated with paradigms such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

Neuropsychological sex differences associated with age of initiated use among young adult cannabis users.

Introduction: Earlier initiation of cannabis use is associated with poorer neuropsychological functioning across several domains. Given well-documented sex differences in neuromaturation during adolescence, initiation of cannabis use during this time may affect neuropsychological functioning differently for males and females.

Method: In the current study, we examined sex differences in the relationship between age of initiated cannabis use and neuropsychological performance after controlling for amount of lifetime cannabis use in 44 male and 25 female young adult cannabis users.

Preliminary evidence for a sex-specific relationship between amount of cannabis use and neurocognitive performance in young adult cannabis users.

Accumulating evidence suggests neuropsychological deficits from cannabis use, with a burgeoning area of preclinical research indicating possible sex-differences. However, few studies have examined how cannabis use may differentially impact neurocognition in male and female cannabis users. As such, we examined potential sex-differences in associations between amount of cannabis use (across several time frames) and neurocognitive performance among young adult regular cannabis users.

Effects of cannabis on neurocognitive functioning: recent advances, neurodevelopmental influences, and sex differences.

Decades of research have examined the effects of cannabis on neurocognition. Recent advances in this field provide us with a better understanding of how cannabis use influences neurocognition both acutely (during intoxication) and non-acutely (after acute effects subside). Evidence of problems with episodic memory is one of the most consistent findings reported; however, several other neurocognitive domains appear to be adversely affected by cannabis use under various conditions.

Gender-specific relationships between depressive symptoms, marijuana use, parental communication and risky sexual behavior in adolescence.

A large body of research has identified correlates of risky sexual behavior, with depressive symptoms and marijuana use among the most consistent psychosocial predictors of sexual risk. However, substantially less research has examined the relationship between these risk variables and adolescent risky sexual behavior over time as well as the interaction of these individual-level predictors with family-level variables such as parenting factors. Additionally, most studies have been restricted to one index of risky sexual behavior, have not taken into account the complex role of gender, and have not controlled for several of the factors that independently confer risk for risky sexual behavior.

Performance of young adult cannabis users on neurocognitive measures of impulsive behavior and their relationship to symptoms of cannabis use disorders.

Recent studies suggest that abstinent cannabis users show deficits on neurocognitive laboratory tasks of impulsive behavior. But results are mixed, and less is known on the performance of non-treatment-seeking, young adult cannabis users. Importantly, relationships between performance on measures of impulsive behavior and symptoms of cannabis addiction remain relatively unexplored.

The influence of inhibitory control and episodic memory on the risky sexual behavior of young adult cannabis users.

Cannabis use is associated with risky sexual behavior (RSB) and sex-related negative health consequences. This investigation examined the role of inhibitory control and episodic memory in predicting RSB and sex-related negative consequences among current cannabis users. Findings indicated that the relationships among cannabis, neurocognition, and sexual-risk varied according to the dimension of neurocognition and the parameter of RSB in question.

Substance Abuse, Hepatitis C, and Aging in HIV: Common Cofactors that Contribute to Neurobehavioral Disturbances.

Although the prevalence of neurocognitive disturbances among individuals with HIV has decreased in recent years, rates of impairment still remain high. This review presents findings from comorbid conditions that may contribute to further neurocognitive impairments in this already vulnerable population. We will focus on three co-factors that have received substantial attention in the neuroAIDS literature: drug use, hepatitis C co-infection (HCV), and aging.