School of Psychology and Ψ-P3: Centre for Psychophysics, Psychophysiology and Psychopharmacology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW Australia. Electronic address:
Published: September 2013
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Chronic cannabis use has been associated with neurocognitive deficits, alterations in brain structure and function, and with psychosis. This study investigated the effects of chronic cannabis use on P50 sensory-gating in regular users, and explored the association between sensory gating, cannabis use history and the development of psychotic-like symptoms. Twenty controls and 21 regular cannabis users completed a P50 paired-click (S1 and S2) paradigm with an inter-pair interval of 9s. The groups were compared on P50 amplitude to S1 and S2, P50 ratio (S2/S1) and P50 difference score (S1-S2). While cannabis users overall did not differ from controls on P50 measures, prolonged duration of regular use was associated with greater impairment in sensory gating as indexed by both P50 ratio and difference scores (including after controlling for tobacco use). Long-term cannabis users were found to have worse sensory gating ratios and difference scores compared to short-term users and controls. P50 metrics did not correlate significantly with any measure of psychotic-like symptoms in cannabis users. These results suggest that prolonged exposure to cannabis results in impaired P50 sensory-gating in long-term cannabis users. While it is possible that these deficits may have pre-dated cannabis use and reflect a vulnerability to cannabis use, their association with increasing years of cannabis use suggests that this is not the case. Impaired P50 sensory-gating ratios have also been reported in patients with schizophrenia and may indicate a similar underlying pathology.
Objective: Understanding the association between cannabis use and binge eating is of interest amidst growing global cannabis legalization. While preliminary research suggests a link between cannabis use and binge eating, population-based data among young adults, both female and male, are lacking. Given that depressive symptoms can act as an important precipitant of both cannabis use and binge eating, exploring the role of depressive symptoms is essential.
Introduction: The dearth of population-based data on polysubstance use, especially in young emerging adults, presents a critical gap in understanding public health challenges, particularly in rural India, where tobacco and oral cancer are prevalent. This study addresses this gap by investigating the prevalence and patterns of substance use, with a focus on young emerging adults (18-29 years) within a high-risk cohort for oral cancer in Varanasi, India.
Methods: The study involved a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 10,101 participants within a high-risk cohort in rural settings of the Varanasi district between December 2020-June 2023.
Objective: Psychoactive substance use is largely found to involve multiple substances. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed psychoactive substance use patterns. Aim of this study is to investigate profiles of polysubstance and their pattern during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Purpose Of The Review: Brain stimulation techniques targeting neuronal pathways are evolving as a novel therapeutic option for substance use disorders. This study aims to provide an overview of the current research landscape on brain stimulation in addiction psychiatry by analyzing data from ClinicalTrials.gov.
