Faculty Collaboration Database

Longitudinal study of cognition among adolescent marijuana users over three weeks of abstinence. Addict Behav 2010 Nov;35(11):970-6

Date

07/14/2010

Pubmed ID

20621421

Pubmed Central ID

PMC2933185

DOI

10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.06.012

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-77955516566 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   170 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cognitive deficits that persist up to a month have been detected among adult marijuana users, but decrements and their pattern of recovery are less known in adolescent users. Previously, we reported cognitive deficits among adolescent marijuana users after one month of abstinence (Medina, Hanson, Schweinsburg, Cohen-Zion, Nagel, & Tapert, 2007). In this longitudinal study, we characterized neurocognitive changes among marijuana-using adolescents across the first three weeks of abstinence.

METHOD: Participants were adolescent marijuana users with limited alcohol and other drug use (n=19) and demographically similar non-using controls (n=21) ages 15-19. Participants completed a brief neuropsychological battery on three occasions, after 3days, 2weeks, and 3weeks of stopping substance use. Abstinence was ascertained by decreasing tetrahydrocannabinol metabolite values on serial urine drug screens. Verbal learning, verbal working memory, attention and vigilance, and time estimation were evaluated.

RESULTS: Marijuana users demonstrated poorer verbal learning (p<.01), verbal working memory (p<.05), and attention accuracy (p<.01) compared to controls. Improvements in users were seen on word list learning after 2weeks of abstinence and on verbal working memory after 3weeks. While attention processing speed was similar between groups, attention accuracy remained deficient in users throughout the 3-week abstinence period.

CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study detected poorer verbal learning and verbal working memory among adolescent marijuana users that improved during three weeks of abstinence, while attention deficits persisted. These results implicate possible hippocampal, subcortical, and prefrontal cortex abnormalities.

Author List

Hanson KL, Winward JL, Schweinsburg AD, Medina KL, Brown SA, Tapert SF

Author

Krista Lisdahl PhD Assistant Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Attention
Cannabis
Case-Control Studies
Cognition
Dronabinol
Female
Humans
Learning
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Marijuana Abuse
Memory, Short-Term
Neuropsychological Tests
Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
Young Adult