{"id":83761,"date":"2025-01-29T10:59:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T16:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=83761"},"modified":"2025-01-29T10:59:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T16:59:51","slug":"marijuana-impacts-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/marijuana-impacts-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana Impacts Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Source:\u00a0<\/strong>Julia Milzer, “Largest Study Ever Done on Cannabis and Brain Function Finds Impact on Working Memory<\/a>,” University of Colorado, 28 January 2025.<\/p>\n

“The researchers found that 63% of heavy lifetime cannabis users exhibited reduced brain activity during a working memory task, while 68% of recent users also demonstrated a similar impact.”<\/p>\n

“This decline in brain activity was associated with worse performance on working memory – the ability to retain and use information to perform tasks. For example, working memory allows a person to follow instructions they’ve just been given or to mentally visualize and manipulate information, like solving a math problem.”<\/p>\n

“During working memory tasks, the researchers found heavy cannabis use appeared to reduce brain activity in certain areas of the brain (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula). These regions of the brain are involved in important cognitive functions such as decision-making, memory, attention and emotional processing.”<\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> Joshua L. Gowin, “Brain Function Outcomes of Recent and Lifetime Cannabis Use<\/a>,” JAMA Network, 28 January 2025.<\/p>\n

“In this cross-sectional study of 1003 young adults, heavy lifetime cannabis use was associated with lower brain activation during a working memory task; this association remained after removing individuals with recent cannabis use. These results were not explained by differences in demographic variables, age at first cannabis use, alcohol use, or nicotine use.”<\/p>\n

“These findings suggest that cannabis use is associated with short- and long-term brain function outcomes, especially during working memory tasks.”<\/p>\n

“Greater accessibility of cannabis has also been associated with higher rates of cannabis-related motor vehicle crashes,\u00a0and frequent cannabis use is associated with increased risk for hyperemesis syndrome\u00a0and cardiovascular disease. Despite these negative effects, there is an increasing perception that cannabis is harmless.”<\/p>\n

“The association we observed between recent use and working memory task activation and performance suggests that abstaining from cannabis prior to cognitively demanding situations will likely help with performance. The exact duration of this period of abstinence is unclear, but studies suggest that residual cognitive effects of cannabis may remain for 2 to 4 weeks after abstinence. Furthermore, in heavy users, abstaining from cannabis may also lead to withdrawal symptoms, which may last for a week or more following cessation and could also affect performance.”<\/p>\n

“Reduced brain activation to a theory of mind task was reported previously in cannabis users relative to healthy adults, and the study’s authors hypothesized that this could contribute to the increased risk of schizophrenia, a condition associated with profound deficits in theory of mind processes.”<\/p>\n

“In our study, we also observed reduced activation in recent cannabis users, which could contribute to the emergence of acute psychoses observed during THC intoxication, particularly for high THC doses.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source:\u00a0Julia Milzer, “Largest Study Ever Done on Cannabis and Brain Function Finds Impact on Working Memory,” University of Colorado, 28 January 2025. “The researchers found that 63% of heavy lifetime cannabis users exhibited reduced brain activity during a working memory task, while 68% of recent users also demonstrated a similar impact.” “This decline in brain…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[372,540],"class_list":["post-83761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issues","tag-drugs","tag-marijuana"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57690,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dangers-of-recreational-marijuana\/","url_meta":{"origin":83761,"position":0},"title":"Dangers of Recreational Marijuana","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Source:\u00a0Dr. Liji Thomas, MD, \"Dangers of recreational\/medical cannabis use,\"\u00a0News Medical and Life Sciences, 26 October 2022. More people are using marijuana and starting at a younger age. \"Now that many American states have legalized cannabis, the already high rate of cannabis usage is increasing from ages as young as 16\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46393,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/marijuanas-effects-on-the-brain\/","url_meta":{"origin":83761,"position":1},"title":"Marijuana’s Effects on the Brain","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: \"How Cannabis Affects Our Cognition and Psychology,\" Neuroscience News, 13 May 2022. \"... the main users are adolescents and young adults, whose\u00a0brains are still in development. They may therefore be\u00a0particularly vulnerable to the effects of cannabis use on the brain in the longer term.\" \"We showed that participants with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42282,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/marijuana-produces-persistent-cognitive-loss\/","url_meta":{"origin":83761,"position":2},"title":"Marijuana Produces Persistent Cognitive Loss","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: \"Cannabis Use Produces Persistent Cognitive Impairments,\" Neuroscience News, 20 January 2022. \"A systematic review published today in the scientific journal\u00a0Addiction has found that cannabis use leads to acute cognitive impairments that may continue beyond the period of intoxication.\" \"The study found that cannabis intoxication leads to small to moderate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25984,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/marijuana-permanently-lowers-iq\/","url_meta":{"origin":83761,"position":3},"title":"Marijuana Permanently Lowers IQ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: Stephen Adams, \"Cannabis smoking 'permanently lowers IQ',\"\u00a0The Telegraph, 27 July 2012. Source: Madeline Meier, et al, \"Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife,\"\u00a0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 30 July 2012. \"Researchers found persistent users of the drug, [marijuana], who started smoking it at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36294,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-makes-marijuana-work-does-it-lead-to-using-other-drugs\/","url_meta":{"origin":83761,"position":4},"title":"What makes marijuana work? Does it lead to using other drugs?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have some questions about marijuana. What are the ingredients in pot that produce that \"high\", mind-altering feeling that users crave and the \"munchies\"? Does pot use eventually lead to the use of more hardcore drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, LSD, etc.? I would venture to guess that regular\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55270,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/cannabis-use-increases-pain-after-surgery\/","url_meta":{"origin":83761,"position":5},"title":"Cannabis Use Increases Pain After Surgery","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Source: \"Cannabis Use Increases Pain After Surgery,\" Neuroscience News, 23 October 2022. One of the arguments for legalizing marijuana is that it can be used for pain management. This study shows that the claim may not be justified. \"Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83761\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}