A Population-Based Analysis of the Relationship Between Substance Use and Adolescent Cognitive Development

Abstract

Alcohol and cannabis misuse are related to impaired cognition. When inferring causality, four nonexclusive theoretical models can account for this association: 1) a common underlying vulnerability model; 2) a neuroplasticity model in which impairment is concurrent with changes in substance use but temporary because of neuroplastic brain processes that restore function; 3) a neurotoxicity model of long-term impairment consequential to substance use; and 4) a developmental sensitivity hypothesis of age-specific effects. Using a developmentally sensitive design, the authors investigated relationships between year-to-year changes in substance use and cognitive development. Method: A population-based sample of 3,826 seventhgrade students from 31 schools consisting of 5% of all students entering high school in 2012 and 2013 in the Greater Montreal region were assessed annually for 4 years on alcohol and cannabis use, recall memory, perceptual reasoning, inhibition, and working memory, using school-based computerized assessments. Multilevel regression models, performed separately for each substance, were used to simultaneously test vulnerability (between-subject) and concurrent and lagged within-subject effects on each cognitive domain.

Impulsivities and addictions: a multidimensional integrative framework informing assessment and interventions for substance use disorders

“…Whelan et al [70] showed that stopping behaviour, a form of impulsive action involving action cancellation, and its correlated neural network involving the inferior frontal gyrus, was implicated specifically in frequency of drug use, whereas other networks involved in stopping behaviour were related to drug use vulnerability, but not to frequency or severity of use. More recently, Morin et al [71] analysed data from a longitudinal study of 4000 adolescents who were assessed annually on a number of impulsivity and executive cognitive functions over the course of adolescence (from 12 to 17 years). This analysis showed that neurocognitive measures of working memory and response inhibition (impulsive action) were associated with vulnerability to substance use in adolescence, but multi-level modelling of within-person variability on these neurocognitive measures also showed that onset and frequency of substance use, particularly cannabis use, were associated with, and longitudinally predicted, further changes in working memory and response inhibition (impulsive action), suggesting action inhibition is both causal and consequential to substance misuse.…”

“…Delay discounting related to general substance use vulnerability, whereas reduced prefrontal cortical activity during failed stopping behaviour and errors of commission on a go/no-go task of impulsive action predicted conduct problems and ADHD. Other multi-site studies involving brain and behavioural measures during neurocognitive tasks of impulsivity suggest not only that impulsivity dimensions predict future risk for substance misuse, but also that early onset substance misuse further impacts the development of these neurocognitive domains during adolescence and that there might be important substance-specific effects on certain neurocognitive functions [71,74].…”

Cannabinoid exposure in rat adolescence reprograms the initial behavioral, molecular, and epigenetic response to cocaine

“…Impaired endocannabinoid signaling has been linked to increased stress responsivity, negative emotional states, and drug craving (3). Moreover, epidemiological studies have found that initiation of cannabis use in adolescence is associated with increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders, including substance abuse (4), cognitive deficits (5), and psychotic symptoms (6). Both humans and animals are also known to vary in their response to first drug exposures in ways that can predict future drug use (7).…”

Adolescent Substance Use and the Brain: Behavioral, Cognitive and Neuroimaging Correlates

“…The effect of cannabis and alcohol co-use on cognition seems to largely depend on the cognitive behavior being measured. In a longitudinal population-based analysis of grade 7 students, Morin et al ( 2019 ) found that among co-users, cannabis, but not alcohol, was associated with short-term neurotoxic effects on working memory and inhibitory control as well as long-term effects on perceptual reasoning and delayed memory recall. In another study, hangover symptoms among adolescent heavy drinkers were associated with worse verbal learning and memory but these deficits were not seen in adolescents with similar alcohol consumption and heavy cannabis use (Mahmood et al, 2010 ).…”