Commentary: Anatomical constitution of sense organs as a marker of mental disorders

Schwitzer, Thomas; Schwan, Raymund; Bernardin, Florent; Jeantet, Coline; Angioï-Duprez, K.; Laprévote, Vincent

doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00056

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…As a consequence, the retina and the brain display similar properties, especially in terms of neurotransmission [8] . In this context, multiple studies suggest that retinal function could be affected in CNS disorders involving neurotransmission abnormalities [9][10][11][12] . Cannabis is known to act on CNS neurotransmission, especially on glutamatergic, dopaminergic, and GABAergic pathways [13] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transient Retinal Dysfunctions after Acute Cannabis Use

Schwitzer

Robert²,

Giersch³

et al. 2016

Eur Addict Res

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Although cannabis is very widespread worldwide, the impact of cannabis on visual function remains poorly understood. This is partly due to numerous difficulties met in developing clinical studies in cannabis users. Here, we report the first documented case of neuroretinal dysfunction after acute cannabis smoking. This observation was favored by the need of an annual ophthalmic evaluation in the context of a chloroquine intake for a systemic lupus erythematosus in a 47-year-old heavy cannabis user. A complete ophthalmic evaluation including visual acuity tests, intraocular pressure, fundoscopic examination, automated 10° central visual field, full-field electroretinogram (ERG) and multifocal ERG was performed twice - 30 min and 5 h after cannabis smoking. A strong decrease (up to 48%) in the a-wave amplitude of the full-field ERG was measured 30 min after cannabis smoking for all scotopic responses compared with the responses 5 h after smoking. Other tests showed reproducible results between the 2 series of measurements. This clinical case suggests that acute inhalation of cannabis affects the photoreceptors functioning. This rare situation suggests further investigations are required on the impact of cannabis on retinal processing, especially since cannabis has been incriminated in car injuries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transient Retinal Dysfunctions after Acute Cannabis Use

Schwitzer

Robert²,

Giersch³

et al. 2016

Eur Addict Res

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“…Schwitzer et al suggest that the pattern electroretinogram (PERG), a retinal functional recording of the ganglion cells, might provide a relevant complementary measurement to enhance understanding of biological mechanisms in schizophrenia 30 . According to the authors, PERG protocols are good candidates to investigate dopamine transmission, a neurotransmitter known to be involved in schizophrenia.…”

Section: Suggestions Of New Research Avenuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adding functional measurements like PERG to imaging techniques such as OCT may provide a potential structure-function correlation. According to Schwitzer et al, PERG measurements have not yet been evaluated in schizophrenia patients 30 .…”

Section: Suggestions Of New Research Avenuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retinal abnormatilites as a diagnostic or prognostic marker of schizophrenia

Hosák¹,

Šerý²,

Sadykov³

et al. 2018

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The review is a summary of structural and functional changes in the human retina observed in patients with schizophrenia. The main focus is on the potential of these changes to serve as schizophrenia-specific biomarkers accessible to clinicians. We identified three features of the retina that can be detected non-invasively in humans and which appear to show charateristic changes in schizophrenia: (1) retinal microvasculature displaying abnormally wide venules; (2) electroretinograms indicating altered function of photoreceptors or other cells in the retinal component of the visual pathway; (3) optical coherence tomography pointing to structural differences between the retinae of patients with schizophrenia and those of healthy volunteers. We propose that the most feasible approach to evaluating the data would be to study the genetic and epigenetic background of the schizophrenia-associated retinal abnormalities and establish their significance and specificity as potential biomarkers for the disease. The studies should include longitudinal observations focusing on the possible involvement of medication and comorbid conditions in the mechanism of the disease; a comparison of schizophrenia with other mental disorders; and investigating retinal abnormalities in animal models of psychoses. Biomarkers identified in the process could represent an important addition to the arsenal of non-invasive techniques available to both clinicians and researchers. These novel biomarkers could facilitate research of the biological basis of psychosis and help to address the diagnostic, predicitive, preventative, prophylactic and therapeutic aspects of schizophrenia.

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“…he retina is an easy-to-access anatomic and developmental extension of the central nervous system, 1 which several research teams have suggested as being a crucial site for investigating human central synaptic transmission in complex mental phenomena. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Among these phenomena, the increasing use of cannabis represents an ever-growing public health challenge, 13 but little is known about the effect of cannabis use on human neural synaptic transmission. Retinal processing could constitute a breakthrough on this issue.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…There was no significant difference between controls and cannabis users for median age (cannabis users, 22 years [95% CI, 21-24]; controls, 24 years [95% CI, 23-27]; P = .13) or sex (cannabis users, 24 men [86%] and 4 women [14%]; controls, 20 men [83%] and 4 women [17%]; P = .81), but differences were noted between the groups in terms of average years of education (cannabis users, 13.5 years [95% CI, 13-14]; controls, 15 years [95% CI, 14-16]; P = .02), average number of alcohol uses per week (cannabis users, 4 [95% CI, 3-6]; controls, 1 [95% CI, 0-2]; P = .002), and median AUDIT score (cannabis users, 6 [95% CI,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]; controls, 3 [95% CI, 1-4]; P < .001). Because tobacco is widely mixed with cannabis in joints, 21 of 28 cannabis users were also tobacco smokers, whereas all members of the control group were nonsmokers.…”

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confidence: 99%

Association Between Regular Cannabis Use and Ganglion Cell Dysfunction

Schwitzer

Schwan

Albuisson³

et al. 2017

JAMA Ophthalmol

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IMPORTANCE Because cannabis use is a major public health concern and cannabis is known to act on central neurotransmission, studying the retinal ganglion cells in individuals who regularly use cannabis is of interest. OBJECTIVE To determine whether the regular use of cannabis could alter the function of retinal ganglion cells in humans. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS For this case-control study, individuals who regularly use cannabis, as well as healthy controls, were recruited, and data were collected from February 11 to October 28, 2014. Retinal function was used as a direct marker of brain neurotransmission abnormalities in complex mental phenomena. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Amplitude and implicit time of the N95 wave on results of pattern electroretinography. RESULTS Twenty-eight of the 52 participants were regular cannabis users (24 men and 4 women; median age, 22 years [95% CI, 21-24 years]), and the remaining 24 were controls (20 men and 4 women; median age, 24 years [95% CI, 23-27 years]). There was no difference between groups in terms of age (P = .13) or sex (P = .81). After adjustment for the number of years of education and alcohol use, there was a significant increase for cannabis users of the N95 implicit time on results of pattern electroretinography (median, 98.6 milliseconds [95% CI, 93.4-99.5]) compared with controls (median, 88.4 milliseconds [95% CI, 85.0-91.1]), with 8.4 milliseconds as the median of the differences (95% CI, 4.9-11.5; P < .001, Wald logistic regression). A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (area under the curve, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.73-0.95]; P < .001) revealed, for a cutoff value of 91.13 milliseconds, a sensitivity of 78.6% (95% CI, 60.5%-89.8%) and a specificity of 75.0% (95% CI, 55.1%-88.0%) for correctly classifying both cannabis users and controls in their corresponding group. The positive predictive value was 78.6% (95% CI, 60.5%-89.8%), and the negative predictive value was 75.0% (95% CI, 55.1%-88.0%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Our results demonstrate a delay in transmission of action potentials by the ganglion cells in regular cannabis users, which could support alterations in vision. Our findings may be important from a public health perspective since they could highlight the neurotoxic effects of cannabis use on the central nervous system as a result of how it affects retinal processing.

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Commentary: Anatomical constitution of sense organs as a marker of mental disorders

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

Transient Retinal Dysfunctions after Acute Cannabis Use

Transient Retinal Dysfunctions after Acute Cannabis Use

Retinal abnormatilites as a diagnostic or prognostic marker of schizophrenia

Association Between Regular Cannabis Use and Ganglion Cell Dysfunction

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