Neuroimaging meta-analysis of cannabis use studies reveals convergent functional alterations in brain regions supporting cognitive control and reward processing

Abstract

Lagging behind rapid changes to state laws, societal views, and medical practice is the scientific investigation of cannabis’s impact on the human brain. While several brain imaging studies have contributed important insight into neurobiological alterations linked with cannabis use, our understanding remains limited. Here, we sought to delineate those brain regions that consistently demonstrate functional alterations among cannabis users versus non-users across neuroimaging studies using the activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis framework. In ancillary analyses, we characterized task-related brain networks that co-activate with cannabis-affected regions using data archived in a large neuroimaging repository, and then determined which psychological processes may be disrupted via functional decoding techniques. When considering convergent alterations among users, decreased activation was observed in the anterior cingulate cortex, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and limbic areas and was linked with cognitive control processes. Similarly, decreased activation was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which co-activated with frontal and occipital areas and linked with attention-related processes. Conversely, increased activation among users was observed in the striatum, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and other limbic areas and linked with reward processing. These meta-analytic outcomes indicate that cannabis use is linked with differential, region-specific effects across the brain.

Shifted balance of dorsal versus ventral striatal communication with frontal reward and regulatory regions in cannabis‐dependent males

“…Patterns of functional connectivity associated with a significant group (control vs user) by seed (VS vs. DS) interaction. As such, the present findings are in accordance with recent quantitative and qualitative reviews suggesting alterations in networks engaged in cognitive control and reward processing in chronic cannabis users(Weinstein et al, 2016;Wrege et al, 2014;Yanes et al, 2018). Error bars reflect the SEM.…”

“…Red color indicated stronger functional connectivity with VS than DS and blue color indicated stronger functional connectivity with DS than VS. All images were thresholded at p < .05, TFCE corrected (Weinstein et al, 2016;Wrege et al, 2014;Yanes et al, 2018) and social decision making (Gilman, 2017). In line with animal and human data that emphasize the specific contributions of the VS and DS, subregion-specific differences between cannabis users and controls mapped to the nucleus accumbens and the caudate nucleus.…”

“…Partly driven by the ongoing discussion about cannabis legalization and concomitantly increasing demand for treatment of cannabis dependence (EMCDDA, 2008;Volkow et al, 2016), a number of studies have examined effects of cannabis use on the brain (overview see, e.g., Lorenzetti, Solowij, & Yücel, 2016;Weinstein, Livny, & Weizman, 2016). In line with the functions of the striato-frontal circuitry and its proposed contribution to addiction task-based neuroimaging studies demonstrated exaggerated striatal reactivity to cannabis cues (Filbey et al, 2016), reward anticipation (Jager, Block, Luijten, & Ramsey, 2013) and decreased frontal activity during executive control (Weinstein et al, 2016;Wrege et al, 2014;Yanes et al, 2018) in chronic users. This pattern may reflect exaggerated striatal reactivity in the context of deficient prefrontal control and mirror maladaptations that have been observed across addictive disorders (Brand et al, 2016;Goldstein & Volkow, 2011).…”

Maximizing dissimilarity in resting state detects heterogeneous subtypes in healthy population associated with high substance use and problems in antisocial personality

“…This was coherent with our observation of reduced weight of the common COBE components in the PCC constituting the core region of DMN‐A. Task‐based fMRI meta‐analysis has reported PCC areas in the DMN to be affected in substance seekers (Blest‐Hopley, Giampietro, & Bhattacharyya, ; Yanes et al, ). The rs‐fMRI analysis revealed that longer use of cannabis is associated with decreased low frequency power of the DMN (Thijssen et al, ).…”

Cannabis and the developing brain: What does the evidence say?

“…Similarly, neuroimaging studies find structural and functional differences between adolescents reporting a history of cannabis use and those with minimal to no use histories, including differences in microstructural and macrostructural neural tissue indices (Baker, Yucel, Fornito, Allen, & Lubman, 2013;Orr et al, 2019), blood-oxygen level dependent signal responses and neural network integration (Lichenstein, Musselman, Shaw, Sitnick, & Forbes, 2017;Yanes et al, 2018), cerebral blood flow (Filbey, Aslan, Lu, & Peng, 2018;Jacobus et al, 2012), as well as behavioral and emotional functioning (Griffith-Lendering, Huijbregts, Mooijaart, Vollebergh, & Swaab, 2011;Moitra, Anderson, & Stein, 2016). Nevertheless, some studies find no association between cannabis use and brain integrity (Thayer et al, 2017;Weiland et al, 2015).…”