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A new study from Western University explains why cannabis use can lead to bad trips for some, while others enjoy their high – sometimes a little too much.
A new study from Western University explains why cannabis use can lead to bad trips for some, while others enjoy their high – sometimes a little too much.
Steven Laviolette, neuroscientist, and Christopher Norris, a postdoctoral researcher at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, have mapped how different regions of the brain produce very different responses to marijuana use.
Research shows that some pot users have very rewarding, addictive effects, while the drug has negative psychiatric side effects, including paranoia, cognitive problems, and an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in others. .
"The research we have done indicates that these two processes take place in the same part of the brain," Norris said Friday.
Scientists examined the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive component of cannabis – on the brains of rats.
They discovered that THC can produce very rewarding effects in the region of the brain called nucleus accumbens. THC in this area can also increase the dependence properties of opioid drugs such as morphine, while reinforcing reward-related activity patterns in nerve cells of the brain.
Meanwhile, THC in the posterior region of the same brain region has produced extremely undesirable effects, including cognitive and emotional symptoms related to schizophrenia and nerve cell activity similar to those of people with psychiatric disorder.
The specific area of the nucleus accumbens of a person more sensitive to THC may be a key indicator of the possibility that the pot is experiencing positive or negative side effects, according to the researchers.
"Some people will be more sensitive to the rewarding aspects of THC," Norris said.
"Some people, if they use THC and all of this happens in a negative way, will not give them the courage to continue using it and to make the addiction adjustment happen in the brain."
The research was published Friday in the journal Scientific Reports.
"Until now, it was unclear which brain regions were responsible for these extremely divergent effects of marijuana," Laviolette said in a statement.
Previous Laviolette research has investigated whether cannabinoids – the more than 100 different compounds found in marijuana plants – can treat pain as effectively as opioids.
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