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Chapter 7 - The Impact of Adolescent Exposure to Cannabis on the Brain

A Focus on Animal Studies

from Part III - Cannabis and the Brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2023

By
Erica Zamberletti  and
Tiziana Rubino
Edited by
Deepak Cyril D'Souza ,
David Castle  and
Sir Robin Murray
Deepak Cyril D'Souza
Affiliation:
Staff Psychiatrist, VA Connecticut Healthcare System; Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine
David Castle
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Australia
Sir Robin Murray
Affiliation:
Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Psychosis Service at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust; Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry
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Summary

Adolescence is a critical window of brain development. The adolescent brain is highly plastic and undergoes developmental and biological changes that are required for proper behavioural and cognitive maturation. However, this dynamic nature of the adolescent brain places it in a state of higher vulnerability to harmful environmental manipulations, such as exposure to drugs such as cannabis. Adolescents may be at a higher risk of suffering from adverse consequences of cannabinoid exposure than the adult population. Animal research supports the hypothesis of the existence of long-term behavioural deficits in adulthood following adolescent cannabinoid exposure depending on the dose of exposure, the age of first exposure and possibly the ratio of THC:CBD.

Keywords

cannabiscannabinoidsTHCadolescenceneurodevelopmentcognitionpsychosisemotiongateway
Type
Chapter
Information
Marijuana and Madness , pp. 61 - 67
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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