Author Interviews, Cannabis, Cognitive Issues, Depression, Pediatrics / 12.10.2016
Use of Marijuana At Young Age Linked To Functional Brain Abnormalities and Lower IQ
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Elizabeth Osuch, M.D.
Associate Professor; Rea Chair
Department of Psychiatry
FEMAP--London Health Sciences Centre
London, ON
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: As a researcher and psychiatrist doing clinical work in youth aged 16-25 with mood and anxiety disorders I often see patients who are depressed and believe that using marijuana (MJ) improves their mood. Yet they remain depressed. This was the clinical inspiration for this brain imaging study, where we investigated emerging adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Subject groups included patients with MDD who did and did not use MJ frequently. Our results showed that the MDD+MJ group did not have significantly less depression than the MDD alone group, and the brain abnormalities found in MDD were not corrected by MJ use in the MDD+MJ group. In fact, some of the brain differences were worse with the addition of MJ, while others were just different.
(more…)