5
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Altered brain tissue composition in heavy marijuana users.

      Drug and Alcohol Dependence
      Adult, Brain, metabolism, pathology, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, methods, Male, Marijuana Abuse

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance in the United States; however, previous imaging studies have not detected altered brain structure in marijuana users compared to non-users. Voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate possible differences in brain tissue composition in a group of 11 heavy marijuana users and a group of 8 non-users. All participants were male. Statistical comparisons were made at the voxel level on T1-weighted magnetic resonance images to determine differences in gray matter and white matter tissue density. Compared to non-users, marijuana users had lower gray matter density in a cluster of voxels in the right parahippocampal gyrus (P = 0.0001), and greater density bilaterally near the precentral gyrus and the right thalamus (P < 0.04). Marijuana users also had lower white matter density in the left parietal lobe (P = 0.03), and higher density around the parahippocampal and fusiform gyri on the left side compared to non-users (P < 0.002). Longer duration of marijuana use (in years) was significantly correlated with higher white matter tissue density in the left precentral gyrus (P = 0.045). Our preliminary results suggest evidence of possible structural differences in the brain of heavy marijuana users, and localize regions for further investigation of the effects of marijuana in the brain.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          15607838
          10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2004.06.011

          Adult,Brain,metabolism,pathology,Humans,Magnetic Resonance Imaging,methods,Male,Marijuana Abuse

          Comments

          Comment on this article