Brain scans pinpoint cannabis mental health risk|Top News|Reuters.com
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON (Reuters) - Brain scans showing how cannabis affects brain function may help explain why heavy consumption of the drug triggers psychosis and schizophrenia in a small number of people, scientists said on Monday.
Psychiatrists are increasingly concerned about the mental health impact of smoking large amounts of modern super-strength marijuana, or skunk, particularly among young people.
Until now, the mechanism by which cannabis works on the brain has been a mystery but modern scanning techniques mean experts can now detect its impact on brain activity.
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Professor Philip McGuire and Zerrin Atakan of London's Institute of Psychiatry said their work using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, showed patients given the active cannabis compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) had reduced function in the inferior frontal cortex brain region.
This area is associated with controlling inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses to situations.
"What THC seems to be doing is switching off that part of the brain, and that was associated with how paranoid people became," McGuire told reporters.
Their research will be presented at a two-day International Cannabis and Mental Health Conference at the Institute of Psychiatry this week.
[...]
Similar findings from other teams also highlight the link between THC dose and the risk of schizophrenia-like symptoms, conference organizer Professor Robin Murray said.
"It's no longer a contentious issue. The expert community, by and large, accepts that cannabis contributes to the onset of psychotic symptoms in general and the severe form of psychosis, schizophrenia," he said.
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON (Reuters) - Brain scans showing how cannabis affects brain function may help explain why heavy consumption of the drug triggers psychosis and schizophrenia in a small number of people, scientists said on Monday.
Psychiatrists are increasingly concerned about the mental health impact of smoking large amounts of modern super-strength marijuana, or skunk, particularly among young people.
Until now, the mechanism by which cannabis works on the brain has been a mystery but modern scanning techniques mean experts can now detect its impact on brain activity.
Reuters Pictures
Photo
Editors Choice: Best pictures
from the last 24 hours.
View Slideshow
Professor Philip McGuire and Zerrin Atakan of London's Institute of Psychiatry said their work using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, showed patients given the active cannabis compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) had reduced function in the inferior frontal cortex brain region.
This area is associated with controlling inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses to situations.
"What THC seems to be doing is switching off that part of the brain, and that was associated with how paranoid people became," McGuire told reporters.
Their research will be presented at a two-day International Cannabis and Mental Health Conference at the Institute of Psychiatry this week.
[...]
Similar findings from other teams also highlight the link between THC dose and the risk of schizophrenia-like symptoms, conference organizer Professor Robin Murray said.
"It's no longer a contentious issue. The expert community, by and large, accepts that cannabis contributes to the onset of psychotic symptoms in general and the severe form of psychosis, schizophrenia," he said.
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