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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Reflection Impulsivity In Adolescent Cannabis Users: A Comparison With Alcohol-Using And Non-Substance-Using Adolescents, Nadia Solowij, Katy A. Jones, Megan E. Rozman, Sasha M. Davis, Joseph Ciarrochi, Patrick C. L Heaven, Nicole Pesa, Dan I. Lubman, Murat Yucel
Reflection Impulsivity In Adolescent Cannabis Users: A Comparison With Alcohol-Using And Non-Substance-Using Adolescents, Nadia Solowij, Katy A. Jones, Megan E. Rozman, Sasha M. Davis, Joseph Ciarrochi, Patrick C. L Heaven, Nicole Pesa, Dan I. Lubman, Murat Yucel
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Rationale Reflection impulsivity-a failure to gather and evaluate information before making a decision-is a critical component of risk-taking and substance use behaviours, which are highly prevalent during adolescence. Objectives and methods The Information Sampling Test was used to assess reflection impulsivity in 175 adolescents (mean age 18.3, range 16.5-20; 55% female)-48 cannabis users (2.3 years use, 10.8 days/month), 65 alcohol users, and 62 non-substance-using controls-recruited from a longitudinal cohort and from the general community and matched for education and IQ. Cannabis and alcohol users were matched on levels of alcohol consumption. Results Cannabis users sampled to the lowest degree of …
The Impact Of Cannabis Use On Cognitive Functioning In Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis Of Existing Findings And New Data In A First-Episode Sample, Murat Yücel, Emre Bora, Daniel I. Lubman, Nadia Solowij, Warrick J. Brewer, Sue M. Cotton, Phillipe Conus, Michael J. Takagi, Alex Fornito, Stephen J. Wood, Patrick D. Mcgorry, Christos Pantelis
The Impact Of Cannabis Use On Cognitive Functioning In Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis Of Existing Findings And New Data In A First-Episode Sample, Murat Yücel, Emre Bora, Daniel I. Lubman, Nadia Solowij, Warrick J. Brewer, Sue M. Cotton, Phillipe Conus, Michael J. Takagi, Alex Fornito, Stephen J. Wood, Patrick D. Mcgorry, Christos Pantelis
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Cannabis use is highly prevalent among people with schizophrenia, and coupled with impaired cognition, is thought to heighten the risk of illness onset. However, while heavy cannabis use has been associated with cognitive deficits in long-term users, studies among patients with schizophrenia have been contradictory. This article consists of 2 studies. In Study I, a meta-analysis of 10 studies comprising 572 patients with established schizophrenia (with and without comorbid cannabis use) was conducted. Patients with a history of cannabis use were found to have superior neuropsychological functioning. This finding was largely driven by studies that included patients with a lifetime …
Functional Connectivity In Brain Networks Underlying Cognitive Control In Chronic Cannabis Users, Ian H. Harding, Nadia Solowij, Ben J. Harrison, Michael Takagi, Valentina Lorenzetti, Dan I. Lubman, Marc L. Seal, Christos Pantelis, Murat Yucel
Functional Connectivity In Brain Networks Underlying Cognitive Control In Chronic Cannabis Users, Ian H. Harding, Nadia Solowij, Ben J. Harrison, Michael Takagi, Valentina Lorenzetti, Dan I. Lubman, Marc L. Seal, Christos Pantelis, Murat Yucel
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
The long-term effect of regular cannabis use on brain function underlying cognitive control remains equivocal. Cognitive control abilities are thought to have a major role in everyday functioning, and their dysfunction has been implicated in the maintenance of maladaptive drug-taking patterns. In this study, the Multi-Source Interference Task was employed alongside functional magnetic resonance imaging and psychophysiological interaction methods to investigate functional interactions between brain regions underlying cognitive control. Current cannabis users with a history of greater than 10 years of daily or near-daily cannabis smoking (n=21) were compared with age, gender, and IQ-matched non-using controls (n=21). No differences in …
Cerebellar White-Matter Changes In Cannabis Users With And Without Schizophrenia, N Solowij, M Yucel, C Respondek, S Whittle, E Lindsay, C Pantelis, D I. Lubman
Cerebellar White-Matter Changes In Cannabis Users With And Without Schizophrenia, N Solowij, M Yucel, C Respondek, S Whittle, E Lindsay, C Pantelis, D I. Lubman
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Background. The cerebellum is rich in cannabinoid receptors and implicated in the neuropathology of schizophrenia. Long-term cannabis use is associated with functional and structural brain changes similar to those evident in schizophrenia, yet its impact on cerebellar structure has not been determined. We examined cerebellar grey and white matter in cannabis users with and without schizophrenia. Method. Seventeen patients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls were recruited ; 48% of the healthy group and 47% of the patients were long-term heavy cannabis users (mean 19.7 and 17.9 years near daily use respectively). Cerebellar measures were extracted from structural 3-T magnetic …
Verbal Learning And Memory In Adolescent Cannabis Users, Alcohol Users And Non-Users, Nadia Solowij, Katy A. Jones, Megan E. Rozman, Sasha M. Davis, Joseph Ciarrochi, Patrick C. L Heaven, Dan I. Lubman, Murat Yucel
Verbal Learning And Memory In Adolescent Cannabis Users, Alcohol Users And Non-Users, Nadia Solowij, Katy A. Jones, Megan E. Rozman, Sasha M. Davis, Joseph Ciarrochi, Patrick C. L Heaven, Dan I. Lubman, Murat Yucel
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Rationale Long-term heavy cannabis use can result in memory impairment. Adolescent users may be especially vulnerable to the adverse neurocognitive effects of cannabis. Objectives and methods In a cross-sectional and prospective neuropsychological study of 181 adolescents aged 16–20 (mean 18.3 years), we compared performance indices from one of the most widely used measures of learning and memory—the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test—between cannabis users (n=52; mean 2.4 years of use, 14 days/month, median abstinence 20.3 h), alcohol users (n=67) and non-user controls (n=62) matched for age, education and premorbid intellectual ability (assessed prospectively), and alcohol consumption for cannabis and alcohol …
Cannabis And Cognition: Short- And Long-Term Effects, Nadia Solowij, Nicole Pesa
Cannabis And Cognition: Short- And Long-Term Effects, Nadia Solowij, Nicole Pesa
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Twenty years ago cannabis was generally perceived to be a benign drug with few significant adverse effects. As outlined elsewhere in this book, evidence has since mounted in the scientific literature for a range of harms associated with the use of cannabis, including the development of dependence and health-related harms (see also Hall and Solowij, 1998; Hall and Degenhardt, 2009). As the overall theme of this book indicates, an association between cannabis use and the development of psychotic symptoms or overt psychosis has grown to be recognized as a significant potential harm, and investigating the mechanisms by which cannabis may …
Cognitive Abnormalities And Cannabis Use, Nadia Solowij, Nicole Pesa
Cognitive Abnormalities And Cannabis Use, Nadia Solowij, Nicole Pesa
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
OBJECTIVE: Evidence that cannabis use impairs cognitive function in humans has been accumulating in recent decades. The purpose of this overview is to update knowledge in this area with new findings from the most recent literature. METHOD: Literature searches were conducted using the Web of Science database up to February 2010. The terms searched were: "cannabi*" or "marijuana", and "cogniti*" or "memory" or "attention" or "executive function", and human studies were reviewed preferentially over the animal literature. DISCUSSION: Cannabis use impairs memory, attention, inhibitory control, executive functions and decision making, both during the period of acute intoxication and beyond, persisting …
Harms To Body And Soul: An Ideological Balancing Act For Preventing And Reducing Cannabis Use, Nadia Solowij
Harms To Body And Soul: An Ideological Balancing Act For Preventing And Reducing Cannabis Use, Nadia Solowij
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
In their piece for debate, Macleod & Hickman [1] present some credible arguments around the ways in which ideology may shape evidence and policy and describe the inevitable use of select aspects of scientific evidence to advance an agenda and drive funding directions. While the strength of evidence regarding causality in the association between cannabis and schizophrenia may not be incontrovertible, some of their arguments are indeed driven by their own ideology and advancement of their proposition that the main harmassociated with cannabis use pertains to its intimate relation to tobacco use, and that this, and the development of dependence, …
Schizotypy And Psychosis-Like Experiences From Recreational Cannabis In A Non-Clinical Sample, Emma Barkus, Shon Lewis
Schizotypy And Psychosis-Like Experiences From Recreational Cannabis In A Non-Clinical Sample, Emma Barkus, Shon Lewis
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Background. The relationship between cannabis use and psychosis is still a matter for debate. Accounting for the individual differences in subjective experiences to recreational cannabis use in the general population may hold some clues to the aetiological relationship between cannabis and psychotic symptoms. We hypothesized that schizotypy would account for the individual differences in subjective experiences after cannabis use but not in patterns of use. Method. In a sample of 532 young people who had used cannabis at least once, we examined the relationship between the Cannabis Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Additionally, we examined the …
Personality And Cannabis Use, Emma Barkus
Personality And Cannabis Use, Emma Barkus
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Cannabis is one of the most widely used illegal substances in the world. Its use has been reported to be over-represented in many psychiatric conditions and has frequently been found to predate the onset of psychiatric symptoms. However, cannabis may also have detrimental effects on the general population. Factors that predict the onset of use are receiving increased attention to aid in identifying groups of young people who may be more prone to consume cannabis. Personality traits may be one such factor as they are readily identifiable and offer information that can be used for improved targeting of educational material …
Cannabis-Induced Psychotic-Like Experiences Are Predicted By High Schizotypy. Confirmation Of Preliminary Results In A Large Cohort., John Stirling, Emma Barkus, L Nabosi, S Irshad, G Roemer, B Schreudergoidheijt, Shon Lewis
Cannabis-Induced Psychotic-Like Experiences Are Predicted By High Schizotypy. Confirmation Of Preliminary Results In A Large Cohort., John Stirling, Emma Barkus, L Nabosi, S Irshad, G Roemer, B Schreudergoidheijt, Shon Lewis
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Background: Cannabis use has been identified as a possible risk factor for developing schizophrenia. In a previous paper we reported preliminary evidence that cannabis use increases the likelihood of psychosis-like experiences in non-clinical respondents who scored highly on a measure of schizotypy. We now present findings from pooled data from 3 new follow-up studies comprising a sample of 477 respondents, of whom 332 reported using cannabis at least once. Sampling and Methods: As in our previous study, the psychological effects of cannabis were assessed with the Cannabis Experiences Questionnaire, from which 3 subscales can be derived; encompassing pleasurable experiences, psychosis-like …
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis-Like Experiences Are Associated With High Schizotypy, Emma Barkus, John Stirling, Richard Hopkins, Shon Lewis
Cannabis-Induced Psychosis-Like Experiences Are Associated With High Schizotypy, Emma Barkus, John Stirling, Richard Hopkins, Shon Lewis
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have suggested that cannabis use is a risk factor for developing schizophrenia. We tested the hypothesis that cannabis use increases the likelihood of psychosis-like experiences in non-clinical participants who scored highly on a measure of schizotypy. METHOD: The psychological effects of cannabis were assessed in 137 healthy individuals (76% female, mean age 22 years) using a newly developed questionnaire concerned with subjective experiences of the drug: the Cannabis Experiences Questionnaire. The questionnaire has three subscales: Pleasurable Experiences, Psychosis-Like Experiences and After-Effects. Respondents also completed the brief Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. RESULTS: Cannabis use was reported by 72% of …
Supportive-Expressive Psychotherapy For Cannabis Dependence, Brin F. Grenyer, Nadia Solowij
Supportive-Expressive Psychotherapy For Cannabis Dependence, Brin F. Grenyer, Nadia Solowij
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Supportive–expressive (SE) dynamic psychotherapy forms one variation of a number of psychotherapies that emphasize the importance of effective interpersonal relationships for psychological health (Grenyer, 2002a). The overall goal of SE psychotherapy is to help the client achieve mastery over their difficulties, gain self-understanding, and practice self-control over habitual drug use and related problems. From this framework, cannabis dependence is understood within the context of the client's interpersonal relationships, work, and social problems. The theory behind the SE approach emphasizes the formative influence of life experiences on the development of personality and on the genesis of problems, including habitual cannabis use. …
The Adverse Health And Psychological Consequences Of Cannabis Dependence, Wayne Hall, Nadia Solowij
The Adverse Health And Psychological Consequences Of Cannabis Dependence, Wayne Hall, Nadia Solowij
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)
People who become dependent on cannabis are more likely than infrequent users to experience any of the adverse health effects that are caused by chronic cannabis use. Dependent cannabis use is rare in comparison with the more prevalent pattern of experimental and intermittent use (Bachman et al., 1997), but it may nonetheless affect as many as 1% of adults in the USA and Australia in any 1 year (Anthony et al., 1994; Hall et al., 1999a). Dependent cannabis users typically smoke two or more cannabis cigarettes a day over periods of years or decades in a minority …