Abstract
Cannabis use has been associated with anxiogenic effects when used in low frequency for a short duration, but cannabis can also have anxiogenic effects when used heavily for a long duration. Animal studies have indicated the neurobiological mechanisms related to cannabis and anxiety; however, research has been limited on the related neurocognitive mechanisms. Previous research has indicated that cannabis use is associated with alterations in event-related potentials (ERPs). The purpose of the current study was to examine anxiety related attentional processing of emotional expressions using ERP methods. We used a backward masking paradigm to restrict awareness of facial expressions (i.e., fearful, happy, and neutral). The results indicated that cannabis use was associated with differences in emotional processing. Specifically, the results suggested cannabis users had increased P1 amplitudes toward happy facial expressions compared to fearful and neutral. Additionally, cannabis users seemed to have reduced N170 hemisphere lateralization.
Highlights
There has been a significant increase in cannabis use among adolescents between 2002 and 2015 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016)
Two cannabis users did not complete the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and one non-user did not complete the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CESD), their data were excluded from any analyses involving those questionnaires
There were no significant differences between age, STAI, CES-D, or PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) (Table 1)
Summary
There has been a significant increase in cannabis use among adolescents between 2002 and 2015 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016). Previous research has suggested that cannabis use was correlated with decreased memory, attention, and emotional processing (Broyd et al, 2016; Troup et al, 2016b, 2017; Lovell et al, 2018). The main phytocannabinoid found in cannabis, 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been suggested to have anxiolytic effects (Berrendero and Maldonado, 2002; Viveros et al, 2005; Patel and Hillard, 2006; Rubino et al, 2007), other research has indicated that excessive cannabis use has anxiogenic effects (Viveros et al, 2005). Individuals with anxiety tend to have enhanced attention and processing of threat-related (Bar-Haim et al, 2007) and positive (Morel et al, 2014) stimuli.
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