Brain and Behavior: Cognitive Failures are Associated with Sensation Seeking via Adolescent Marijuana Use

Abstract

A main concern regarding adolescent marijuana use is its long-term negative health effects, such as alterations to brain structure and function, which can lead to deficits in working memory (e.g., cognitive failures). This raises concerns for the development of proper executive functioning in marijuana-using adolescents. As such, understanding factors leading to adolescent marijuana use, such as personality, can allow for an assessment of predispositions that could pose a threat to their cognitive health. This study examined whether adolescent marijuana use mediates the effect of sensation-seeking on cognitive failures. An adolescent sample (N=165; 48.8% Female, 88.6% White, 84.9% Hispanic/Latinx, Mage=14.9) from a larger multi-wave study was assessed. Results show that high sensation-seeking tendencies predicted greater marijuana use (effect=0.08, p=0.02), and that marijuana use predicted greater false triggering (effect=0.96, p=0.01). Furthermore, a significant indirect effect between sensation-seeking and false triggering through days of marijuana use (effect=0.08, CI [0.01, 0.20]) was found. Findings suggest that marijuana use can impact executive functioning within the prefrontal cortex via alterations to myelination due to false signaling on oligodendrocytes. Additionally, a mature striatum coupled with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex during adolescence may predispose sensation-seeking adolescents to try marijuana without considering the risk of memory impairments.