Abstract
Abstract Background Both chronic cannabis use and psychotic disorders are associated with abnormalities in visual attentional processing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we sought to determine whether there would be a difference in functional connectivity in patients and controls with and without a history of cannabis use in the visual and dorsal attention networks. Methods Resting-state fMRI data were acquired in patients with early psychosis with (EPC = 29) and without (EPNC = 25); and controls with (HCC = 16) and without (HCNC = 22) cannabis use. Results There was a patient effect in both Visual-Dorsal Attention Internetwork (F(1,87) = 5.326, P = .023) and the Visual Network (F(1,87) = 4.044, P = .047) and a cannabis effect in the Dorsal Attention Network (F(1,87) = 4.773, P = .032). These effects were specific to the networks examined with no evidence for significant patient or cannabis effects in other canonical networks. Patients with a history of cannabis use showed increased connectivity in the Dorsal Attention Network (134%, P = .019) and Visual Dorsal Attention Internetwork (285%, P = .036) compared to non-using controls. In the EPC group connectivity of the Visual Network (ρ = 0.379, P = .042) and Visual-Dorsal Attention Internetwork (ρ = 0.421, P = .023) correlated with visual hallucinations which were significantly different from EPNC (P = .011). Dorsal attention network strength correlated with severity of dependence for cannabis (ρ = 0.215, P = .04). Conclusion We demonstrate specific cannabis and patient effects in networks associated with visual attentional processing. There is a differential association with hallucinatory symptoms in patients with and without a history of cannabis use. This may indicate that dysconnectivity in these networks serves different roles in the context of cannabis use.
Highlights
Cannabis use and early psychosis are often comorbid with a large meta-analysis showing regular cannabis use in 30%–40% of cases at onset of psychosis and associated with poorer prognosis.[1,2] the neurobiological substrates underlying the association of psychotic disorders in patients who have used cannabis remain unclear
Of note we have shown, in our current sample, alterations in smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEMs) in patients with early psychosis with and without a history of cannabis use.[38]
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state data were available for 92 participants: EPC: n = 29, EPNC: n = 25; HCC: n = 16; HCNC: n = 22
Summary
Cannabis use and early psychosis are often comorbid with a large meta-analysis showing regular cannabis use in 30%–40% of cases at onset of psychosis and associated with poorer prognosis.[1,2] the neurobiological substrates underlying the association of psychotic disorders in patients who have used cannabis remain unclear. There is evidence for several such abnormalities in psychosis: impairment of smooth pursuit and antisaccades eye movements[20,21,22,23,24] as well as abnormalities in motion, contrast detection, reading tasks and face perception.[25,26,27] in cannabis use impairment in contrast sensitivity,[28] attention to motion processing[29] and visuo-spatial processing[30,31] has been demonstrated Both chronic cannabis use and psychotic disorders are associated with abnormalities in visual attentional processing. This may indicate that dysconnectivity in these networks serves different roles in the context of cannabis use
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