Differential Cognitive Performance in Females and Males with Regular Cannabis Use.

Ashley M. Schnakenberg Martin,Deepak Cyril D’Souza,William P. Hetrick,Sharlene D. Newman,Brian F. O’Donnell

doi:10.1017/s1355617721000606

Abstract

Objectives:Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that males and females may be differentially affected by cannabis use. This study evaluated the interaction of cannabis use and biological sex on cognition, and the association between observed cognitive deficits and features of cannabis use.Methods:Cognitive measures were assessed in those with regular, ongoing, cannabis use (N = 40; 22 female) and non-using peers (N = 40; 23 female). Intelligence, psychomotor speed, and verbal working memory were measured with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Digit Symbol Test, and Digit Span and Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, respectively. Associations between cognitive measures and cannabis use features (e.g., lifetime cannabis use, age of initiation, time since last use of cannabis, recent high-concentration tetrahydrocannabinoid exposure) were also evaluated.Results:No main effects of group were observed across measures. Significant interactions between group and biological sex were observed on measures of intelligence, psychomotor speed, and verbal learning, with greatest group differences observed between males with and without regular cannabis use. Psychomotor performance was negatively correlated with lifetime cannabis exposure. Female and male cannabis use groups did not differ in features of cannabis use.Conclusions:Findings suggest that biological sex influences the relationship between cannabis and cognition, with males potentially being more vulnerable to the neurocognitive deficits related to cannabis use.

Highlights

Cannabis is the most widely used substance in the world (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2012; SAMHSA, 2011)
E-mail: ashley.martin@yale.edu (Azofeifa, 2016; Carliner et al, 2017; Zehra et al, 2018) and liberalization of cannabis laws. Both acute and chronic cannabis exposure have been associated with poorer neurocognitive performance in executive function, verbal learning and memory, attention, and psychomotor function, and these deficits have been observed after periods of abstinence (Broyd, van Hell, Beale, Yuecel, & Solowij, 2016; Dahlgren, Sagar, Racine, Dreman, & Gruber, 2016; Gruber & Sagar, 2017; Hanson et al, 2010; Messinis, Kyprianidou, Malefaki, & Papathanasopoulos, 2006; Ranganathan & D’Souza, 2006)
This study investigated cognitive function in males and females with regular cannabis (CB) use compared to non-using healthy controls (HC)

Summary

Introduction

Cannabis is the most widely used substance in the world (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2012; SAMHSA, 2011). Understanding the chronic effects of cannabis on cognition is necessary, especially as cannabis use is expected to increase (Carliner, Brown, Sarvet, & Hasin, 2017; Hasin et al, 2015), likely related to a decreasing perception of risk (Azofeifa, 2016; Carliner et al, 2017; Zehra et al, 2018) and liberalization of cannabis laws Both acute and chronic cannabis exposure have been associated with poorer neurocognitive performance in executive function, verbal learning and memory, attention, and psychomotor function, and these deficits have been observed after periods of abstinence (Broyd, van Hell, Beale, Yuecel, & Solowij, 2016; Dahlgren, Sagar, Racine, Dreman, & Gruber, 2016; Gruber & Sagar, 2017; Hanson et al, 2010; Messinis, Kyprianidou, Malefaki, & Papathanasopoulos, 2006; Ranganathan & D’Souza, 2006). A meta-analysis by Scott et al (2018) further indicated that the modest cognitive impairments shown by cannabis users are further diminished after abstinence longer than 72 h (Scott et al, 2018)

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion