TheJournal

Cannabis use is a heritable trait that has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes. In the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) for lifetime cannabis use to date (N = 184,765), we identified eight genome-wide significant independent single nucleotide polymorphisms in six regions. All measured genetic… Read More »Genome Wide Associated Study (GWAS) of lifetime cannabis use reveals new risk loci, genetic overlap with psychiatric traits, and a causal influence of schizophrenia

Abstract Extinction therapy has been suggested to suppress the conditioned motivational effect of drug cues to prevent relapse. However, extinction forms a new inhibiting memory rather than erasing the original memory trace and drug memories invariably return. Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are a specialized extracellular matrix… Read More »Depletion of Perineuronal Nets in the Amygdala to Enhance the Erasure of Drug Memories

Cheng Wang1 *, John R. Hipp2,3, Carter T. Butts3,4, Cynthia M. Lakon5 1 Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States of America, 2 Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America, 3… Read More »The interdependence of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use in the context of school-based social networks

Translational Psychiatry volume 8, Article number: 89 (2018)  Abstract  There is a strong association between cannabis use and schizophrenia but the underlying cellular links are poorly understood. Neurons derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer a platform for investigating both baseline and dynamic changes in… Read More »THC exposure of human iPSC neurons impacts genes associated with neuropsychiatric disorders

There is a strong association between cannabis use and schizophrenia but the underlying cellular links are poorly understood. Neurons derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer a platform for investigating both baseline and dynamic changes in human neural cells. Here, we exposed neurons derived… Read More »THC exposure of human iPSC neurons impacts genes associated with neuropsychiatric disorders

All Young Cannabis Users Face Psychosis Risk  (Medscape and JAMA Psychiatry)  June 15, 2018 Cannabis use directly increases the risk for psychosis in teens, new research shows. A large prospective study of teens shows that “in adolescents, cannabis use is harmful” with respect to psychosis risk, study author… Read More »REAAAALLLY important article!

Abstract BACKGROUND: Half of U.S. states have legalized medical cannabis (marijuana), some allow recreational use. The economic and public health effects of these policies are still being evaluated. We hypothesized that cannabis legalization was associated with an increase in the proportion of motor vehicle crash… Read More »MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH FATALATIES AND UNDERCOMPENSATED CARE ASSOCIATED WITH LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA.

Abstract Background: Depression is one of the most consistent risk factors implicated in both the course of escalating substance use behaviors and in the development of substance dependence symptoms, including those associated with marijuana use. In the present study, we evaluate if depression is associated with… Read More »Depression & Marijuana USe Current THC Users 2018

Patrick D. Skosnik, Jose A. Cortes-Briones, and Mihály Hajós ABSTRACT Evidence has accumulated over the past several decades suggesting that both exocannabinoids and endocannabinoids play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The current article presents evidence suggesting that one of the mechanisms whereby cannabinoids induce psychosis… Read More »It’s All in the Rhythm: The Role of Cannabinoids in Neural Oscillations and Psychosis

Endocannabinoids regulate brain development via modulating neural proliferation, migration, and the differentiation of lineage-committed cells. In the fetal nervous system, (endo)cannabinoid-sensing receptors and the enzymatic machinery of endocannabinoid metabolism exhibit a cellular distribution map different from that in the adult, implying distinct functions. Notably, cannabinoid… Read More »At the Tip of an Iceberg: Prenatal Marijuana and Its Possible Relation to Neuropsychiatric Outcome in the Offspring.