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Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
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Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
13 articles
Newest firstSubstance use has been associated with blunted brain responses to non-drug rewards, but findings in people who use cannabis are mixed. Adolescents may be uniquely vulnerable to cannabis-related disruption to reward processing due to ongoing neuromaturation, but longitudinal research is lacking. In this longitudinal fMRI study, we compared brain measures of reward anticipation in 46 adolescents (16–17 years) and ad…
Open article record in new tab ↗Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) affects ~ 50 million individuals globally. CUD has been associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes, including affective flattening, apathy, and anhedonia, which prominent neuroscientific theories ascribe (in part) to altered integrity in brain reward pathways. Yet, emerging evidence from functional neuroimaging (fMRI) is mixed. We examined the activity in key regions-of-interest (ROI…
Open article record in new tab ↗Background Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are prevalent in prisons and among people who experience homelessness in the UK and can cause serious harms to people who use them. While it is currently not possible to test for SCs at the point of care (POC), a new method for doing so using fluorescence spectral fingerprinting has recently been developed. In this study, we aimed to outline the potential utility of POC SC t…
Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are novel psychoactive substances (NPS) that are highly potent and associated with a range of severe toxicities. SC use, which is common in UK prisons and homeless communities, typically involves combustion of SC-soaked herb or paper material. Recently, e-cigarettes (or vapes) have emerged as popular delivery vehicles for SCs, and consumption among the general population has risen sign…
Open article record in new tab ↗Background Cannabis use disorder (CUD) affects up to 1 in 5 people who try cannabis. In order to develop effective interventions to prevent and treat CUD, it is important to identify the factors that predict it. This longitudinal study investigated whether eight potential risk factors predicted CUD levels at 12-month follow-up. Methods Participants were 232 young adults (26-29 years) and adolescents (16-17 years)…
Open article record in new tab ↗Background and aims People who use synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) report debilitating side effects and withdrawal symptoms, coupled with dependence. In the UK, SC use was believed to be largely restricted to prison, where they are the most common drug and associated with nearly half of non-natural deaths, or poly-drug users in the community who are also likely to be homeless. However, national media reporting has in…
Open article record in new tab ↗Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), colloquially spice or K2, are the most common drug to be found in prisons in the UK, where they are associated with nearly half of non-natural deaths. In the community, SCs are associated with poly-drug users who are also likely to be homeless. People who use SCs report debilitating side effects and withdrawal symptoms, coupled with dependence. Until now, SC use was believed to be lar…
Open article record in new tab ↗Background Cannabis use may be linked with anhedonia and apathy. However, previous studies have shown mixed results, and few have examined the association between cannabis use and specific reward sub-processes. Adolescents may be more vulnerable than adults to harmful effects of cannabis. This study investigated (1) the association between non-acute cannabis use and apathy, anhedonia, pleasure, and effort-based de…
Open article record in new tab ↗Chronic use of drugs may alter the brain's reward system, though the extant literature concerning long-term cannabis use and neural correlates of reward processing has shown mixed results. Adolescents may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of cannabis than adults; however, this has not been investigated for reward processing. As part of the 'CannTeen' study, in the largest functional magnetic resonance imag…
Open article record in new tab ↗Background Adolescence is characterised by psychological and neural development. Cannabis harms may be accentuated during adolescence. We hypothesised that adolescents would be more vulnerable to the associations between cannabis use and mental health and addiction problems than adults. Method As part of the 'CannTeen' study, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis. There were 274 participants: split into groups o…
Background COVID-19 lockdown measures have caused severe disruptions to work and education and prevented people from engaging in many rewarding activities. Cannabis users may be especially vulnerable, having been previously shown to have higher levels of apathy and anhedonia than non-users. Methods In this survey study, we measured apathy and anhedonia, before and after lockdown measures were implemented, in n = 2…
Open article record in new tab ↗OBJECTIVE: Prenatal opioid exposure has been linked with impaired cognitive development, with boys potentially at elevated risk. In the present study, we examined cognitive and language development of children prenatally exposed to opioids, with an additional focus on sex differences. METHODS: A sample of 378 children (n = 194 girls and n = 184 boys) aged 1.2-42.8 months was drawn from the Danish Family Outpatient…
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