Also I’d like to see it done on a “heavyweight smoker” who’s not uses cannabis for say, six months to a year.
Because I think all of the heavy lifetime users were also actively blazed as fuck.
Comment on Younger cannabis users have reduced brain function, finds largest study yet
catloaf@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
recent and heavy lifetime cannabis use was associated with a statistically significant reduction in brain activity only during the working memory task.
That’s a much smaller impact than the headline would lead you to think. If you’re not a heavy user, or you’re a heavy user but not for the past month, then you are unlikely to see significant mental changes. And even if you do, it’s only for short-term working memory, no other types of mental ability.
Dasus@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
crime@hexbear.net 5 weeks ago
With the low sample size of the study, I wonder how much of that is confounding variables. I know when I’ve been at my heaviest cannabis usage, my life was falling apart and I was using it to cope with a shitload of stress — which is known to cause short-term and working memory impairments.
Then you’ve also got, say, ADHDers (diagnosed or otherwise). We’ve literally got dogshit working memory disorder and as a population we tend to love substances (on account of the underactive reward circuits in our brains).
catloaf@lemm.ee 5 weeks ago
I haven’t read the full study, but as the article says the effects lingered for 2-4 weeks, it sounds like the retesting after abstaining would eliminate confounding variables. Unless they somehow resolved the stress or ADHD at the same time.
crime@hexbear.net 5 weeks ago
Seems as though they didn’t retest, they only scanned people once. Scanning people is expensive and getting people to show back up for a second scan is difficult. The abstention periods are likely based on self-reports.
Weslee@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Yeah, it seems pretty obvious to me that you don’t remember things well while you’re high, just like you don’t remember things while you’re drunk.
dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 5 weeks ago
That’s a good point. It would be interesting to see how this relates to alcohol and if they see similar effects.