Amygdala Response to Appetitive Face Stimuli: Investigation between Cannabis-Using and Non-using Adolescents and Young Adults
Mentor 1
Krista Lisdahl
Start Date
28-4-2023 12:00 AM
Description
Research on the effects of cannabis use is vital due to the increased prevalence of use found in young adults and adolescents. This period of life (e.g., 13-30 years old) experience neurodevelopmental changes that can be affected by cannabis use. Two areas cannabis use has impacted are inhibitory control and affective processing, which rely on frontolimbic functioning. This can be measured using an emotional Go/No-go task that tests inhibitory performance and can analyze the brain’s response to different types of emotions displayed via facial features. In our study, the three primary emotional categories were used in both the Go and NoGo conditions: happy, fearful, and neutral faces. Here, the current study explores amygdala activation elicited by an emotional go/no-go task by cannabis users and non-users. Sixty-eight participants (ages 16-26) completed study procedures and consisted of two groups (cannabis-using, n=35; non-using, n=33) who underwent two-weeks of monitored abstinence prior to emotional Go/No-go task while in a MRI scanner. Past-year alcohol use and current cotinine levels were included as covariates. Bilateral amygdala response was extracted using a region-of-interest approach and linear regressions analyzed activation elicited by happy and fearful faces in the go and no-go conditions. Cannabis users had a blunted response relative to non-using controls when shown happy or fearful faces in the no-go condition, in comparison to those that did not use cannabis. There was no significant findings in the go trial of fearful or happy faces. When inhibiting a response, cannabis users may demonstrate blunted emotional response due disruption of endocannabinoid signaling within the amygdala. This may have downstream consequences on emotional processing. The amygdala plays an important role on social behavior and recognition; thus, future studies should further investigate the impact of chronic cannabis use on amygdala function during adolescence. Keywords: No-go condition, Go Condition, Fearful, Happy, Amygdala
Amygdala Response to Appetitive Face Stimuli: Investigation between Cannabis-Using and Non-using Adolescents and Young Adults
Research on the effects of cannabis use is vital due to the increased prevalence of use found in young adults and adolescents. This period of life (e.g., 13-30 years old) experience neurodevelopmental changes that can be affected by cannabis use. Two areas cannabis use has impacted are inhibitory control and affective processing, which rely on frontolimbic functioning. This can be measured using an emotional Go/No-go task that tests inhibitory performance and can analyze the brain’s response to different types of emotions displayed via facial features. In our study, the three primary emotional categories were used in both the Go and NoGo conditions: happy, fearful, and neutral faces. Here, the current study explores amygdala activation elicited by an emotional go/no-go task by cannabis users and non-users. Sixty-eight participants (ages 16-26) completed study procedures and consisted of two groups (cannabis-using, n=35; non-using, n=33) who underwent two-weeks of monitored abstinence prior to emotional Go/No-go task while in a MRI scanner. Past-year alcohol use and current cotinine levels were included as covariates. Bilateral amygdala response was extracted using a region-of-interest approach and linear regressions analyzed activation elicited by happy and fearful faces in the go and no-go conditions. Cannabis users had a blunted response relative to non-using controls when shown happy or fearful faces in the no-go condition, in comparison to those that did not use cannabis. There was no significant findings in the go trial of fearful or happy faces. When inhibiting a response, cannabis users may demonstrate blunted emotional response due disruption of endocannabinoid signaling within the amygdala. This may have downstream consequences on emotional processing. The amygdala plays an important role on social behavior and recognition; thus, future studies should further investigate the impact of chronic cannabis use on amygdala function during adolescence. Keywords: No-go condition, Go Condition, Fearful, Happy, Amygdala
