Topic
The excessive consumption of substances that act on the nervous system and brain activity is dangerous and can be associated with serious physiological and psychological consequences. One of these substances is marijuana, which, despite its individual beneficial properties and use in medicine, can cause significant brain damage in the case of uncontrolled consumption. As a mechanism for evaluating current scholarly findings, a literature review will be conducted. The search by keywords, such as “brain,” “marijuana,” “physiological,” “emotional,” “behavior,” and “adolescence,” as well as time periods (articles no older than ten years) has helped gather relevant academic sources from creditworthy databases. The literature review is aimed at identifying the relationship between marijuana use and changes in the brain, concerning both the physiological characteristics of development and the psycho-emotional changes that affect behavior. Particular attention will be paid to the negative impact of marijuana on brain development during adolescence since body systems during this development period are vulnerable to various exposures. Relevant theoretical findings may be valuable in identifying the effects of marijuana on the neurobiology and biopsychology of the brain and determining the corresponding consequences of uncontrolled consumption.
Literature
Marijuana exposure has a severe effect on the structural parts of the brain, transforming the functioning of receptors and changing the natural work of individual parts. According to Battistella et al. (2014), the relevant receptors that are most affected due to cannabinoid toxins “are mainly located in the hippocampus, amygdala, cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, and striatum” (p. 2041). These areas of the brain are responsible for important functions that coordinate the work of the visual, musculoskeletal, and other apparatuses. The authors also correlate the duration of marijuana use with the severity of exposure; consistent with the findings, gray matter atrophy occurs with monthly marijuana use (Battistella et al., 2014). This result indicates a significant impact on the physiology of the brain. Filbey (2016) highlights the real changes taking place in the dopaminergic reward circuit, which is altered by cannabis use, and natural processes are disrupted. In this case, the person experiences physical discomfort and cannot compensate for the lack of dopamine in a natural way. Thus, the effect of marijuana on the brain is associated with structural changes in its individual parts.
Marijuana consumption is directly associated with changes in the white matter of the brain, which is responsible for connecting parts of the cortex with parts of the nervous system. Based on the findings in the article by Orr et al. (2016), the negative effect of cannabinoid particles on the corresponding parts of the brain is observed, and the earlier a person starts consuming marijuana, the higher the likelihood of critical changes. Ramaekers et al. (2022) confirm this negative effect and note that the duration of use is directly correlated with the severity of the problem. This means that the longer the person consumes marijuana, the faster deformations in individual parts of the brain occur. The presented findings support the idea that cannabinoid particles influence physiological changes in the brain.
One of the strengths of current research on the topic under consideration is the assessment of the emotional and behavioral consequences of marijuana consumption caused by its effects on the brain. As El Marroun et al. (2018) argue, children born to parents who regularly smoke cannabinoid mixtures have a higher risk of developing behavioral disorders than those without such a hereditary background. At the same time, the authors note the absence of real emotional shifts due to maternal marijuana use (El Marroun et al., 2018). However, with age, the changes become more critical, as evidenced by the findings of Heitzeg et al. (2015). According to the researchers, if a person starts using cannabis during adolescence, the risks of later emotional problems increase substantially (Heitzeg et al., 2015). These findings reflect a positive correlation between marijuana use and behavioral-emotional shifts due to effects on the brain. Although few outcomes are described, for instance, resiliency and stress, these data are sufficient to speak of serious health consequences in adulthood.
Of particular note are the findings related to the assessment of demographic characteristics in the context of the impact on behavioral features due to marijuana exposure. According to Spechler et al. (2019), from a gender perspective, female brains are more susceptible to cannabinoid exposure, although, in the long term, males are more likely to develop addictions. In general, there are few studies in academic literature, which evaluate demographic factors and their associations with marijuana use. For instance, in the study by Zimmermann et al. (2017), the authors focus exclusively on male users, which is a limitation. At the same time, the researchers note the absence of direct correlations between neural indices and emotional regulation (Zimmermann et al., 2017). This suggests a lack of evidence regarding the long-term effects of marijuana use on behavior. Thus, individual findings prove consistent pattern effects, while some studies refute potential correlations.
In the context of the topic of marijuana’s effects on brain functions, a large proportion of the research field covers the manifestation of specific impacts from an age perspective. The study of the effects on adolescents occupies a significant niche. For instance, as Blest-Hopley et al. (2018) state, “adolescent cannabis users had increased activation in inferior parietal gyrus and putamen” (p. 27). This, in turn, is associated with compensatory changes in neuroadaptation and biological changes that lead to disruptions in behavioral patterns. The threat for teenagers is that they are more at risk of developing an addiction. Current findings suggest that adolescents who use marijuana continuously develop addiction symptoms at a significantly faster rate than adults (Blest-Hopley et al., 2018; Heitzeg et al., 2015). These findings prove that research on the effects of marijuana on the brain at a relatively early age is carried out on a large scale, confirming the persistence of the problem. Therefore, this aspect of the issue is widely represented in academic literature, which is a strength from the position of ensuring the safety of the population.
Some studies assessing the impact of marijuana consumption on the adolescent brain do not have a sufficient theoretical basis, which is their weakness. For instance, in their article, Kurnijuanto and Kantohe (2021) list finds from other sources, thus forming a consensus through the analysis of the materials collected. However, this approach does not allow for speaking of an unambiguous position regarding the issue under consideration because only a combination of outcomes is given. At the same time, some studies provide statistical calculations, which is a valid practice. Spechler et al. (2019) analyze the risk factors that encourage adolescents to use marijuana and note negative family interaction patterns, intellectual development impairments, and several other psychosocial drivers. Thus, teenagers are a vulnerable group, and the study of preventive methods aimed at avoiding cannabis use during adolescence is an essential topic for future research.
Theory
Since much of the literature reviewed focuses on individual characteristics that explain the predisposition to the effects of marijuana on the brain, the corresponding conceptual justifications are provided. For instance, Filbey (2016) mentions the developmental theory as a background for assessing the changes that occur during life stages. Heitzeg et al. (2015), in turn, consider the theory of mind, which suggests the influence of mental states on physiological ones. These concepts directly relate to the topic of the effects of marijuana use on the neurobiology and biopsychology of the brain.
The developmental theory confirms the fact that the criterion of age is an essential aspect to take into account when studying the effects of marijuana on the brain. Numerous studies of adolescent cannabis addiction prove that, depending on age, distinctive effects on physical and behavioral functions develop (Blest-Hopley et al., 2018; Spechler et al., 2019). As a result, the developmental theory makes it possible to assess the relevance of the problem at different life stages. Regarding the theory of mind, Heitzeg et al. (2015) use it to draw a parallel between the emotional manifestations of the respective states with other states, including physical ones. The relevance of this concept from the perspective of assessing the topic under analysis lies in the ability to emphasize the great influence of brain receptors on the general state of the body and the psycho-emotional background. Therefore, both theories are critical as the frameworks reflecting the proven effects of marijuana use on the neurobiology and psychology of the brain.
References
Battistella, G., Fornari, E., Annoni, J., Chtioui, H., Dao, K., Fabritius, M., Favrat, B., Mall, J., Maeder, P., & Giroud, C. (2014). Long-term effects of cannabis on brain structure. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(9), 2041-2048.
Blest-Hopley, G., Giampietro, V., & Bhattacharyya, S. (2018). Residual effects of cannabis use in adolescent and adult brains – A meta-analysis of fMRI studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 88, 26-41.
El Marroun, H., Bolhuis, K., Franken, I., Jaddoe, V., Hillegers, M., Lahey, B., & Tiemeier, H. (2018). Preconception and prenatal cannabis use and the risk of behavioural and emotional problems in the offspring; a multi-informant prospective longitudinal study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 48(1), 287-296.
Filbey, F. M. (2016). Weeding through marijuana’s effects on the brain. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(8), 773-774.
Heitzeg, M. M., Cope, L. M., Martz, M. E., Hardee, J. E., & Zucker, R. A. (2015). Brain activation to negative stimuli mediates a relationship between adolescent marijuana use and later emotional functioning. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 16(C), 71-83.
Kurnijuanto, G., & Kantohe, T. (2021). The effects of recreational use of marijuana in adolescent brain health: A review. European Psychiatry, 64(S1), S132-S132.
Orr, J. M., Paschall, C. J., & Banich, M. T. (2016). Recreational marijuana use impacts white matter integrity and subcortical (but not cortical) morphometry. NeuroImage Clinical, 12(C), 47-56.
Ramaekers, J. G., Mason, N. L., Toennes, S. W., Theunissen, E. L., & Amico, E. (2022). Functional brain connectomes reflect acute and chronic cannabis use. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 2449-2449.
Spechler, P. A., Allgaier, N., Chaarani, B., Whelan, R., Watts, R., Orr, C., Albaugh, M. D., D’Alberto, N., Higgins, S. T., Hudson, K. E., Mackey, S., Potter, A., Banaschewski, T., Bokde, A. L. W., Bromberg, U., Büchel, C., Cattrell, A., Conrod, P. J., Desrivières, S.,… the IMAGEN Consortium. (2019). The initiation of cannabis use in adolescence is predicted by sex‐specific psychosocial and neurobiological features. The European Journal of Neuroscience, 50(3), 2346-2356.
Zimmermann, K., Walz, C., Derckx, R. T., Kendrick, K. M., Weber, B., Dore, B., Ochsner, K. N., Hurlemann, R., & Becker, B. (2017). Emotion regulation deficits in regular marijuana users. Human Brain Mapping, 38(8), 4270-4279.