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Cited by 159Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesSubstance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Altered Frontal Cortical Volume and Decision Making in Adolescent Cannabis Users

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Churchwell, John C., Lopez-Larson, Melissa, Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah A.·2010·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00225PMC PMC3153830
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Abstract

Anticipating future outcomes is central to decision making and a failure to consider long-term consequences may lead to impulsive choices. Adolescence is a vulnerable period during which underdeveloped prefrontal cortical systems may contribute to poor judgment, impulsive choices, and substance abuse. Conversely, substance abuse during this period may alter neural systems involved in decision making and lead to greater impulsivity. Although a broad neural network which supports decision making undergoes extensive change during adolescent development, one region that may be critical is the medial prefrontal cortex. Altered functional integrity of this region may be specifically related to reward perception, substance abuse, and dependence. In the present investigation, we acquired structural magnetic resonance images (MRI), using a 3T Siemens Trio scanner, from 18 cannabis abusing adolescents (CA; 2 female and 16 male subjects; mean age, 17.7 years; range 16-19 years), and 18 healthy controls (HC; 6 female and 12 male subjects; mean age, 17.2 years; range 16-19 years). In order to measure medial orbital prefrontal cortex (moPFC) morphology related to substance abuse and impulsivity, semi-automated cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation of MRIs was performed with FreeSurfer. Impulsivity was evaluated with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). Our results indicate that cannabis abusing adolescents have decreased right moPFC volume compared to controls, p = 0.01, d = 0.92, CI(0.95) = 0.21, 1.59. Cannabis abusing adolescents also show decreased future orientation, as indexed by the BIS non-planning subscale, when compared to controls, p = 0.01, d = 0.89, CI(0.95) = 0.23, 1.55. Moreover, total moPFC volume was positively correlated with age of first use r (18) = 0.49, p < 0.03, suggesting that alterations in this region may be related to initiation of cannabis use or that early initiation may lead to reduced moPFC volume.

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  • Adolescent marijuana exposure leads to altered FC connectivity and volume in humans.

    “Results from human studies demonstrate that adolescent marijuana use leads to altered FC connectivity and volume (Churchwell et al. 2010; Lopez-Larson et al. 2011, 2015; Camchong et al. 2017); many of these outcomes being more severe with earlier onset of marijuana use.”

    From The long-term cognitive consequences of adolescent exposure to recreational drugs of abuse (2018) · cites this paper as Churchwell et al. 2010

    The Results (page unavailable) report reduced right medial orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex volume in adolescent cannabis users and an association between earlier first use and smaller volume. The paper does not report a frontal-cortex connectivity finding. Its Discussion (page unavailable) explicitly says the cross-sectional design cannot establish whether cannabis use caused the morphological difference. (LLM, conf=0.91)

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Authors
Churchwell, J. C., Lopez-Larson, M., & Yurgelun-Todd, D. A.
Affiliations
University of Utah (US)
Corresponding author
Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah A.
ORCID
Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah A.
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2010
Volume
1
Pages
225-225
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00225
PMC
PMC3153830
OpenAlex
W2044231855
Cited by
159
References
74
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 4
FWCI
3.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA020269)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
Keywords
adolescent cannabis use, impulsivity, decision-making, future orientation, substance abuse, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, adolescent brain development

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