1happygirl
07-06-2016, 06:40 PM
http://www.forbes.com/sites/cjarlotta/2016/07/06/does-marijuana-use-dampen-brains-response-to-reward-over-time/#2fa83a73db42
Recreational cannabis use over time may damage the brain’s response to monetary rewards, suggests a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2532234
Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed 108 individuals in their early 20s. Seventy-five percent of participants were men, and nearly all were white. The investigators reviewed brain scans at three points over the course of four years.
For part of the study, the researchers had study participants play a game that asked them to click a button after seeing a target on a screen in front of them. Participants were told they could win or lose money, or receive no reward. When potential rewards are present, the area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens pumps out dopamine, a pleasure chemical. The larger response, the more likely a person will repeat that behavior later on. The researchers found that the response in the nucleus accumbens became smaller over time in those who reported frequent marijuana use.
A demonstrator smokes a joint during a march calling for the legalization of marijuana along Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 14, 2016. (NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)
Study author and neuroscientist Mary Heitzeg told this contributor via email that one explanation is marijuana use over time may shift the brain’s reward system away from rewards available in the environment. Natural rewards include food or sex, and can also include money.
“Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States and national surveys have shown that the perception of risk of harm from marijuana use has been decreasing over the past five years,” she said. “Our findings challenge this growing perception that marijuana use is not harmful by demonstrating an association between marijuana use and changes in the functioning of the brain reward system over time.”
The older I get, the less money motivates me, and I'm not toking lol. I may be short-sighted about how I will care for myself in older age without as many funds, but is this true of everyone as they get older?
Recreational cannabis use over time may damage the brain’s response to monetary rewards, suggests a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2532234
Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed 108 individuals in their early 20s. Seventy-five percent of participants were men, and nearly all were white. The investigators reviewed brain scans at three points over the course of four years.
For part of the study, the researchers had study participants play a game that asked them to click a button after seeing a target on a screen in front of them. Participants were told they could win or lose money, or receive no reward. When potential rewards are present, the area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens pumps out dopamine, a pleasure chemical. The larger response, the more likely a person will repeat that behavior later on. The researchers found that the response in the nucleus accumbens became smaller over time in those who reported frequent marijuana use.
A demonstrator smokes a joint during a march calling for the legalization of marijuana along Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 14, 2016. (NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)
Study author and neuroscientist Mary Heitzeg told this contributor via email that one explanation is marijuana use over time may shift the brain’s reward system away from rewards available in the environment. Natural rewards include food or sex, and can also include money.
“Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States and national surveys have shown that the perception of risk of harm from marijuana use has been decreasing over the past five years,” she said. “Our findings challenge this growing perception that marijuana use is not harmful by demonstrating an association between marijuana use and changes in the functioning of the brain reward system over time.”
The older I get, the less money motivates me, and I'm not toking lol. I may be short-sighted about how I will care for myself in older age without as many funds, but is this true of everyone as they get older?