Abstract
Cannabis abuse and addiction is associated with detrimental effects on cognition and behavior. Recent neuroimaging research
suggests that casual users present morphological differences in brain areas
associated with emotion processing; it is unclear whether these differences
are refl ected in cognitive, behavioral, and functional measures. We examined event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in current and past cannabis
users and non-users during emotion processing. Electroencephalogram
was recorded while participants viewed images of male and female faces
depicting happy, angry, fearful, and neutral emotional expressions. Participants completed three tasks in which they identifi ed the sex or the emotion for all faces, or empathized with the emotion depicted by each image
(implicit, explicit, and empathic conditions, respecitvely). Current and past
users presented differences in ERP components during emotion processing.
Specifically, users presented with decreased ERPs overall, but especially
in P1 amplitude over parietoccipital electrodes and to P3 amplitude over
parietal and frontal medial sites. This P3 attenuation in current users was
most noticeable during empathic processing, in which participants were
instructed to empathize with the emotion depicted as they would for a
close friend or relative. This data supports a relationship between cannabis
use and changes of affective systems in the brain. Further study will assess
a larger population of users that will allow us to examine in more detail
the relationship between levels of use and altered emotion processing as
measured by electrophysiological and behavioral measures.
Original language | English |
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Pages | 95 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 31 Mar 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting - San Francisco, United States Duration: 27 Mar 2015 → 31 Mar 2015 |
Conference
Conference | Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | San Francisco |
Period | 27/03/15 → 31/03/15 |