Pot Study Brain Changes- A new study reveals that chronic users of pot have lower IQ's and exhibits an unusual brain shape. Smoking marijuana at a young age could even shrink one part of the brain and could lead to overworking of the other parts.
The new study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that shows that early users of marijuana have a diverse shape of the brain. This result was questioned by a new study that was also published in the same journal.
The pot study brain changes states, "Marijuana users had significantly less bilateral orbitofrontal gyri volume, higher functional connectivity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) network, and higher structural connectivity in tracts that innervate the OFC (forceps minor) as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA). Increased OFC functional connectivity in marijuana users was associated with earlier age of onset."
The research was conducted to 48 marijuana users where all the participants began smoking marijuana at the ages of 14 to 30. The participants were smoking marijuana on an average of three times a day, although others have been smoking for almost 30 years, according to CNN.
The pot study brain changes also suggest that the younger the user, the more likely the alterations in the brain will be.
Dr. Francesca Filbey, the Principal Investigator in the study and an Associate Professor at the School of Behavioral And Brain Sciences at The University of Texas At Dallas says effect is greater at younger age or adolescents because it is when the brain starts to mature, and that any harmful elements can easily affect the brain.
Adolescents who began experimenting with cannabis before 18 years of age and continue to use it overtime during adulthood have lower IQ's. The pot study brain changes say that their IQ's are lower by an average of eight points compared to those who didn't used marijuana.
However, a contradicting study published in the same journal was questioning the result of IQ changes among cannabis users. The study was indicating environmental factor or poverty is the main factor that leads to a person's low IQ, and not marijuana use.
Ole Rogeberg, the author of the study and a research economist at the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway, is contradicting the result of the cannabis study that marijuana affects brain changes. He claims, children from lower income family tend to smoke marijuana earlier than those in middle class family.
As the result of the pot study brain changes is still inclusive, Rogeberg is persistent in questioning its validity. What do you think is more accurate? This is the question that is needed to be answered by the future researchers on the use of Cannabis at a young age.
