Alameda-Bailén Jose Ramón, Salguero-Alcañiz Pilar, Merchán-Clavellino Ana, Paíno-Quesada Susana
Basic Psychology, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain.
Basic Psychology, University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
PeerJ. 2018 Jul 3;6:e5201. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5201. eCollection 2018.
Cannabis, like other substances, negatively affects health, inducing respiratory problems and mental and cognitive alterations. Memory and learning disorders, as well as executive dysfunctions, are also neuropsychological disorders associated to cannabis use. Recent evidence reveals that cannabis use during adolescence may disrupt the normal development of the brain. This study is aimed to analyze possible differences between early-onset and late-onset cannabis consumers.
We used a task based on a card game with four decks and different programs of gains/losses. A total of 72 subjects (19 women; 53 men) participated in the study; they were selected through a purposive sampling and divided into three groups: early-onset consumers, late-onset consumers, and control (non-consumers). The task used was the "Cartas" program (computerized version based on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT)), with two versions: direct and inverse. The computational model "Prospect Valence Learning" (PVL) was applied in order to describe the decision according to four characteristics: utility, loss aversion, recency, and consistency.
The results evidence worst performance in the IGT in the early-onset consumers as compared to late-onset consumers and control. Differences between groups were also found in the PVL computational model parameters, since the process of decision making of the early-onset consumers was more influenced by the magnitude of the gains-losses, and more determined by short-term results without loss aversion.
Early onset cannabis use may involve decision-making problems, and therefore intervention programs are necessary in order to reduce the prevalence and delay the onset of cannabis use among teenagers.
大麻与其他物质一样，会对健康产生负面影响，引发呼吸问题以及精神和认知改变。记忆和学习障碍以及执行功能障碍也是与大麻使用相关的神经心理障碍。最近的证据表明，青少年时期使用大麻可能会扰乱大脑的正常发育。本研究旨在分析早发性和晚发性大麻使用者之间可能存在的差异。
我们使用了一个基于纸牌游戏的任务，有四副牌以及不同的输赢程序。共有72名受试者（19名女性；53名男性）参与了该研究；他们通过目的抽样被选中，并分为三组：早发性使用者、晚发性使用者和对照组（非使用者）。所使用的任务是“Cartas”程序（基于爱荷华赌博任务（IGT）的计算机化版本），有直接和反向两个版本。应用了计算模型“前景效价学习”（PVL），以便根据效用、损失厌恶、近期性和一致性这四个特征来描述决策。
结果表明，与晚发性使用者和对照组相比，早发性使用者在IGT中的表现更差。在PVL计算模型参数中也发现了组间差异，因为早发性使用者的决策过程更容易受到得失幅度的影响，并且更多地由短期结果决定，而没有损失厌恶。
早发性大麻使用可能涉及决策问题，因此有必要开展干预项目，以降低青少年中大麻使用的流行率并延迟其使用起始时间。
