Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Special Children's Impairment and Intervention, Nanjing Normal University of Special Education, Nanjing, China.
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Addict Biol. 2021 May;26(3):e12931. doi: 10.1111/adb.12931. Epub 2020 Jun 23.
Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug in the world. Cross-sectional neuroimaging studies have revealed that chronic cannabis exposure and the development of cannabis use disorders may affect cerebllar morphology. However, cross-sectional studies cannot make a conclusive distinction between causes and consequences, and there is a lack of longitudinal neuroimaging studies. In the current study, we used longitudinal neuroimaging data to explore whether persistent cannabis use and higher levels of cannabis exposure in young adults are related to cerebellar thickness alterations. Twenty heavy cannabis users (CBs) and 22 non-cannabis-using controls (HCs) completed a comprehensive psychological assessment and a T1-structural MRI scan at baseline and a 3-year follow-up. Except for lobuleVIIB, all cerebellar subregions showed significant effects of age in both the CB and HC groups. Both VI and CrusI had higher rates of increase in CBs than in HCs. In addition, we examined the relationship between changes in cerebellar thickness and cannabis use characteristics. We found that alterations in lobule VI and CrusI were related to the age at onset first cannabis use but not the age at onset frequent cannabis use. The changes in lobule VI and CrusI were associated with the CUDIT score, even when controlling for the AUDIT score. The results indicated that an increased rate of cerebellar thickness is a risk factor for heavy cannabis use in early adulthood. Cannabis use affects the cerebellar structure, and monitoring cerebellar structural alterations that could be used as biomarkers may help guide the development of clinical tools.
大麻是世界上使用最广泛的非法药物。横断面神经影像学研究表明，慢性大麻暴露和大麻使用障碍的发展可能会影响小脑形态。然而，横断面研究不能明确区分因果关系，而且缺乏纵向神经影像学研究。在目前的研究中，我们使用纵向神经影像学数据来探讨年轻成年人中持续的大麻使用和更高水平的大麻暴露是否与小脑厚度改变有关。20 名重度大麻使用者（CBs）和 22 名非大麻使用者对照（HCs）在基线和 3 年随访时完成了全面的心理评估和 T1 结构 MRI 扫描。除了 VIIB 叶外，小脑所有亚区在 CB 和 HC 组中均表现出显著的年龄效应。VI 和 CrusI 叶在 CB 中的增长率均高于 HCs。此外，我们还检查了小脑厚度变化与大麻使用特征之间的关系。我们发现，VI 叶和 CrusI 叶的变化与首次大麻使用的年龄有关，但与频繁大麻使用的年龄无关。VI 叶和 CrusI 叶的变化与 CUDIT 评分有关，即使在控制 AUDIT 评分的情况下也是如此。结果表明，小脑厚度的增加率是成年早期重度大麻使用的一个风险因素。大麻使用会影响小脑结构，监测可能作为生物标志物的小脑结构变化可能有助于指导临床工具的开发。
