Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2020 Nov;237(11):3447-3458. doi: 10.1007/s00213-020-05624-7. Epub 2020 Aug 8.
The amygdala is a key brain structure to study in relation to cannabis use as reflected by its high-density of cannabinoid receptors and functional reactivity to processes relevant to drug use. Previously, we identified a correlation between cannabis use in early adolescence and amygdala hyper-reactivity to angry faces (Spechler et al. 2015).
Here, we leveraged the longitudinal aspect of the same dataset (the IMAGEN study) to determine (1) if amygdala hyper-reactivity predicts future cannabis use and (2) if amygdala reactivity is affected by prolonged cannabis exposure during adolescence.
First, linear regressions predicted the level of cannabis use by age 19 using amygdala reactivity to angry faces measured at age 14 prior to cannabis exposure in a sample of 1119 participants. Next, we evaluated the time course of amygdala functional development from age 14 to 19 for angry face processing and how it might be associated with protracted cannabis use throughout this developmental window. We compared the sample from Spechler et al. 2015, the majority of whom escalated their use over the 5-year interval, to a matched sample of non-users.
Right amygdala reactivity to angry faces significantly predicted cannabis use 5 years later in a dose-response fashion. Cannabis-naïve adolescents demonstrated the lowest levels of amygdala reactivity. No such predictive relationship was identified for alcohol or cigarette use. Next, follow-up analyses indicated a significant group-by-time interaction for the right amygdala.
(1) Right amygdala hyper-reactivity is predictive of future cannabis use, and (2) protracted cannabis exposure during adolescence may alter the rate of neurotypical functional development.
杏仁核是研究与大麻使用相关的关键大脑结构，这反映在其高浓度的大麻素受体和对与药物使用相关过程的功能性反应上。此前，我们发现青少年早期大麻使用与杏仁核对愤怒面孔的过度反应之间存在相关性（Spechler 等人，2015 年）。
在这里，我们利用相同数据集（IMAGEN 研究）的纵向方面来确定（1）杏仁核过度反应是否预测未来的大麻使用，以及（2）如果杏仁核反应受到青春期期间长时间接触大麻的影响。
首先，线性回归使用 1119 名参与者在接触大麻之前的 14 岁时对愤怒面孔的杏仁核反应来预测 19 岁时大麻的使用水平。接下来，我们评估了从 14 岁到 19 岁的杏仁核功能发育的时间过程，以及它如何与整个发育窗口期间的长期大麻使用相关。我们比较了 Spechler 等人的样本，他们中的大多数人在 5 年的间隔内增加了使用量，与未使用者的匹配样本进行了比较。
右杏仁核对愤怒面孔的反应显著预测了 5 年后的大麻使用，呈剂量反应模式。未使用大麻的青少年表现出最低水平的杏仁核反应。对于酒精或香烟使用，没有发现这种预测关系。接下来，后续分析表明右杏仁核存在显著的组间时间交互作用。
（1）右杏仁核过度反应可预测未来的大麻使用，（2）青春期期间长期接触大麻可能会改变神经典型的功能发育速度。
