Glodosky Nicholas C, Cleveland Michael J, Azghan Reza Rahimi, Ghasemzadeh Hassan, McLaughlin Ryan J, Cuttler Carrie
Departments of Psychology, Washington State University, PO Box 644820, Pullman, WA, 99164-4820, USA.
Prevention Science, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2024 Nov 6. doi: 10.1007/s00213-024-06709-3.
Chronic cannabis users frequently report stress relief as their primary reason for use. The endocannabinoid system is involved in the neuroendocrine stress response, and diurnal cortisol rhythms may be disrupted in chronic cannabis users.
The objectives were to determine whether cannabis users demonstrate disruptions in diurnal stress rhythms and examine the acute effects of cannabis on stress-related outcomes in cannabis users' natural environments.
Eighty-two participants (39 cannabis users, 43 non-users) collected saliva samples to quantify cortisol concentrations and provided subjective stress ratings at 8 time points throughout the day. They wore a medical-grade wearable device for 24 h that recorded physiological indicators of stress (heart rate variability, electrodermal activity). Cannabis users collected additional saliva samples before and after cannabis use to examine acute effects of cannabis use.
Cannabis users exhibited significant dysregulations in diurnal cortisol rhythms, including a blunted cortisol awakening response, flattened diurnal cortisol slope, and elevated afternoon cortisol concentrations. There were no differences in diurnal heart rate variability or electrodermal activity except for elevated evening heart rate in cannabis users. Finally, there were significant decreases in cortisol, subjective stress, and electrodermal activity following acute cannabis use in cannabis users' natural environment.
These results provide evidence of dysregulated diurnal cortisol rhythms in cannabis users that were related to later waking times and acute stress-relieving properties of cannabis use in naturalistic environments. Future research should examine the direction of the relationship between cannabis use and diurnal cortisol rhythms and potential implications for other psychological disorders.
长期使用大麻的人经常报告称缓解压力是他们使用大麻的主要原因。内源性大麻素系统参与神经内分泌应激反应，长期使用大麻的人可能会扰乱昼夜皮质醇节律。
目的是确定大麻使用者是否表现出昼夜应激节律紊乱，并研究大麻在大麻使用者自然环境中对与应激相关结果的急性影响。
82名参与者（39名大麻使用者，43名非使用者）采集唾液样本以量化皮质醇浓度，并在一天中的8个时间点提供主观应激评分。他们佩戴医疗级可穿戴设备24小时，记录应激的生理指标（心率变异性、皮肤电活动）。大麻使用者在使用大麻前后采集额外的唾液样本，以研究大麻使用的急性影响。
大麻使用者的昼夜皮质醇节律出现明显失调，包括皮质醇觉醒反应减弱、昼夜皮质醇斜率变平以及下午皮质醇浓度升高。除了大麻使用者夜间心率升高外，昼夜心率变异性或皮肤电活动没有差异。最后，在大麻使用者的自然环境中急性使用大麻后，皮质醇、主观应激和皮肤电活动显著降低。
这些结果提供了证据，表明大麻使用者的昼夜皮质醇节律失调，这与较晚的起床时间以及大麻在自然环境中的急性应激缓解特性有关。未来的研究应探讨大麻使用与昼夜皮质醇节律之间关系的方向以及对其他心理障碍的潜在影响。
