The brains of cannabis users are ‘noisy’, with measurable activity even when they’re not actually stoned, a new study has found. The ‘noisy brain’ could impair brain activity and disrupt cognitive processes, said lead researcher Dr. Shikha Prashad. The results are similar to effects seen in the brains of heroin and cocaine addicts, the researchers say.
The researchers collected electroencephalogram (EEG) brain scan data from 17 cannabis users and 21 non-users. The researchers noticed increased synchronisation – ie activation – of brain waves in the cannabis users, even when not actually high on the drug.
Dr Prashad said, ‘This study is the first to characterize global cortical activation and both inter- and intrahemispheric functional connectivity during resting state in cannabis users.’ Greater cortical communication among the frontal regions of the brain was observed in cannabis users.
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Prashad said this could signify that participants had difficulty inhibiting neural activity, which would cause them to exert more effort as they attempted to stop doing certain tasks. Changes in communication between the brain’s cortical areas could also be related to cognitive impairments correlated with cannabis use.
Credit: metro.co.uk