Cannabis is having a reputation that is of being relatively a harmless drug. But, researchers are learning more and more about the effects that marijuana might have on your brain. These are just some of the numerous potential effects of the use of marijuana on your brain. For instance, scrambled neuron signals that may underlie “the munchies”, an enhanced risk of psychosis, changes in the reward system of the brain.
The biggest risk which has relation to the use of cannabis is the enhanced risk of psychosis. The enhanced likelihood of an IQ drop is another significant risk for those people who make use of marijuana during their teenage years.
It is sufficiently safe to say that people who smoke marijuana at a young age. Those people later in their life are more likely to have a reduction in their IQ.
Take a look at the recent research on the possible effects of marijuana on the brain.
Numerous studies have linked the use of marijuana with a higher risk of psychosis. It is a medical term that applies to the symptoms that are inclusive of losing touch with the real world. For instance, paranoia or hallucinations. Those people who make use of marijuana are more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic mental-health condition. For instance, schizophrenia. It is in contrast with those people who have never made use of marijuana.
Pot & IQ
Teenagers who do smoking pot are more likely to experience a drop in their IQ when they are older. A study conducted in New Zealand of more than 1,000 people. Researchers have administered IQ tests twice to the participants. First when they were of age 13, and after that second when they were 38. The researchers have also asked participants about their use of drugs all over their study period.
In the study, about 5% of the teens have started to make use of pot when they were teens. And it has turned out that when those people who have done smoking of pot at least four times in a week. And who has continued to make use of pot all through their lives? They have experienced a drop in their IQ of 8 points by the end of the study.
It is not clear that why pot is having negative effects on the IQ of people. But, it could be that teens are more vulnerable to the effects of pot on brain chemistry.
Brain Size, Connectivity
Researchers have suggested that making use of marijuana for numerous years might have relation to changes in the size of the brain. Researchers have found those people who had been smoking pot daily for at least four years. They had a smaller volume of gray matter in their brain region. It is widely popular as the orbitofrontal cortex.
Researchers have also found that the users of chronic marijuana showed greater connectivity. It is generally a measure of how well information travels between diverse parts of the brain.
Researchers have shown that they are not sure about why the use of chronic marijuana has a relation with these brain changes. But, they also think that it might have something to do with THC which is the main psychoactive ingredient. The reason behind this is that it has been shown to affect cannabinoid receptors. These are inclusive in the memory and mood, appetite, and these are present in huge numbers in the orbitofrontal cortex.
Reward System of the Brain
According to a study, the brains of those people who have done smoking pot for numerous years may respond differently to certain rewards. It is in contrast with those people who don’t make use of the drug. The scientists have found in their study that those people who have smoked marijuana for 12 years on an average. They have exhibited greater activity in the reward system of the brain. It was when they have taken a look at photos of objects which they have used for their smoking of marijuana. For instance, joint or pipe. It is in contrast with those people who looked at photos of their favorite fruits.
In comparison to this, those people in the control group who did not smoke cannabis have not shown greater activity in this brain region. It was the situation when the cannabis-related objects were shown to them.
This study has shown that marijuana is used to disrupt the natural reward circuitry of the brain. This in turn makes it highly crucial for those people who heavily make use of it.