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Testing associations between cannabis use and subcortical volumes in two large population‐based samples
Author(s) -
Gillespie Nathan A.,
Neale Michael C.,
Bates Timothy C.,
Eyler Lisa T.,
FennemaNotestine Christine,
Vassileva Jasmin,
Lyons Michael J.,
PromWormley Elizabeth C.,
McMahon Katie L.,
Thompson Paul M.,
Zubicaray Greig,
Hickie Ian B.,
McGrath John J.,
Strike Lachlan T.,
Rentería Miguel E.,
Panizzon Matthew S.,
Martin Nicholas G.,
Franz Carol E.,
Kremen William S.,
Wright Margaret J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.14252
Subject(s) - putamen , cannabis , craving , population , nicotine , caudate nucleus , medicine , psychology , grey matter , insula , psychiatry , magnetic resonance imaging , addiction , white matter , neuroscience , radiology , environmental health
Background and aims Disentangling the putative impact of cannabis on brain morphology from other comorbid substance use is critical. After controlling for the effects of nicotine, alcohol and multi‐substance use, this study aimed to determine whether frequent cannabis use is associated with significantly smaller subcortical grey matter volumes. Design Exploratory analyses using mixed linear models, one per region of interest (ROI), were performed whereby individual differences in volume (outcome) at seven subcortical ROIs were regressed onto cannabis and comorbid substance use (predictors). Setting Two large population‐based twin samples from the United States and Australia. Participants A total of 622 young Australian adults [66% female; μ age = 25.9, standard deviation SD) = 3.6] and 474 middle‐aged US males (μ age = 56.1 SD = 2.6 ) of predominately Anglo‐Saxon ancestry with complete substance use and imaging data. Subjects with a history of stroke or traumatic brain injury were excluded. Measurements Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and volumetric segmentation methods were used to estimate volume in seven subcortical ROIs: thalamus, caudate nucleus, putamen, pallidum, hippocampus, amygdala and nucleus accumbens. Substance use measurements included maximum nicotine and alcohol use, total life‐time multi‐substance use, maximum cannabis use in the young adults and regular cannabis use in the middle‐aged males. Findings After correcting for multiple testing ( P = 0.007), cannabis use was unrelated to any subcortical ROI. However, maximum nicotine use was associated with significantly smaller thalamus volumes in middle‐aged males. Conclusions In exploratory analyses based on young adult and middle‐aged samples, normal variation in cannabis use is unrelated statistically to individual differences in brain morphology as measured by subcortical volume.