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Cannabis and Cognitive Functions: a re‐evaluation study
Author(s) -
MENDHIRATTA SARBJIT S.,
VARMA VIJOY K.,
DANG RAVINDER,
MALHOTRA ANIL K.,
DAS KAROBI,
NEHRA RITU
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb00506.x
Subject(s) - cannabis , memory span , hashish , cognition , psychology , bender gestalt test , effects of cannabis , audiology , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , working memory , projective test , cannabidiol , psychoanalysis
Summary Out of 25 each of long‐term, heavy bhang (marihuana) ingestors, 25 charas (hashish) smokers and 25 matched non‐user controls earlier studied and reported by us, 11 bhang users, 19 charas smokers and 15 controls could be re‐studied after a lapse of 9‐10 years. All the users had continued the use during the intervening years. Tests of intelligence, memory and perceptuomotor tasks earlier administered to the subjects were repeated. This showed a significant additional deterioration in case of the users on a number of psychological measures, i.e. on digit span, speed and accuracy tests, reaction time and Bender visuomotor gestalt test. The deterioration in the cannabis users was significantly greater than in the case of the non‐users controls. The study thus further corroborates our earlier findings of impairment of cognitive functions associated with long‐term, heavy cannabis use.