Premium
EEG Deficits in Chronic Marijuana Abusers during Monitored Abstinence
Author(s) -
HERNING RONALD I.,
BETTER WARREN,
TATE KIMBERLY,
CADET JEAN L.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb07513.x
Subject(s) - abstinence , electroencephalography , psychology , psychiatry , medicine , clinical psychology , audiology
A bstract : Cognitive, cerebrovascular, and psychiatric impairments have been documented with chronic marijuana users. To better understand the nature and duration of these neurocognitive changes in marijuana abusers, we recorded the resting EEG of 29 abstinent chronic marijuana abusers and 21 control subjects. The marijuana abusers were tested twice: the first evaluation occurred within 72 hours of admission to the inpatient research unit; the second evaluation occurred after 28 to 30 days of monitored abstinence. A three‐minute period of EEG was recorded during resting eyes‐closed conditions from eight electrodes (F 3 , C 3 , P 3 , O 1 , F 4 , C 4 , P 4 , and O 2 ). The artifacted EEG was converted to six frequency bands (δ, θ, α 1 , α 2 , β 1 , and β 2 ) using a fast Fourier transform. During early abstinence, absolute power was significantly lower ( p < 0.05 ) for the marijuana abusers than for the control subjects for the θ and α 1 bands. These reductions in θ and α 1 power persisted for 28 days of monitored abstinence. These EEG changes, together with cerebral blood flow deficits, might underlie the cognitive alterations observed in marijuana abusers. Additional research is needed to determine how long these deficits persist during abstinence and if treatment with neuroprotective agents may reverse them.