History of cannabis use is not associated with alterations in striatal dopamine D 2 /D 3 receptor availability
Journal of Psychopharmacology September 2, 2011 Paul Stokes, Alice Egerton, Ben Watson et al. 62 citations
Cannabis use during adolescence is considered a risk factor for psychosis, and animal studies indicate that THC, the psychoactive component, alters striatal dopamine transmission. This study compared striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability in ten volunteers with a history of cannabis use and ten controls using PET scans. No significant differences in receptor availability were found between groups, nor any correlation with lifetime cannabis use frequency. However, limbic striatal receptor availability was ten percent lower in current nicotine smokers. These results suggest that, unlike other drugs of abuse, a history of cannabis use is not associated with changes in striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability.