AKT1 genotype moderates the acute psychotomimetic effects of naturalistically smoked cannabis in young cannabis smokers.
Translational psychiatry February 16, 2016 C J A Morgan, T P Freeman, J Powell et al.
Daily cannabis smoking doubles the risk of developing a psychotic disorder, but specific vulnerability factors have been unclear. Genetic variation may modify this risk. In 442 healthy young cannabis users, those with a particular variation in the AKT1 gene (rs2494732) showed a greater acute psychotic response to cannabis, along with dependence on the drug and baseline schizotypal symptoms. Working memory was worse in females after acute cannabis use, with some indication that a COMT gene polymorphism affected working memory when drug-free. These findings suggest the AKT1 pathway as a potential target for preventing and treating cannabis psychosis.