The Grass Might Be Greener: Medical Marijuana Patients Exhibit Altered Brain Activity and Improved Executive Function after 3 Months of Treatment
Frontiers in Pharmacology January 17, 2018 S. Gruber, Kelly A. Sagar, M. Dahlgren et al.
After 3 months of medical marijuana (MMJ) treatment, patients showed improved performance on a cognitive interference task and changes in brain activation patterns in the cingulate cortex and frontal regions, with activation patterns becoming more similar to those of healthy controls, suggesting a potential normalization of brain function. Patients also reported improvements in clinical state and health-related measures, along with notable decreases in prescription medication use, particularly opioids and benzodiazepines. These findings indicate that MMJ use may have different effects than recreational marijuana use, which has been linked to decrements in task performance and altered brain activation.