Regular cannabis use is associated with altered neural and behavioural responses during anticipation and feedback of monetary reward and loss
medRxiv Preprint Server April 23, 2026 Giada Lombardi, Grace Blest-Hopley, Martina Maria Tarantini et al. preprint
Regular cannabis users show altered brain responses during reward anticipation and outcome processing, but their actual task performance does not differ from non-users. Using the Monetary Incentive Delay Task, the study found that cannabis users had reduced neural activity in reward-related brain regions during anticipation of potential gains and losses, yet their reaction times and accuracy were comparable to non-users. These findings suggest that regular cannabis use is associated with changes in reward-related brain function without corresponding behavioral deficits.