B3418 - Neurobiological Mechanisms in Adolescent Marijuana Exposure and Schizophrenia Risk - 22/11/2019

B number: 
B3418
Principal applicant name: 
Beng-Choon Ho | University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine (United States of America)
Co-applicants: 
Prof. John Macleod, Andy Boyd
Title of project: 
Neurobiological Mechanisms in Adolescent Marijuana Exposure and Schizophrenia Risk
Proposal summary: 

Heavy marijuana (MJ) use in adolescence has been associated with 2-4 fold increased risk for schizophrenia (SZ) in later life. It is unclear if lighter and more sporadic MJ exposure (i.e. recreational MJ use), a pattern more typical of most adolescent users, has similar deleterious effects especially when more potent forms of MJ have become the norm during the past 2 decades. In a recently completed 3-year longitudinal study, we found that unaffected adolescent first-degree biological relatives of schizophrenia patients with recreational MJ use failed to show age-expected maturation in processing speed and executive functioning and in pruning of gray matter cortical thickness within dorsolateral prefrontal and parieto-temporal brain regions. The overall objective of this ALSPAC proposal are to understand the nature of the association between adolescent recreational MJ use and schizophrenia susceptibility. The specific aims are to delineate the impact of adolescent recreational MJ use on cognitive maturation, brain cortical development and its specificity on risks for developing schizophrenia and other common psychiatric disorders in later life.

Impact of research: 
If exposure to low levels of high potency forms of marijuana during adolescence heightens the risk for schizophrenia later in life, such a finding will have important public health implications. Counseling adolescents against heavy adolescent marijuana use may no longer be sufficient if recreational use is no longer “safe”. New public health policies to reduce marijuana use among adolescents may therefore be necessary. Reduced adolescent exposure to high potency MJ may also lead to lower SZ incidence. Another likely impact of this research is advancing understanding regarding the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie how adolescent marijuana use may increase susceptibility for schizophrenia through disruptions in adolescent brain maturation. Such novel findings from this proposal will bolster vital foundational knowledge for the development of new therapeutic measures to help reduce the severe disease burden of schizophrenia.
Date proposal received: 
Wednesday, 20 November, 2019
Date proposal approved: 
Friday, 22 November, 2019
Keywords: 
Mental health - Psychology, Psychiatry, Cognition, Addiction - e.g. alcohol, illicit drugs, smoking, gambling, etc., Mental health, Cognitive assessments, questionnaires, brain MRI scans, data linkage to healthcare records of psychiatric diagnoses, Cognition - cognitive function, Development