There’s no doubt that getting high can make you do some pretty dumb stuff, although the scientific community remains split over whether or not smoking too many joints causes lasting cognitive impairment. The latest research into this controversial subject has found evidence of a connection between excessive cannabis use and decreased dopamine levels in the brain, which could in turn lead to memory, attention, and problem-solving deficits.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the brain’s so-called reward center, and is released in response to pleasurable stimuli like eating cake, having sex, and taking drugs. This is what makes many drugs so addictive (and cake so irresistible), although research suggests that excessive use of these substances causes a dopamine imbalance, with lower concentrations of the chemical being released in parts of the brain such as the striatum.
Importantly, dopamine deficits in the striatum have been associated with reduced cognitive performance. Given that THC – the active ingredient in cannabis – is known to stimulate dopamine neurons throughout the brain, lead researcher Anissa Abi-Dargham explained that “it is important to look more closely at the potentially addictive effects of cannabis on key regions of the brain.”
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