Cannabis and the brain: Recent studies shed new light
Recent research sheds new light on the effects of cannabis on the brain. It reveals a complex pattern of potential harms and benefits that varies with age and disease.
The findings came from a number of studies that featured at the 2018 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held in San Diego, CA.
They reveal, for instance, that exposure to marijuana before birth and during teen years can affect the developing brain in several ways.
Some of these ways disrupt communication between different parts of the brain, while others interfere with learning and memory and disrupt levels of chemical messengers and metabolic compounds.
However, exposure to a compound present in marijuana can improve memory in Alzheimer's disease and even reduce some of its symptoms.
