Researchers at UTHealth Houston are examining the biological effects of prenatal cannabis exposure and its potential impact on foetal brain development. Supported by a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the study aims to improve screening tools, public health guidance, and prenatal care strategies for pregnant people who use cannabis.
Led by Laura Goetzl, MD, MPH, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, the five-year grant will fund the study, “Foetal neuronal extracellular vesicle biomarkers of in-utero effects of maternal cannabinoid use and human foetal brain development and neurobehavioral outcomes.”
“In recent years, cannabis use among pregnant women has increased, either recreationally or to help relieve nausea and vomiting during pregnancy,” Goetzl said. “Despite this rise, the effects on a baby’s brain are not well understood. Our hope through this research is that we can better identify risk factors and help health care providers give expecting mothers the best possible guidance.
The study will explore early biological signs, or biomarkers, to show how cannabis exposure influences a baby’s developing brain.
“During pregnancy, small bubbles called neuronal extracellular vesicles travel from the foetus into the mother’s bloodstream,” Goetzl said. “Through studying these small particles, we hope to gain valuable insight into foetal brain development without invasive testing.”
In collaboration with the University of Colorado, the research study will focus on how prenatal cannabis exposure may influence brain growth and neurobehavioral outcomes in children, including their potential for developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism later in life.
The project is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01DA060319.
Flavoured marijuana vaping is now the most common form of use among American teenagers who vape cannabis, according to new findings from the University of Michigan.
The research, published in the Journal for Adolescent Health, found particularly sharp increases among younger teens between 2021 and 2024. Among eighth graders who vaped marijuana, the percentage using flavoured solutions jumped from 47% in 2021 to 63% in 2024. The trend was similar for older students, with use climbing from 41% to 53% for 10th graders and from 36% to 50% for 12th graders.
“The findings suggest that these products are gaining traction among youth; in fact, since the pandemic onset in 2020 youth appear to be turning toward these products while reducing their use of all other drugs,” said Richard Miech, principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future study at U-M’s Institute for Social Research.
The overall percentage of marijuana users who chose to vape the drug also grew over the study period. Among eighth graders who had used marijuana in the past 12 months, the percentage who vaped it increased from 48% to 57%. In 10th grade, the number went from 60% to 66%, and among 12th graders, it rose from 58% to 67%.
“Flavoured vaping solutions offer a discreet mode of cannabis use, with flavours apparently enhancing their appeal,” Miech said. “The study results suggest that a growing proportion of youth find the newly available flavours – especially fruit flavours – more attractive than the standard cannabis taste.
“Vaping does not produce the distinctive odor that comes from smoking cannabis, and vaping devices can be quickly concealed if an authority figure appears unexpectedly.”
More addictive?
This increase in those who vaped highlights growing public health concerns about changing patterns of substance use among teens.
“As for health consequences for cannabis use, one of the most potentially serious is addiction,” Miech said. “Should cannabis use become more popular among youth in future years, then a greater number will end up with an addiction that can impair their social and academic life. Many people may not realize that more adolescents meet the criteria for cannabis use disorder than for alcohol use disorder, with 5% affected by cannabis compared to 3% for alcohol.”
These results point to flavored marijuana vaping solutions as a critical area for future research and policy development. The study’s authors suggest that these findings underscore the need for targeted policies, interventions and educational campaigns to address and mitigate this escalating concern among young people.
“Our survey includes questions on both cannabis’s perceived risk and its social acceptability,” Miech said. “Interestingly, perceived risk among adolescents actually increased over the study period from 2021-24, and social acceptability has gone down. That being said, our questions so far have been about cannabis use in general, and not flavoured cannabis solutions, which students may view differently.”
Would restricting flavoured vapes work?
Recent trends in adolescent cannabis vaping raise concerns about the best way to protect youth. Restricting flavors may seem like an easy solution, but it is by no means a guaranteed success, researchers said.
Teens who seek flavored cannabis products could easily shift to unflavored options or return to smoking cannabis in traditional forms. At the same time, adults in states with legal cannabis may resist limits on flavor choices, and industry lobbying could block such policies.
“An alternative approach to restricting supply of cannabis flavours is to restrict demand,” Miech said. “That is, to reduce teens’ interest and willingness to use cannabis, including flavoured vaping solutions. A demand reduction approach has been very effective for cigarettes.”
Evidence from previous studies on cigarette use supports this approach. In 1998, 35% of 12th graders had used cigarettes in the past month. By 2024, that number dropped to 3%. Cigarettes remained legal and available, but broad-based media campaigns, public education and tighter rules on marketing to youth drove the change.
For those looking to reduce their chances of developing lung disease, say experts at UC San Francisco, then it may be smart to avoid inhaling cannabis.
A new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that inhaling marijuana every day is associated with a 44% increased chance of developing asthma. It also increases the odds of developing a common set of lung diseases known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by 27%.
The risk of COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, may be understated. The disease takes decades to develop, and the researchers did not have detailed information on how long people in the study had been using cannabis.
Researchers defined “inhaling” as smoking, vaping, and so-called “dabbing,” which involves breathing in the vapors of concentrated marijuana. The study found an association between elevated risks to a person’s lungs and doing any of those things with cannabis even for those who had never smoked cigarettes.
For those who never smoked cigarettes, inhaling marijuana every day was linked to a 51% increased likelihood of developing asthma. The association with COPD was also elevated, but it was not statistically significant.
The study is the largest yet to examine the association between inhaling cannabis and risks to respiratory health among people who have not smoked cigarettes. Of the 380 000 adult participants, nearly 222 000 had never smoked tobacco. The data comes from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Experts say the broad legalization of marijuana across much of the country and the perception that it is healthier than tobacco has led people to minimize the risks.
“The message about smoking tobacco being bad for you has gotten out there, but for cannabis, it’s much less clear,” said Alison Rustagi, MD, PhD, assistant professor at UCSF and first author of the paper.
“If people are looking to reduce their likelihood of developing a chronic lung disease, they should not start using cannabis,” she said. “And if they already smoke cannabis, they should do it less often.”
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in partnership with the University of Bath, has found that the reasons why a person chooses to use cannabis can increase their risk of developing paranoia.
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The use and potency of cannabis is increasing worldwide, and dependence and cannabis-induced psychosis are also greatly increasing as a result, especially in North America. Two new research papers, both using data from Cannabis & Me – the largest survey of its kind – have identified key risk factors associated with the more severe forms of paranoia in cannabis users.
The first study, published in BMJ Mental Health, explored the relationship between why people first started using cannabis, and how this affected their subsequent use.
3389 former and current cannabis users aged 18 and over responded to a survey examining their reasons for first and continued use, their weekly consumption of cannabis in THC units, and their mental health.
Researchers established several key findings. Respondents who first started using cannabis to self-medicate an illness, including physical pain, anxiety, depression, or because they were experiencing minor psychotic symptoms, all demonstrated higher paranoia scores.
This was in contrast to those respondents who tried cannabis for fun or curiosity, or with their friends, who reported the lowest average paranoia and anxiety scores.
Dr Edoardo Spinazzola, a Research Assistant at King’s IoPPN and the study’s first author said, “This research suggests that using cannabis as a mean to self-medicate physical or mental discomfort can have a negative impact on the levels of paranoia, anxiety, and depression. Most of these subgroups had average scores of depression and anxiety which were above the threshold for referral to counselling.”
Respondents were also asked to provide data on the frequency and strength of the cannabis they were using so that researchers could track their average weekly consumption of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the principle psychoactive component of cannabis.
The researchers found that the average respondent consumed 206 units of THC a week. This might equate to roughly 10-17 ‘joints’ per week, if the user was consuming an expected 20% THC content that is standard for the most common types of cannabis available in London.
However, respondents who started using cannabis to help with their anxiety, depression, or in cases where they started due to others in their household who were already using cannabis, reported on average 248, 254.7, and 286.9 average weekly THC units respectively.
Professor Tom Freeman, Director of the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath and one of the study’s authors said, “A key finding of our study is that people who first used cannabis to manage anxiety or depression, or because a family member was using it, showed higher levels of cannabis use overall.
“In future, standard THC units could be used in a similar way to alcohol units – for example, to help people to track their cannabis consumption and better manage its effects on their health.”
In a separate study, published in Psychological Medicine, researchers explored the relationship between childhood trauma, paranoia and cannabis use.
Researchers used the same data set from the Cannabis & Me survey, with just over half of respondents (52 per cent) reporting experience of some form of trauma.
Analysis established that respondents who had been exposed to trauma as children reported higher average levels of paranoia compared to those who hadn’t, with physical and emotional abuse emerging as the strongest predictors.
Researchers also explored the relationship between childhood trauma and weekly THC consumption. Respondents who reported experience of sexual abuse had a markedly higher weekly intake of THC, closely followed by those who reported experiencing emotional and physical abuse.
Finally, the researchers confirmed that the strong association between childhood trauma and paranoia is further exacerbated by cannabis use, but is affected by the different types of trauma experienced. Respondents who said they had experienced emotional abuse or household discord were strongly associated with increased THC consumption and paranoia scores. Respondents reporting bullying, physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect and emotional neglect on the other hand did not show the same effects.
Dr Giulia Trotta, a Consultant Psychiatrist and Researcher at King’s IoPPN and the study’s first author said,
“We have not only established a clear association between trauma and future paranoia, but also that cannabis use can further exacerbate the effects of this, depending on what form the trauma takes.
“Our findings will have clear implications for clinical practice as they highlight the importance of early screening for trauma exposure in individuals presenting with paranoia.”
Professor Marta Di Forti, Professor of Drug use, Genetics and Psychosis at King’s IoPPN, Clinical Lead at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust’s Cannabis Clinic for Patients with Psychosis, and the senior author on both studies said, “There is extensive national and international debate about the legality and safety of cannabis use.
“My experience in clinic tells me that there are groups of people who start to use cannabis as a means of coping with physical and emotional pain. My research has confirmed that this is not without significant further risk to their health and wellbeing, and policy makers across the world should be mindful of the impact that legalisation , without adequate public education and health support, could have on both the individual, as well as on healthcare systems more broadly.”
A new article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal warns of the mental health dangers stemming from the increasing potency of cannabis. In Ontario, there has been a more than 14-fold increase in risk for visiting the emergency department for cannabis-related schizophrenic disorders. After a cannabis-induced psychotic episode, cessation of cannabis use is necessary to reduce the risk of relapse, and in severe cases, antipsychotics may be needed.
“Cannabis from the 2000s is not the same as in 2025,” said coauthor Dr Nicholas Fabiano, MD, resident and researcher with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. “THC content has increased by 5 times. This is likely a significant driver in the increasing link between cannabis use and schizophrenia.”
Cannabis potency is increasing — The concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has increased fivefold in the last 20 years in Canada from about 4% to 20% in most legal dried cannabis.
High-potency and regular cannabis use is linked to increased risk of psychosis — The risk of psychosis is increased in people using high-potency THC (more than 10% THC), people using it frequently, and those who are younger and male. A history of mental disorders (depression, anxiety, etc) also appears to increase the risk.
Cannabis-induced psychosis and cannabis use disorder increase the risk of schizophrenia — A recent study of 9.8 million people in Ontario found a 14.3-fold higher risk of developing a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder in people visiting the emergency department for cannabis use and a 241.6-fold higher risk from visits for cannabis-induced psychosis.
Treatment requires stopping cannabis and taking medication — Continued use of cannabis after a first episode of cannabis-induced psychosis is linked to greater risk of returning symptoms. Antipsychotic medication can help people with severe and prolonged symptoms.
Behavioural options may help with cannabis cessation — Motivational interviewing or cognitive behavioural therapy by a physician or psychologist can help build skills to resist cravings and follow treatment recommendations.
A recent study by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has found that individuals with cannabis use disorder (CUD) are more than three times more likely to develop oral cancer within five years compared to those without CUD. The study, published in Preventive Medicine Reports, highlights the potential long-term health risks associated with problematic cannabis use.
In 2022, 17.7 million people in the US reported daily or near-daily cannabis use. Though CUD requires a formal diagnosis and not all cannabis users develop the disorder, recent research suggests that as many as 3 in 10 cannabis users will develop CUD.
“Cannabis smoke contains many of the same carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco smoke.”
As cannabis becomes more widely available and socially accepted, it is essential to understand its potential health risks. While many consider cannabis to be safer than other drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, there are still many unknowns about the health impacts of cannabis, particularly how the drug influences cancer risk. The new study sought to determine the relationship between CUD and oral cancer, for which tobacco smoking is known to be a significant risk factor.
“Cannabis smoke contains many of the same carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco smoke, which have known damaging effects on the epithelial tissue that lines the mouth,” said Raphael Cuomo, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. “These findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that chronic or problematic cannabis use may contribute to cancer risk in tissues exposed to combustion products.”
By analysing the electronic health records from over 45 000 patients, of whom 949 developed CUD, Cuomo found:
After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and smoking status, people had a 325% higher likelihood of contracting oral cancer within five years compared to those without CUD.
Tobacco smokers with CUD were 624% more likely to contract oral cancer within five years compared to tobacco smokers without CUD.
Because the association between CUD and oral cancer remained even after controlling for smoking status, and because CUD was associated with greater oral cancer risk even when the analysis was restricted to smokers, the researchers hypothesise that there may be other factors underlying this risk in addition to smoke inhalation. For example, THC, the active compound in cannabis, is known to have immune-suppressing effects, which may contribute to increased cancer risk.
While more research is needed to fully explain the association between cannabis and oral cancer, the study’s results have immediate implications for cancer screening practices and public health messaging. In particular, the findings emphasise the need for further research on the long-term effects of cannabis use and the importance of integrating oral health awareness into substance use disorder treatment and counselling.
Research team finds moderate risk for preterm birth, low birth weight
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An updated systematic review finds that consuming cannabis while pregnant appears to increase the odds of preterm birth, low birth weight and infant death. This study by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University appears in JAMA Pediatrics.
Study lead author Jamie Lo, MD, MCR, is a physician-scientist who provides prenatal care for high-risk pregnancies at OHSU.
“Patients are coming to me in their prenatal visits saying, ‘I quit smoking and drinking, but is it safe to still use cannabis?’” said Lo, associate professor of obstetrics and gynaecology (maternal-foetal medicine) in the OHSU School of Medicine. “Until direct harms have been proven, they perceive it to be safe to use.”
In fact, cannabis remains one of the most common substances used in pregnancy that’s still illegal under federal law, and, unlike declines in prenatal use of alcohol or nicotine, cannabis use is continuing to increase. Lo said many of her patients are reluctant to give up cannabis during pregnancy because it helps to reduce common prenatal symptoms such as nausea, insomnia and pain.
Researchers updated the systematic review and meta-analysis, drawing on a total of 51 observational studies involving 21.1 million people to examine the potential adverse effects of cannabis use in pregnancy. The researchers found eight new studies since their previous update, raising the certainty of evidence from “very-low-to-low” to “moderate” for increased odds of low birth weight, preterm birth and babies being small for their gestational age.
The updated review also indicated increased odds of newborn mortality, though still with low certainty.
Researchers noted that the new systematic review includes a larger proportion of human observational studies examining people who only use cannabis, but don’t also use nicotine. And even though the evidence is low to moderate for adverse outcomes, Lo noted that the findings are consistent with definitive evidence in nonhuman primate models exposed to THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis.
The related research in animal models included standard prenatal ultrasound and MRI imaging that revealed a detrimental effect on the placenta, in terms of blood flow and availability of oxygen in addition to decreased volume of amniotic fluid.
“These findings tell me as an obstetrician that the placenta is not functioning as it normally would in pregnancy,” Lo said. “When the placenta isn’t functioning well, it can affect the baby’s development and growth.”
Even though cannabis remains a Schedule 1 substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, Oregon is one of several states that have legalised it under state law for medicinal and recreational use. Lo said she recommends a harm-reduction approach to patients. For those who cannot abstain, she advises them to reduce the amount and frequency of use to help reduce the risk of prenatal and infant complications.
“Even using less can mitigate the risk,” she said. “Abstinence is ideal, but it’s not realistic for many patients.”
A new study, recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, has analysed and compared the fatty acids in the blood of individuals with schizophrenia, of those with cannabis use disorder and of those with both diagnoses, with the aim of shedding light on new biomarkers and improving the understanding of the biological relationship between the two disorders. The study also offers a powerful tool for identifying new biomarkers.
Cannabis is one of the most widely used substances in the world, with some 228 million users between the ages of 15 and 64. The risk of developing schizophrenia increases significantly with cannabis use, especially when it starts at a young age. What is more, it is estimated that approximately 10% of cannabis users will develop cannabis use disorder during their lifetime. Curiously, almost a third of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia also meet the criteria for cannabis use disorder; and cannabis use disorder affects up to 42% of people with schizophrenia.
In this bid to shed light on the biological mechanisms that determine why some individuals develop schizophrenia while others only experience cannabis use disorder, despite similar levels of exposure to cannabis, the UPV/EHU’s Neuropsychopharmacology group has managed to detect “potential biomarkers in the blood that could help predict the risk some people have of developing a psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia if they use cannabis”, explained Leyre Urigüen, coordinator of the study.
So, the research group compared the fatty acid content in the blood of samples taken from “a group of individuals with schizophrenia who did not use cannabis, a group who used cannabis and have developed a cannabis use disorder, a group with a dual pathology of schizophrenia with cannabis abuse, and a control group of individuals with neither a psychiatric disorder nor drug use”, explained Dr Urigüen. In the study they wanted to shed light on what happens “with people who use cannabis and develop schizophrenia; how do they differ from those who use cannabis and never develop a psychiatric disorder?” she added.
“We found considerable differences between these groups of individuals. By comparing the quantities of certain metabolites (fatty acids), we were able to perfectly differentiate between the three patient populations,” stressed the UPV/EHU researcher. “This indicates that there is an altered or different metabolism between these three groups.” In this study the Neuropsychopharmacology research group at the UPV/EHU detected “that some fatty acids differentiate between the cannabis-using group and the groups with schizophrenia and dual-diagnosis patients. These molecules could potentially be biomarkers”, said Urigüen.
Paving the way forward
The researcher is very hopeful about this finding: “I think it is important to be capable of finding blood biomarkers that can help predict the risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, such as schizophrenia due to cannabis use, and this study has proven to be the start of this way forward. Now this has to be disproved by studies with a larger cohort of people than the one we have analysed.”
In this respect, the researcher stressed that another of the strengths of the study is “the fine-tuning of plasma lipidomics in patients; in other words, the complete study of fatty acids (lipids). We are proposing a way of working that can be replicated by other groups, and that way, headway can be made in the specification of these metabolites”. This approach has been developed by the IBeA research group under the direction of the UPV/EHU professor Nestor Etxebarria. Both groups are working side by side on “various approaches to the study in which they are trying to find answers to these and many other questions”.
Marijuana is now legal in many places, but is it safe? Two new studies add to mounting evidence that people who use cannabis are more likely to suffer a heart attack than people who do not use the drug, even among younger and otherwise healthy adults. The findings are from a retrospective study of over 4.6 million people published in JACC Advances and a meta-analysis of 12 previously published studies being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.
Marijuana use has risen in the United States, especially in states where it is legal to buy, sell and use the drug recreationally. In the retrospective study, researchers found that cannabis users younger than age 50 were over six times as likely to suffer a heart attack compared to non-users. The meta-analysis, which is the largest pooled study to date examining heart attacks and cannabis use, showed a 50% increased risk among those who used the drug.
“Asking about cannabis use should be part of clinicians’ workup to understand patients’ overall cardiovascular risk, similar to asking about smoking cigarettes,” said Ibrahim Kamel, MD, clinical instructor at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and internal medicine resident at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston and the study’s lead author. “At a policy level, a fair warning should be made so that the people who are consuming cannabis know that there are risks.”
Kamel and his team conducted the retrospective study using data from TriNetX, a global health research network that provides access to electronic medical records. Their findings indicate that over an average follow-up of over three years, cannabis users had more than a sixfold increased risk of heart attack, fourfold increased risk of ischaemic stroke, twofold increased risk of heart failure and threefold increased risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke. All study participants were younger than age 50 and free of significant cardiovascular comorbidities at baseline, with blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels within a healthy range and no diabetes, tobacco use or prior coronary artery disease.
For the meta-analysis, the researchers pooled data from 12 previously published research studies that collectively included over 75 million people. The studies were rated as being of moderate to good quality in terms of methodology. Of the 12 studies, 10 were conducted in the United States, one in Canada and one in India. Some of the studies did not include information about participants’ ages, but the average age was 41 years among those that did, suggesting that the pooled sample reflected a relatively young population.
Taken individually, seven of the studies found a significant positive association between cannabis use and heart attack incidence, while four showed no significant difference and one showed a slightly negative association. When the researchers pooled the data from all studies and analysed it together, they found a significant positive association, with active cannabis users being 1.5 times as likely to suffer a heart attack compared with those who aren’t current users.
Cannabis use and heart attack incidence was assessed in a similar manner across the different studies. However, due to inconsistencies in the data available from each study, researchers were unable to account for several potential confounding factors including the duration and amount of cannabis use or the use of tobacco or other drugs.
“We should have some caution in interpreting the findings in that cannabis consumption is usually associated with other substances such as cocaine or other illicit drugs that are not accounted for,” Kamel said. “Patients should be forthcoming with their doctors and remember that we are their number one advocate and having the full story matters.”
While the mechanisms through which marijuana or its components may impact the cardiovascular system are not fully understood, the researchers hypothesize that it can affect heart rhythm regulation, heighten oxygen demand in the heart muscle and contribute to endothelial dysfunction, which makes it harder for the blood vessels to relax and expand, and can interrupt blood flow. One of the studies included in the meta-analysis found that the risk of heart attack peaked about one hour after marijuana consumption.
Since both studies were limited by their retrospective nature and the meta-analysis was limited by the challenges inherent in pooling data from multiple studies, researchers said that additional prospective studies would help to confirm the findings and determine which groups may face the highest risk.
A previous study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in 2023 found that daily marijuana use was associated with an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease.
The retrospective analysis will simultaneously publish in JACC Advances.
Young adults at risk of psychosis show reduced brain connectivity, a deficit that cannabis use appears to worsen, a new study has found. The breakthrough paves the way for psychosis treatments targeting symptoms that current medications miss. In the first-of-its-kind study, McGill University researchers detected a marked decrease in synaptic density in individuals at risk of psychosis, compared to a healthy control group.
“Not every cannabis user will develop psychosis, but for some, the risks are high. Our research helps clarify why,” said Dr Romina Mizrahi, senior author of the study and professor in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry.
“Cannabis appears to disrupt the brain’s natural process of refining and pruning synapses, which is essential for healthy brain development.”
Hope for new treatments
Using advanced brain scanning technology, the team studied 49 participants aged 16 to 30, including individuals with recent psychotic symptoms and those considered at high risk. The results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, indicate that lower synaptic density is linked to social withdrawal and lack of motivation, symptoms the researchers say are difficult to treat.
“Current medications largely target hallucinations, but they don’t address symptoms that make it difficult to manage social relationships, work, or school,” said first author Belen Blasco, a PhD student at McGill’s Integrated Program in Neuroscience. “By focusing on synaptic density, we may eventually develop therapies that enhance social function and quality of life for those affected.”
While cannabis is a known risk factor for developing psychosis, which can progress to schizophrenia, this is the first time researchers have measured structural changes in the brains of a high-risk population in real time.
The team’s next research phase will explore whether these observed brain changes could predict psychosis development, potentially enabling earlier intervention.
