How marijuana affects the developing adolescent brain

une 16 (UPI) — Marijuana use during adolescence may affect development of the areas of the brain that control emotions, an analysis published Wednesday by JAMA Psychiatry found.

Teens who reported using marijuana during a five-year period showed signs of reduced thickness of the left and right prefrontal cortices in their brains on magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers said.

Reduced thickness of these regions, which control positive and negative emotions, respectively, has in earlier studies been linked with increased risk for depression and suicide, as well as attention problems.

Analysis of the MRI findings of the roughly 800 teens included in this study indicated that the brain changes did not “precede initiation of [marijuana] use,” according to the researchers.

Read more here: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/06/16/marijuana-teens-brain-development-study/4721623852022/