(ThyBlackMan.com) Chinese scientists from the Shanghai University of Technology have synthesized more powerful analogs of tetrahydrocannabinol – a psychoactive substance contained in cannabis. Using these substances in their research, biochemists have determined the mechanism of influence of marijuana on the cells of the human brain. The results are published in the journal Nature.
Cannabis contains more than 400 chemical compounds in marijuana, but the main active ingredient that has a stupefying effect is cannabinoids. In nature, there are approximately 60 cannabinoids, the most effective of which is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (TDC).
The minimum toxic dose of THC is 25 mcg/kg body weight when smoked or 50 mcg/kg when taken orally. The lethal dose is 2.16 g / kg. However, not a single reliable case of death of people without heart disease from an overdose of marijuana is known, since in practice it is impossible to consume this amount at one time. (You need to smoke with dab pen about 60 g of marijuana with 5% content of THC, or eat 1-2 kg of grass). However, this does not mean that the use of marijuana is safe.
The effects of marijuana on the brain and memory:
Smoking marijuana affects thinking, understanding, abstract thinking, learning, and near memory. Depending on the strength of the agent and the susceptibility of the consumer, marijuana can cause a state of panic, anxiety and toxic psychosis. Long-term use can lead to structural and functional changes.
As evidenced by the results of a study published in the journal Hippo campus, daily smoking of marijuana for several years can lead to the development of disorders of the hippo campus and memory. Note that the hippo campus is the part of the brain that is responsible for emotions, memory, in particular, for the transition from short-term to long-term memory.
According to a previous study conducted by scientists from the University of Melbourne (University of Melbourne), Australia, found a relationship between intensive use of cannabis dab vape pens (Migvapor offers some) and structural disorders in the hippo campus.
Specialists of the Northwestern Medical Center (Northwestern Medicine), USA, conducted research to study in more detail the mechanism for the development of changes in different parts of the brain among marijuana users. Earlier, this team of scientists identified marijuana users with impaired short-term memory along with changes in other brain regions, including the thalamus.
According to the study of Matthew Smith, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the medical center, the use of marijuana wax pen in adolescence affects the work of the brain responsible for memory, even after several years after quitting cannabis use.
Scientists analyzed data from about 100 people with psychological disorders, including schizophrenia, caused by the use of psychoactive substances, and without the presence of these disorders.
It is worth noting that the participants in the study who used marijuana. Did not use other substances of a narcotic nature. They used marijuana every day for an average of 3 years, starting at 16 years of age.
During the study, researchers found that the duration of marijuana use correlates with the severity of disorders in the hippocampus. This means that the longer the participants use marijuana, the more the shape and work of this part of the brain changed. Researchers claim that this unusual form indicates the presence of damage to neurons and axons within the hippocampus.
Participants were offered to take a test, during which they listened to a series of stories lasting 1 minute, and then reproduced, trying to recall the maximum amount of information for 20–30 minutes.
Scientists have found that participants who use wax vape, 18% worse memory performance than the control group. Patients with schizophrenia who used this drug in adolescence showed 26% worse than their peers who had never used it.
Scientists plan to continue the study for a more detailed review of the effect of marijuana on changes in brain function and memory impairment.
What is more interesting is that those who use cannabis have significantly reduced the amount of medulla in the thalamus and the striatum — two areas of the brain that are responsible for reinforcing skills, training, and working memory. These changes cause problems with memorization. Strictly speaking, the link between smoking marijuana and schizophrenia has not been proven, the authors simply decided to compare these two groups. However, there are studies that mental disorders are really more common among those who like to smoke weed.
Researchers tested the mental abilities of the same people many times over the course of 25 years. So, they found out that with age in subjects who actively smoke weed wax pens, experimental intelligence and the ability to memorize decrease much faster.
Marijuana causes short-term and transient violations of thinking, perception, and processing of information. Short-term memory refers to the cognitive processes most clearly exposed to marijuana.
In laboratory studies, individuals under the influence of marijuana did not experience difficulties in reproducing the previously learned material from memory, but they had a decrease in their ability to memorize and to extract from memory new information. This decrease in ability persists only during the period of intoxication.
There is no convincing evidence that chronic marijuana abuse causes persistent memory impairment or other cognitive functions.
Since the late 60s, dozens of studies have been conducted to evaluate intellectual activity one or two hours after smoking marijuana with wax vape pen. Such studies were held in the laboratory, and the test subjects were experienced users of marijuana. One subject was given marijuana, and the other was given a placebo, or some subjects received high, and others received low doses of marijuana, after which each group was asked to perform one or more cognitive tests (tests for cognitive abilities). The cognitive tests, which invariably reveal the short-term effect of marijuana, are only short memory tests. For some experiments, marijuana has no noticeable impact on memory. “Under the buzz,” people can remember what they learned before it happened.
Likewise, if people are asked to remember something “high”, then they can later recognize it.
Staff Writer; Earl Poole