Executive Functions and Cannabis Use in Adolescents

Autor: Antonella Cavallaro, Grazia Maria Giovanna Pastorino, Alessandro Frolli, Francesca Felicia Operto, Maria Carla Ricci, Agnese Lombardi
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Popis: The developmental phase of adolescence is characterized by a multitude of neurocognitive and psychosocial changes and is therefore considered one of the most critical developmental periods of life. Experimentation on the use of substances often begins in adolescence and so does the addiction process. Most research in human subjects shows that chronic cannabis abuse is the cause of the impairment of some cognitive functions, affecting the performance on divided attention, verbal memory and working memory. In this study, we wanted to investigate how the abuse of cannabis (chronic, occasional and absence use) can influence global cognitive functioning, also through executive functions. From the statistical analyzes of our study, it emerges that the group of subjects who use chronic cannabis (group 1) has a significant drop in working memory tasks compared to the group that does not use it (group 3). In addition, the goal of future studies by our group is to verify the permanent alteration of cognitive processes affected through revaluations with calendar follow-up (controlled).
Databáze: OpenAIRE