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Articles, Neurobiology of Disease

Daily Marijuana Use Is Not Associated with Brain Morphometric Measures in Adolescents or Adults

Barbara J. Weiland, Rachel E. Thayer, Brendan E. Depue, Amithrupa Sabbineni, Angela D. Bryan and Kent E. Hutchison
Journal of Neuroscience 28 January 2015, 35 (4) 1505-1512; https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2946-14.2015
Barbara J. Weiland
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, and
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Rachel E. Thayer
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, and
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Brendan E. Depue
2Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292
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Amithrupa Sabbineni
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, and
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Angela D. Bryan
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, and
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Kent E. Hutchison
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, and
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    Figure 1.

    A, Depiction of subcortical structures evaluated for group differences between daily marijuana users and nonusers. B, Effect size of marijuana use on structure volumes from the current study and recent literature, presented as bilateral structures where available (circle/triangle) or as the entire structure (square). Average values are presented for right and left structures only. NAccFS, Freesurfer; VBM, voxel-based morphometry; L, left; R, right; NAcc, nucleus accumbens; Hpc, hippocampus; Amyg, amygdala.

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    Table 1.

    Subject characteristics for marijuana nonusers and daily users in adult and adolescent samples based on the past 60 and 90 d, respectively

    AdultsAdolescents
    Nonusers (N = 29)Daily users (N = 29)SignificanceNonusers (N = 50)Daily users (N = 50)Significance
    Sex
        Males16163641
        Females13131490.235
    Age (years)27.5 (6.8)27.4 (7.1)0.98516.77 (0.95)16.65 (1.09)0.538
    Age range (years)18–5319–5314–1814–18
    Educationa13.5 (1.8)13.5 (1.7)0.9669.08 (0.98)9.16 (1.33)0.739
    AUDIT score11.9 (7.5)11.9 (6.1)0.9867.38 (7.00)8.10 (5.79)0.577
    AUDIT consumption score6.7 (3.0)7.1 (3.0)0.6914.06 (3.40)4.52 (2.87)0.466
    Substance useb
        Alcohol (n)
            Drinking days12.31 (21.47)12.97 (18.26)0.869
            Heavy drinking days12.2 (10.8)16.8 (15.0)0.185
            Drinks per drinking day4.6 (2.5)5.7 (3.6)0.2165.19 (5.46)5.42 (5.26)0.831
        Cigarettes (n)
            Smoking days35.2 (28.8)46.1 (25.2)0.127
            Cigarettes per smoking day7.7 (8.3)10.9 (8.2)0.3713.09 (4.66)3.60 (3.70)0.546
        Marijuana (n)
            Smoking days0b60<0.0010b90<0.001
    Ethnicity (n)
        Caucasian1314105
        Latino653034
        Native American3313
        African American43
        Asian/Pacific Islander11
        Mixed4134
        Unknown361
    Depressionc9.06 (7.79)9.00 (6.20)0.9832.78 (2.81)3.58 (3.53)0.213
    Anxietyd8.17 (11.14)12.63 (10.35)0.158
    IMPSS
        IMP3.32 (2.47)2.85 (2.03)0.4453.84 (2.22)4.08 (2.10)0.579
        SS7.36 (2.70)6.67 (2.71)0.4447.82 (2.44)7.56 (2.38)0.591
    • Data are mean (SD), unless otherwise indicated. IMP, Impulsivity subscale; SS, sensation-seeking subscale.

    • ↵aHighest grade completed for adults and current grade at study screening for adolescents.

    • ↵bTimeLine Follow Back for past 60 d for adults and variables adapted from White and Labouvie (1989) for the past 90 d for adolescents.

    • ↵cBeck Depression Inventory for adults and Children's Depression Inventory for adolescents.

    • ↵dBeck Anxiety Inventory for adults; no measure available for adolescents.

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    Table 2.

    Statistics for GLMs for VBM and FreeSurfer analyses evaluating effect of marijuana between non-users and daily users

    Analysis methodStructureNonusersDaily usersVariance accounted for by ICVEffect size (partial η2)Variance accounted for by groupEffect size (partial η2)
    Estimated marginal meanSEEstimated marginal meanSEFpFp
    VBM
        AdultsIntracranial volume1,922,899.0031,018.921,913,330.5931,018.920.0480.8280.001
    Total brain1,513,201.814119.801,515,438.644119.801971.9740.0000.9730.1470.7030.003
    Total gray matter827,994.234163.58829,365.604163.58484.8840.0000.8980.0540.8170.001
    Total white matter685,207.583898.48686,073.043898.48548.0490.0000.9090.0250.8760.000
    R accumbens311.849.04304.249.043.2960.0750.0570.3530.5550.006
    R amygdala1453.7130.341463.1630.340.7860.3790.0140.0480.8270.001
    R hippocampus3002.1638.793073.2138.794.3960.0410.0741.6770.2010.030
    L accumbens311.729.92320.469.924.3350.0420.0730.3870.5360.007
    L amygdala1171.1626.321159.4626.320.8810.3520.0160.0990.7550.002
    L hippocampus3065.5343.393120.2543.392.6820.1070.0460.7950.3770.014
    Cerebellum7835.77152.167834.36152.165.6940.0200.0940.0000.9950.000
        AdolescentsIntracranial volume1,920,158.4424,590.651,954,935.9424,590.651.0000.3200.010
    Total brain1,545,844.433136.891,551,499.773136.893895.177<0.0010.9761.6170.2070.016
    Total gray matter866,299.032737.60869,082.332737.601386.205<0.0010.9350.5140.4750.005
    Total white matter679,545.402345.95682,417.442345.951600.461<0.0010.9430.7460.3900.008
    R accumbens297.456.42300.146.421.2820.2600.0130.0870.7690.001
    R amygdala1408.5123.321404.8023.320.2740.6020.0030.0130.9110.000
    R hippocampus3055.3830.733018.7430.733.7500.0560.0370.7080.4020.007
    L accumbens302.097.74308.297.742.2680.1350.0230.3200.5730.003
    L amygdala1124.2317.721141.0617.723.9470.0500.0390.4480.5050.005
    L hippocampus2978.7830.052990.5830.052.0480.1560.0210.0770.7820.001
    Cerebellum7571.77116.427729.65116.423.3570.0700.0330.9150.3410.009
    FreeSurfer
        AdultsIntracranial volume1,546,121.3839,078.811,536,555.8639,078.810.0300.8630.001
    Total brain1,229,307.0713,039.491,234,999.7113,039.49100.313<0.0010.6540.0950.7590.002
    Total gray matter613,116.058389.40615,901.388389.4029.021<0.0010.3540.0550.8150.001
    Total white matter519,152.956951.24522,287.806951.24104.247<0.0010.6630.1020.7510.002
    R accumbens677.1316.32672.9416.326.7940.0120.1100.0330.8560.001
    R amygdala1656.8332.961686.1732.9615.155<0.0010.2160.3960.5320.007
    R hippocampus4279.8255.104337.3955.1044.457<0.0010.4470.5460.4630.010
    R cerebellum53,360.00827.3054,256.69827.3055.924<0.0010.5040.5870.4470.011
    L accumbens498.6515.94521.0415.9412.7820.0010.1890.9850.3250.018
    L amygdala1624.1328.941679.1828.9415.604<0.0010.2211.8090.1840.032
    L hippocampus4240.5455.104342.4255.1040.003<0.0010.4211.7090.1970.030
    L cerebellum52,465.04777.6653,511.52777.6666.129<0.0010.5460.9050.3460.016
        AdolescentsIntracranial volume1,552,515.3225,781.081,616,127.2025,781.08———3.0440.0840.030
    Total brain1,276,109.888077.091,272,935.928077.09370.806<0.0010.7930.0760.7830.001
    Total gray matter668,428.505354.95663,327.325354.95158.859<0.0010.6210.4470.5050.005
    Total white matter510,897.024981.67513,508.504981.67228.614<0.0010.7020.1350.7140.001
    R accumbens719.9814.04697.2814.0415.984<0.0010.1411.2880.2590.013
    R amygdala1713.0224.171703.7624.1725.791<0.0010.2100.0720.7890.001
    R hippocampus4355.1746.014360.0146.01110.710<0.0010.5330.0050.9410.000
    R cerebellum57,858.92674.4456,291.74674.4469.453<0.0010.4172.6590.1060.027
    L accumbens573.7612.40544.4712.4014.288<0.0010.1282.7490.1010.028
    L amygdala1681.5720.261667.1720.2639.425<0.0010.2890.2490.6190.003
    L hippocampus4372.7648.484370.3648.48106.960<0.0010.5240.0010.9720.000
    L cerebellum57,757.95685.3855,647.39685.3874.646<0.0010.4354.6700.0330.046
    • R, Right; L, left.

    • View popup
    Table 3.

    Statistics for FIRST shape analysis evaluating effect of marijuana between nonusers and daily users

    StructureNonusersDaily usersVariance accounted for by groupEffect size (r)
    Mean scalarSDMean scalarSDFP
    AdultsR accumbens0.0230.323−0.0230.4182.0810.7910.061
    R amygdala−0.0400.5790.0400.5410.3571.000−0.071
    R hippocampus−0.0480.2590.0480.3740.8370.988−0.147
    L accumbens−0.0330.3250.0330.3331.9030.780−0.100
    L amygdala−0.0890.3670.0890.4100.6530.976−0.223
    L hippocampus−0.0430.2340.0430.4670.9010.993−0.116
    AdolescentsR accumbens<0.0010.325<0.0010.3521.5160.9660.000
    R amygdala0.0530.582−0.0530.5731.7770.932−0.181
    R hippocampus−0.0060.4210.0060.3494.6870.3520.030
    L accumbens0.0370.278−0.0370.3091.5230.988−0.267
    L amygdala−0.0490.3830.0490.4371.1740.9910.256
    L hippocampus0.0180.295−0.0180.3231.6690.906−0.120
    • R, Right; L, left.

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28 Jan 2015
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Daily Marijuana Use Is Not Associated with Brain Morphometric Measures in Adolescents or Adults
Barbara J. Weiland, Rachel E. Thayer, Brendan E. Depue, Amithrupa Sabbineni, Angela D. Bryan, Kent E. Hutchison
Journal of Neuroscience 28 January 2015, 35 (4) 1505-1512; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2946-14.2015

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Daily Marijuana Use Is Not Associated with Brain Morphometric Measures in Adolescents or Adults
Barbara J. Weiland, Rachel E. Thayer, Brendan E. Depue, Amithrupa Sabbineni, Angela D. Bryan, Kent E. Hutchison
Journal of Neuroscience 28 January 2015, 35 (4) 1505-1512; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2946-14.2015
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