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Cannabis-related hippocampal volumetric abnormalities specific to subregions in dependent users

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Abstract

Rationale

Cannabis use is associated with neuroanatomical alterations in the hippocampus. While the hippocampus is composed of multiple subregions, their differential vulnerability to cannabis dependence remains unknown.

Objectives

The objective of the study is to investigate gray matter alteration in each of the hippocampal subregions (presubiculum, subiculum, cornu ammonis (CA) subfields CA1–4, and dentate gyrus (DG)) as associated with cannabis use and dependence.

Methods

A total of 35 healthy controls (HC), 22 non-dependent (CB-nondep), and 39 dependent (CB-dep) cannabis users were recruited. We investigated group differences in hippocampal subregion volumes between HC, CB-nondep, and CB-dep users. We further explored the association between CB use variables (age of onset of regular use, monthly use, lifetime use) and hippocampal subregions in CB-nondep and CB-dep users separately.

Results

The CA1, CA2/3, CA4/DG, as well as total hippocampal gray matter were reduced in volume in CB-dep but not in CB-nondep users, relative to HC. The right CA2/3 and CA4/DG volumes were also negatively associated with lifetime cannabis use in CB-dep users.

Conclusions

Our results suggest a regionally and dependence-specific influence of cannabis use on the hippocampus. Hippocampal alteration in cannabis users was specific to the CA and DG regions and confined to dependent users.

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Correspondence to Valentina Lorenzetti.

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This project was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Project Grant (Grant number: 459111). All participants provided written informed content.

Funding

M.Y. was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Fellowship (App#1021973) and the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund. N.S was supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT110100752).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Yann Chye and Chao Suo are the Joint first authors.

Nadia Solowij and Valentina Lorenzetti are the Joint last authors.

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Chye, Y., Suo, C., Yücel, M. et al. Cannabis-related hippocampal volumetric abnormalities specific to subregions in dependent users. Psychopharmacology 234, 2149–2157 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4620-y

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