Skip to main content

Cannabis and Hallucinations: Studies in Human Subjects

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Cannabis is the world’s most widely used illicit drug. Although the effects of cannabis on perception are well documented, little is known about their neural basis or how these may contribute to the formation of psychotic symptoms, particularly hallucinations. This chapter examines the relationship between cannabis, psychosis and hallucinations, and describes the small number of studies that have directly examined the effects of cannabis and Δ-9-THC on sensory cortices.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Translated as “sounds put on colours and colours contain music”.

  2. 2.

    American slang for a cannabis cigarette.

References

  • Allen, P., Larøi, F., McGuire, P. K., & Aleman, A. (2008). The hallucinating brain: A review of structural and functional neuroimaging studies of hallucinations. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32(1), 175–191.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arseneault, L., Cannon, M., Witton, J., & Murray, R. M. (2004). Causal association between ­cannabis and psychosis: Examination of the evidence. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, 110–117.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baudelaire, C. (1996) Les Paradis Artificiels. Citadel Press Books, Carol Publishing Group, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharyya, S., Fusar-Poli, P., Borgwardt, S., Martin-Santos, R., Nosarti, C., O’Carroll, C., et al. (2009). Modulation of mediotemporal and ventrostriatal function in humans by delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol: A neural basis for the effects of Cannabis sativa on learning and psychosis. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(4), 442–451.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Booth, M. (2003). Cannabis: A history. Berkshire: Cox and Wyman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borgwardt, S. J., Allen, P., Bhattacharyya, S., Fusar-Poli, P., Crippa, J. A., Seal, M. L., et al. (2008). Neural basis of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol: Effects during response inhibition. Biological Psychiatry, 64(11), 966–973.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bossong, M. G., van Berckel, B. N., Boellaard, R., Zuurman, L., Schuit, R. C., Windhorst, A. D., et al. (2009). Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol induces dopamine release in the human striatum. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(3), 759–766.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cheer, J. F., Wassum, K. M., Sombers, L. A., Heien, M. L., Ariansen, J. L., Aragona, B. J., et al. (2007). Phasic dopamine release evoked by abused substances requires cannabinoid receptor activation. The Journal of Neuroscience, 27(4), 791–795.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chevaleyre, V., Takahashi, K. A., & Castillo, P. E. (2006). Endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic plasticity in the CNS. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 29, 37–76.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crippa, J. A., Zuardi, A. W., Garrido, G. E., Wichert-Ana, L., Guarnieri, R., Ferrari, L., et al. (2004). Effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on regional cerebral blood flow. Neuropsychopharmacology, 29(2), 417–426.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • D’Souza, D. C., Abi-Saab, W. M., Madonick, S., Forselius-Bielen, K., Doersch, A., Braley, G., et al. (2005). Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol effects in schizophrenia: Implications for cognition, psychosis, and addiction. Biological Psychiatry, 57(6), 594–608.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • D’Souza, D. C., Perry, E., MacDougall, L., Ammerman, Y., Cooper, T., Wu, Y. T., et al. (2004). The psychotomimetic effects of intravenous delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in healthy individuals: Implications for psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology, 29(8), 1558–1572.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ffytche, D. H. (2008). The hodology of hallucinations. Cortex, 44(8), 1067–1083.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ffytche, D. H., Howard, R. J., Brammer, M. J., David, A., Woodruff, P., & Williams, S. (1998). The anatomy of conscious vision: An fMRI study of visual hallucinations. Nature Neuroscience, 1(8), 738–742.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, J. M., Roach, B. J., Jorgensen, K. W., Turner, J. A., Brown, G. G., Notestine, R., et al. (2009). Tuning in to the voices: A multisite FMRI study of auditory hallucinations. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 35(1), 58–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fusar-Poli, P., Crippa, J. A., Bhattacharyya, S., Borgwardt, S. J., Allen, P., Martin-Santos, R., et al. (2009). Distinct effects of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on neural activation during emotional processing. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(1), 95–105.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie, D., & Frase, A. (2009). To be, or not…to bop. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, S. K., Shapiro, R. M., & Joyce, J. N. (1997). Disrupted pattern of D2 dopamine receptors in the temporal lobe in schizophrenia. A postmortem study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54(7), 649–658.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, I., Gonzalez, R., Carey, C. L., Natarajan, L., & Wolfson, T. (2003). Non-acute (residual) neurocognitive effects of cannabis use: A meta-analytic study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9(5), 679–689.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grotenhermen, F. (2005). Cannabinoids. Current Drug Targets. CNS and Neurological Disorders, 4(5), 507–530.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harpaz, Y., Levkovitz, Y., & Lavidor, M. (2009). Lexical ambiguity resolution in Wernicke’s area and its right homologue. Cortex, 45(9), 1097–1103.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, D., & Batki, S. L. (2000). Stimulant psychosis: Symptom profile and acute clinical course. The American Journal on Addictions, 9(1), 28–37.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, W., & Babor, T. F. (2000). Cannabis use and public health: assessing the burden. Addiction 95, 485–490.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henquet, C., Krabbendam, L., Spauwen, J., Kaplan, C., Lieb, R., Wittchen, H. U., et al. (2005). Prospective cohort study of cannabis use, predisposition for psychosis, and psychotic symptoms in young people. British Medical Journal, 330(7481), 11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hides, L., Lubman, D. I., Buckby, J., Yuen, H. P., Cosgrave, E., Baker, K., et al. (2009). The association between early cannabis use and psychotic-like experiences in a community adolescent sample. Schizophrenia Research, 112(1–3), 130–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hubl, D., Koenig, T., Strik, W. K., Garcia, L. M., & Dierks, T. (2007). Competition for neuronal resources: How hallucinations make themselves heard. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 57–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Isbell, H., Gorodetzsky, C. W., Jasinski, D., Claussen, U., von Spulak, F., & Korte, F. (1967). Effects of (–)delta-9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol in man. Psychopharmacologia, 11(2), 184–188.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jager, G., van Hell, H. H., de Win, M. M., Kahn, R. S., van den Brink, W., van Ree, J. M., et al. (2007). Effects of frequent cannabis use on hippocampal activity during an associative memory task. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 17(4), 289–297.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jung-Beeman, M. (2005). Bilateral brain processes for comprehending natural language. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(11), 512–518.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, J. M., Aguglia, E., Altamura, A. C., Ayuso Gutierrez, J. L., Brunello, N., Fleischhacker, W. W., et al. (1998). Guidelines for depot antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia. European Neuropsychopharmacology Consensus Conference in Siena, Italy. European Neuropsy­chopharmacology, 8(1), 55–66.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kapur, S., Arenovich, T., Agid, O., Zipursky, R., Lindborg, S., & Jones, B. (2005). Evidence for onset of antipsychotic effects within the first 24 hours of treatment. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(5), 939–946.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klosterkotter, J., Hellmich, M., Steinmeyer, E. M., & Schultze-Lutter, F. (2001). Diagnosing schizophrenia in the initial prodromal phase. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58(2), 158–164.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koethe, D., Gerth, C. W., Neatby, M. A., Haensel, A., Thies, M., Schneider, U., et al. (2006). Disturbances of visual information processing in early states of psychosis and experimental delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol altered states of consciousness. Schizophrenia Research, 88(1–3), 142–150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuepper, R., Morrison, P. D., van Os, J., Murray, R. M., Kenis, G., & Henquet, C. (2010). Does dopamine mediate the psychosis-inducing effects of cannabis? A review and integration of findings across disciplines. Schizophrenia Research, 121(1–3):107–117.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lupica, C. R., & Riegel, A. C. (2005). Endocannabinoid release from midbrain dopamine neurons: A potential substrate for cannabinoid receptor antagonist treatment of addiction. Neuro­pharmacology, 48(8), 1105–1116.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, O., Morgan, C. J., Dhiman, S. K., Patel, A., Parti, N., & Curran, H. V. (2009). Acute cannabis use causes increased psychotomimetic experiences in individuals prone to psychosis. Psychological Medicine, 39(6), 951–956.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, O. J., Morgan, C. J., Stefanovic, A., & Curran, H. V. (2008). The psychotomimetic states inventory (PSI): Measuring psychotic-type experiences from ketamine and cannabis. Schizophrenia Research, 103(1–3), 138–142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKetin, R., McLaren, J., Lubman, D. I., & Hides, L. (2006). The prevalence of psychotic symptoms among methamphetamine users. Addiction, 101(10), 1473–1478.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, T. H., Zammit, S., Lingford-Hughes, A., Barnes, T. R., Jones, P. B., Burke, M., et al. (2007). Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: A systematic review. Lancet, 370(9584), 319–328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, P. D., Zois, V., McKeown, D. A., Lee, T. D., Holt, D. W., Powell, J. F., et al. (2009). The acute effects of synthetic intravenous delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol on psychosis, mood and cognitive functioning. Psychological Medicine, 39(10), 1607–1616.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, R. M., Morrison, P. D., Henquet, C., & Di Forti, M. (2007). Cannabis, the mind and society: The hash realities. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 8(11), 885–895.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oertel, V., Rotarska-Jagiela, A., van de Ven, V. G., Haenschel, C., Maurer, K., & Linden, D. E. (2007). Visual hallucinations in schizophrenia investigated with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Psychiatry Research, 156(3), 269–273.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary, D. S., Block, R. I., Koeppel, J. A., Flaum, M., Schultz, S. K., Andreasen, N. C., et al. (2002). Effects of smoking marijuana on brain perfusion and cognition. Neuropsychopharmacology, 26(6), 802–816.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pertwee, R. G. (2006). The pharmacology of cannabinoid receptors and their ligands: An overview. International Journal of Obesity, 30(Suppl 1), S13–S18.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, B. D., de Koning, P., Dingemans, P., Becker, H., Linszen, D. H., & de Haan, L. (2009). Subjective effects of cannabis before the first psychotic episode. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(12), 1155–1162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J., Martin, G., Bor, W., Sawyer, M., Clark, J., & McGrath, J. (2009). The prevalence and correlates of hallucinations in Australian adolescents: Results from a national survey. Schizophrenia Research, 107(2–3), 179–185.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stefanis, N. C., Delespaul, P., Henquet, C., Bakoula, C., Stefanis, C. N., & van Os, J. (2004). Early adolescent cannabis exposure and positive and negative dimensions of psychosis. Addiction, 99(10), 1333–1341.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Svizenska, I., Dubovy, P., & Sulcova, A. (2008). Cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2), their distribution, ligands and functional involvement in nervous system structures—A short review. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 90(4), 501–511.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tart, C. T. (1971). On being stoned: A psychological study of marijuana intoxication. Palo Alto: Science and Behavior Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Os, J., Bak, M., Hanssen, M., Bijl, R. V., de Graaf, R., & Verdoux, H. (2002). Cannabis use and psychosis: A longitudinal population-based study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 156(4), 319–327.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verdejo-Garcia, A., Lopez-Torrecillas, F., Gimenez, C. O., & Perez-Garcia, M. (2004). Clinical implications and methodological challenges in the study of the neuropsychological correlates of cannabis, stimulant, and opioid abuse. Neuropsychology Review, 14(1), 1–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verdoux, H., Gindre, C., Sorbara, F., Tournier, M., & Swendsen, J. D. (2003). Effects of cannabis and psychosis vulnerability in daily life: An experience sampling test study. Psychological Medicine, 33(1), 23–32.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vernaleken, I., Cumming, P., & Grunder, G. (2008). Imaging studies—Differential action of typical and atypical antipsychotics in a network perspective. Pharmacopsychiatry, 41(Suppl 1), S60–S69.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, F. A., Badcock, J. C., & Maybery, M. T. (2006a). The ‘who’ and ‘when’ of context memory: Different patterns of association with auditory hallucinations. Schizophrenia Research, 82(2–3), 271–273.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, F. A., Badcock, J. C., Maybery, M. T., & Michie, P. T. (2003). Inhibition in schizophrenia: Association with auditory hallucinations. Schizophrenia Research, 62(3), 275–280.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, F. A., Badcock, J. C., Michie, P. T., & Maybery, M. T. (2006b). Auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: Intrusive thoughts and forgotten memories. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 11(1), 65–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Winton-Brown, T., Allen, P., Bhattacharrya, S., Borgwardt, S. J., Fusar-Poli, P., Crippa, J. A., et al. (2011). Modulation of auditory and visual processing by delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol: An fMRI study. Neuropsychopharmacology, 36(7), 1340–1348.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yucel, M., Solowij, N., Respondek, C., Whittle, S., Fornito, A., Pantelis, C., et al. (2008). Regional brain abnormalities associated with long-term heavy cannabis use. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65(6), 694–701.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zuardi, A. W. (2008). Cannabidiol: From an inactive cannabinoid to a drug with wide spectrum of action. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 30(3), 271–280.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zuardi, A. W., Crippa, J. A., Hallak, J. E., Moreira, F. A., & Guimaraes, F. S. (2006). Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an antipsychotic drug. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 39(4), 421–429.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul Allen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Allen, P., Winton-Brown, T.T. (2013). Cannabis and Hallucinations: Studies in Human Subjects. In: Jardri, R., Cachia, A., Thomas, P., Pins, D. (eds) The Neuroscience of Hallucinations. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4121-2_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4121-2_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4120-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4121-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics