Cannabis dampens the effects of music in brain regions sensitive to reward and emotion
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: Despite the current shift towards permissive cannabis policies, few studies have investigated the pleasurable effects users seek. Here we investigate the effects of cannabis on listening to music - a rewarding activity that frequently occurs in the context of recreational cannabis use. We additionally tested how these effects are influenced by cannabidiol (CBD), which may offset cannabis-related harms. Methods: Across three sessions, sixteen cannabis users inhaled cannabis with CBD, cannabis without CBD, and placebo. We compared their response to music relative to control excerpts of scrambled sound during functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) within regions identified in a meta-analysis of music-evoked reward and emotion. All results were False Discovery Rate corrected (p<0.05). Results: Compared to placebo, cannabis without CBD dampened response to music in bilateral auditory cortex (right: p=0.005, left: p=0.008), right hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus (p=0.025), right amygdala (p=0.025) and right ventral striatum (p=0.033). Across all sessions, the effects of music in this ventral striatal region correlated with pleasure ratings (p=0.002) and increased functional connectivity with auditory cortex (right: p=0.000, left: p=0.000), supporting its involvement in music reward. Functional connectivity between right ventral striatum and auditory cortex was increased by CBD (right: p=0.003, left: p=0.030), and cannabis with CBD did not differ from placebo on any fMRI measures. Both types of cannabis increased ratings of wanting to listen to music (p<0.002) and enhanced sound perception (p<0.001). Conclusions: Cannabis dampens the effects of music in brain regions sensitive to reward and emotion. These effects were offset by a key cannabis constituent, cannabidol.
Date Issued
2017-09-02
Date Acceptance
2017-08-30
Citation
International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017, 21 (1), pp.21-32
ISSN
1461-1457
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Start Page
21
End Page
32
Journal / Book Title
International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
Volume
21
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.
International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
(2018) 21(1): 21–32
doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyx082
Advance Access Publication: September 2, 2017
Regular Research Article
21
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
(2018) 21(1): 21–32
doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyx082
Advance Access Publication: September 2, 2017
Regular Research Article
21
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29025134
PII: 4102982
Subjects
Cannabis
Emotion
Music
Pleasure
Reward
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England