The Effects of Cannabis Use in People With Schizophrenia on Clinical, Neuropsychological and Physiological Phenotypes
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2011-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Approximately 25% of people with schizophrenia abuse marijuana. These people may be using
marijuana to self-medicate symptoms such as hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are
not heard or seen by others) or delusions (false beliefs i.e. people are harassing or
persecuting them) or the depressed and anxious feelings brought on by these symptoms.
Currently, it is unknown whether marijuana makes schizophrenia better or worse. Marijuana
intoxication in people without schizophrenia generally causes decreased recall of words, may
decrease reaction time and decrease inhibition. Additionally, marijuana may cause
distractibility as demonstrated by difficulty keeping their eyes on a moving target and
difficulty inhibiting their response to repetitive tones. However, marijuana may have
different effects in schizophrenia. Receptors for cannabis (marijuana) are concentrated in
the brain and maladjustment of the cannabinoid system may be associated with the difficulty
in thinking found in schizophrenia. The proposed research project examines if clinical
symptoms, learning, memory, inhibition and distractibility are improved or made worse by the
acute ingestion of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Phase:
Phase 1/Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
University of Colorado, Denver
Collaborator:
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression