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Non-Dependent and Dependent Daily Cannabis Users Differ in Mental Health but Not Prospective Memory Ability

Braidwood, R; Mansell, S; Waldron, J; Rendell, P; Kamboj, S; Curran, HV; (2018) Non-Dependent and Dependent Daily Cannabis Users Differ in Mental Health but Not Prospective Memory Ability. Frontiers in Psychiatry , 9 , Article 97. 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00097. Green open access

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Abstract

Research suggests that daily cannabis users have impaired memory for past events, but it is not clear whether they are also impaired in prospective memory (PM) for future events. The present study examined PM in daily cannabis users who were either dependent (n = 18) or non-dependent (n = 18), and compared them with non-using controls (n = 18). The effect of future event simulation (FES) on PM performance was also examined. Participants were matched across groups on age, gender, and highest level of education. The virtual week (VW) was used to objectively assess PM abilities, both at baseline and following FES. Other measures used were: cannabis use variables, immediate and delayed prose recall, phonemic and category fluency, spot-the-word test (premorbid intelligence), Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and a measure of schizotypy (Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences: unusual experiences subscale). No group differences were found in PM performance on the VW, and FES did not improve PM performance in any group. Dependent cannabis users scored higher on depression, anxiety, and schizotypy than both other groups with non-dependent cannabis users scoring at a similar level to controls. There were no group differences in alcohol use. Findings suggest that when carefully matched on baseline variables, and not differing in premorbid IQ or alcohol use, young, near-daily cannabis users do not differ from non-using controls in PM performance.

Type: Article
Title: Non-Dependent and Dependent Daily Cannabis Users Differ in Mental Health but Not Prospective Memory Ability
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00097
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00097
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright: © 2018 Braidwood, Mansell, Waldron, Rendell, Kamboj and Curran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Keywords: prospective memory, cannabis, future event simulation, cannabis dependence, addiction
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10045853
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