CANNABIS USE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRENATAL AND ADOLESCENT NEURODEVELOPMENT

Hanna Stevens; Aviva K. Olsavsky; Paula Riggs

doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2022.07.558

Objectives Cannabis is widely used by adolescents and not infrequently by adults of childbearing age, with a steady increase in usage over the past decade. Cannabis use is often associated with mental illness comorbidity, yet the relationship between the response of the endocannabinoid system to exogenous cannabinoids is not well characterized regarding its implications for brain development during sensitive periods, such as the prenatal period and adolescence. Methods The purpose of this Symposium is to convey advances in the field of cannabis use and its impact across the life span, drawing from preclinical, translational, and clinical research. Results Shinnyi Chou, MD, PhD, will begin by presenting an overview of cannabinoid system neuroanatomy and function across the life span. Next, she will present results from her translational work with postmortem nonhuman primate and human brain tissue, which demonstrates distributions of the cannabinoid receptor system within different brain regions in healthy and illness states. Matthew Hill, PhD, will then present preclinical work demonstrating the way in which exogenous cannabinoids impact the fetal brain during gestation, with special attention on the endocannabinoid system and neurodevelopment. Next, Cynthia Rogers, MD, will present clinical data examining the effects of maternal prenatal cannabis use on the developing brain, including relations between prenatal cannabis exposure and structural and functional neonatal brain development. Dr. Rogers will also discuss the crucial importance of including underrepresented populations in these type of research studies. Finally, Jesse Hinckley, MD, PhD, will present preclinical rodent data relevant to our understanding of how exogenous cannabinoid exposures alter normal adolescent development, ending with an update on translation of this preclinical work to research in humans. Conclusions Recent advances in the endocannabinoid system have increased our understanding of associations between cannabis use, the endocannabinoid system, and neurodevelopment across the life span. Discussant Paula Riggs, MD, will integrate current research findings and suggest future directions, with a focus on how this research may ultimately translate to guide novel therapeutic interventions.

CANNABIS USE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRENATAL AND ADOLESCENT NEURODEVELOPMENT

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