The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of THC on the retrieval of emotional and neutral memories in healthy young adults. Secondary experiments included the effects of THC on the encoding of object and scene stimuli and a novel working memory task.
Here, the investigators aimed to investigate the effects of THC (15 mg) on the retrieval of negative, neutral, and positive memories. The study used a placebo-controlled, within-subjects, crossover design with 24 participants. In each experimental arm, participants attend a session to encode stimuli, a second session 48 hours later in which their memories are tested for the stimuli from the first session followed by the encoding of object-scene stimuli and a working memory test, and a third session 48 hours later in which memory for the object-scene stimuli is tested. In the second session, two hours prior to memory testing, THC or placebo is administered. On the first and second sessions subjects complete mood questionnaires.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
24
A capsule that contains 15 mg of THC as well as dextrose filler administered 2 hours prior to memory testing.
A capsule that contains only dextrose filler administered 2 hours prior to memory testing.
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Emotional Memory
Hit and false alarm rates for negative, neutral, and positive picture stimuli
Time frame: Two hours after placebo/THC administration.
DRM Memory
Hit and false alarm rates for the DRM task
Time frame: Two and a half hours after placebo/THC administration.
Object Memory
Hit and false alarm rates for object stimuli on the same or different encoding scenes
Time frame: 48 hours after placebo/THC administration.
Addiction Research Centre Inventory Marijuana Scale
The Addiction Research Centre Inventory (ARCI; Martin, Sloan, Sapira, \& Jasinski, 1971) measures drug-specific effects on a 56-item true-false questionnaire. For this study, the investigators report the composite score of 12 questions that make up the marijuana scale (Chait, Fischman, \& Schuster, 1985).
Time frame: Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration.
Visual Analog Scales
The Visual Analog Scales (VAS; Folstein \& Luria, 1973) is composed of thirteen adjectives used to assess individual dimensions of subjective mood - anxious, stimulated, sedated, elated, insightful, sociable, confident, lonely, playful, dizzy, loving, friendly, and restless, rated on a sliding scale from 'not at all' to 'extremely.'
Time frame: Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration.
Drug Effects Questionnaire
The Drug Effects Questionnaire (DEQ; Morean et al., 2013) is composed of five questions concerning current drug effects - how much participants feel a drug effect, like the effect, dislike the effect, feel high, and want more of the drug, rated on a sliding scale from 'not at all/neutral' to 'very much.'
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Time frame: Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration.
Physiological Measure 1
Heart rate
Time frame: Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration.
Physiological Measure 2
Blood pressure
Time frame: Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration.