European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
-
Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Aug 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Controlled Clinical TrialEffects of acute oral Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and standardized cannabis extract on the auditory P300 event-related potential in healthy volunteers.
Reduced amplitudes of auditory evoked P300 are a robust finding in schizophrenic patients, indicating deficient attentional resource allocation and active working memory. Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta9-THC), the main active constituent of Cannabis sativa, has been known to acutely impair cognitive abilities in several domains, particularly in memory and attention. Given the psychotic-like effects of Delta9-THC, a cannabinoid hypothesis of schizophrenia has been proposed. ⋯ Moreover, there were no correlations between cannabinoid plasma concentrations and P300 parameters. These data suggest that Delta(9)-THC may lead to acute impairment of attentional functioning and working memory. It can be speculated whether the lack of effect of CBD may be due to an insufficient dose used or to an involvement of neurotransmitter systems in P300 generation which are not influenced by CBD.