Healthy
Conditions
Keywords
THC, adult
Brief summary
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.
Detailed description
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.
Interventions
DRUGTHC
A capsule that contains 15 mg of THC as well as dextrose filler administered 2 hours prior to memory testing.
DRUGPlacebo oral capsule
A capsule that contains only dextrose filler administered 2 hours prior to memory testing.
Sponsors
University of Chicago
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Masking description
A lab member that knew the design of the study but was not running participants sorted placebo and THC capsules into bags labeled first capsule and second capsule for each participant.
Intervention model description
Half of the participants will receive placebo during the second session in the first experimental arm and THC during the second session in the second experimental arm. The other half of participants will receive THC during the second session in the first experimental arm and placebo during the second session in the second experimental arm.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 4-100 lifetime cannabis occasions
Exclusion criteria
* Current Axis I DSM-IV disorder, including substance dependence, current use of \>5 cigarettes per day, history of psychosis or mania, less than a high school education, lack of English fluency, a body mass index outside 19-33 kg/m2, high blood pressure (\>140/90), abnormal electrocardiogram, daily use of any medication other than birth control, pregnancy, or lactating.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Memory | Two hours after placebo/THC administration. | Hit and false alarm rates for negative, neutral, and positive picture stimuli |
| DRM Memory | Two and a half hours after placebo/THC administration. | Hit and false alarm rates for the DRM task |
| Object Memory | 48 hours after placebo/THC administration. | Hit and false alarm rates for object stimuli on the same or different encoding scenes |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physiological Measure 1 | Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration. | Heart rate |
| Addiction Research Centre Inventory Marijuana Scale | Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration. | 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). |
| Physiological Measure 2 | Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration. | Blood pressure |
| Visual Analog Scales | Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration. | 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.' |
| Drug Effects Questionnaire | Assessed just prior to placebo/THC administration and then 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 115 minutes after placebo/THC administration. | 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.' |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed