Table 2.
Summary of the regions displaying abnormal activity during salience processing, under either the acute THC or long-term cannabis use conditions.
| Author and Year of Publication | Comparison: Cannabis vs Control | Striatum | Insula | ACC | Hippocampus | Thalamus | Frontal Lobe | Amgydala | Substantia Nigra | VTA | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute THC challenge | Phan et al. (2008) | THC capsule vs Placebo. Recreational cannabis users; 24hrs cannabis abstinent processing of facial emotions | - | - | - | - | - | - | Significant ↓ in right lateral amyg. Non significant ↓ in left amyg. | - | - | - |
| Bhattacharyya et al. (2012) | THC capsule vs Placebo Healthy participants, minimal previous cannabis use; oddball paradigm | ↓ In: caudate head, putamen | ↓ In: insula | - | - | ↓ In: Right thalamus | ↑ In: Right inferior, medial, and superior frontal gyrus. Right orbitofrontal cortex. frontal pole | - | - | - | - | |
| Effects of long term cannabis use | Charboneau et al. (2013) | Non treatment seeking, cannabis dependent users; 8hrs cannabis abstinent; Cannabis cue exposure | - | ↓ In: Left - insula, superior temporal gyrus | - | ↑ In: Right - parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus; Left - fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, |
↑ In: thalamus | ↑ In: Left - superior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, inferior orbitofrontal; Right - superior frontal gyrus | ↑ In: amygdala. | - | - | ↑ In: Right occipital cortex, Left and right middle occipital gyrus. ↓ In: Right and left superior temporal; ↑ In: left superior temporal pole, left middle temporal pole. ↑ In: Right posterior cingulate, Left posterior cingulate and precuneus. ↓ In: Inferior parietal; supramarginal gyrus; angular gyrus |
| Somaini et al. (2012) | Cannabis dependent active users vs. abstinent cannabis users; and non-users; Emotional responses to neutral and unpleasant images | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | persistent ↑ of the HPA axis; impaired hormonal reaction to negative emotional stimuli | |
| Filbey et al. (2009) | Regular cannabis users; 72hrs cannabis abstinent; Cannabis cue exposure | - | ↑ in insula | ↑ In: dorsal anterior cingulate cortex | - | ↑ In: thalamus | ↑ In: inferior frontal gyrus | ↑ In: amygdala. | - | ↑ In: VTA | ↑ In: cerebellum, ↑ In: pre and post central gyri, superior temporal gyrus. ↓ In: inferior parietal lobe | |
| Kober et al. (2014) | Treatment seeking, cannabis dependent users vs healthy controls; Stroop task | ↓ In: ventral striatum, dorsal striatum | ↓ In: right insula/superior temporal gyrus | - | ↓ In: amygdala/para-hippocampal gyrus | ↓ In: thalamus, sub-thalamic nucleus | ↓ In: bilateral dorsolateral and dorsal anterior prefrontal cortex | ↓ In: amygdala/para-hippocampal gyrus | ↓ In: substantia nigra | ↓ In: VTA | ↓ In: midbrain. Right posterior superior/middle temporal gyrus | |
| Gruber et al. (2005) | Heavy cannabis users vs. non-users; Stroop task | - | - | ↓ In: ACC | - | - | abnormal bilateral of DLPFC | - | - | - | ↑ In: mid cingulate cortex | |
| Eldreth et al. (2004) | Heavy cannabis users 25d cannabis abstinent vs. non-users; Stroop task | - | - | ↓ In: Left perigenual ACC | ↑ In: bilateral hippocampus | - | ↓ In: left LPFC | - | - | - | - |
Summarizing the regions displaying abnormal activity either under the acute THC or long term cannabis use conditions, during salience processing. ↑ = increase in activation; ↓ = decrease in activation; ACC = anterior cingulate cortex; DLPFC/LPFC = dorsolateral prefrontal cortex/lateral; VTA = ventral tegmental area