Alcohol more damaging to brain health than marijuana
Study leader Rachel Thayer, of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, and colleagues recently reported their results in the journal Addiction … The team notes that any reduction in the size of white or gray matter or a loss in their integrity can lead to impairments in brain functioning.
Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted a review of existing imaging data that looked at the effects of alcohol and marijuana, or cannabis, on the brain. Their findings linked alcohol consumption with long-term changes to the structure of white matter and gray matter in the brain. The use of marijuana, however, seemed to have no significant long-term effects on brain structure … The study included the brain images of 853 adults who were aged between 18 and 55 years and 439 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18. All participants varied in their use of alcohol and marijuana. The researchers found that alcohol use — particularly in adults who had been drinking for many years — was associated with a reduction in gray matter volume, as well as a reduction in the integrity of white matter. Marijuana use, however, appeared to have no impact on the structure of gray or white matter in either teenagers or adults …
Original Article (Medical News Today):
Alcohol ‘more damaging to brain health than marijuana’
Artwork Fair Use: Jakob Montrasio from Saarbrücken
