Traute Demirakca1, Gabriele Ende1, Alexander Sartorius2, Nadja Meyer1, Helga Welzel1, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg2, Gisela Skopp3, Karl Mann4, Derik Hermann4
1Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental
Health, Mannheim, Germany; 2Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental
Health, Mannheim, Germany; 3Institute of Forensic and Traffic
Medicine, Heidelberg, Germany; 4Department of Addictive Behavior and
Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health
Studies of hippocampal volume and tissue composition in chronic cannabis users
revealed divergent results. None of these studies has accounted for the
proportion of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) included
in the consumed cannabis products. We present the first voxel-based-morphometry
(VBM) analysis that takes the results of a hair analysis of the cannabinoids
into account. Although hippocampal volume and tissue composition showed no
significant differences between groups, a significant correlation of
unmodulated hippocampal gray matter and CBD was observed bilaterally,
indicating a positive influence and neuroprotective properties of CBD on hippocampal
neurons.
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