An MR-compatible device for delivering smoked marijuana during functional imaging

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Pharmacology
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Smoking is a primary route for abusing drugs like marijuana and nicotine.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers high resolution for studying drug effects.
• Challenges exist in conducting smoking studies within MRI scanners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate an MR-compatible device for smoking marijuana during fMRI.
• To assess the feasibility of studying the neurobiological effects of smoked drugs in an MRI environment.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel MR-compatible smoking device.
• fMRI examinations of nine volunteers smoking marijuana (3.51% Delta9-THC) with and without the device.
• Measurement of plasma Delta9-THC levels, subjective intoxication reports, and heart rate.

Main Results:

• The device successfully enabled marijuana smoking within the MRI scanner.
• All smoke and odors were contained by the device.
• Plasma Delta9-THC, subjective intoxication, and heart rate increases were comparable between smoking with and without the device.

Conclusions:

• The developed MR-compatible smoking device is effective for research.
• This technology facilitates advanced studies on the neurobiology of smoked drugs like marijuana, tobacco, and crack cocaine.
• The device overcomes previous limitations in studying smoked substances using fMRI.