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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 15, 2025

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study

Published on: August 18, 2020

Cannabinoids, reward processing, and psychosis.

Brandon Gunasekera¹, Kelly Diederen¹, Sagnik Bhattacharyya²

¹Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, Box P067, London, SE5 8AF, UK.

Psychopharmacology

|March 1, 2021

Summary

Cannabinoids like THC and CBD affect the brain's reward system and dopamine. While THC may induce psychosis-like symptoms, CBD might offer antipsychotic potential, but more research is needed.

Keywords:

Aberrant salience CBD Cannabidiol Cannabis Dopamine PET Psychosis Reward processing Schizophrenia THC fMRI

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychopharmacology
Neuroimaging

Background:

Psychotic disorders share neurobiological links with cannabinoid effects on reward processing.
Cannabinoids influence neurocognitive and neurochemical pathways crucial for reward functions.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine if delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) impact the reward system and dopamine.
To investigate the mechanisms behind THC's psychotomimetic and CBD's potential antipsychotic effects.

Main Methods:

A narrative review of preclinical and human studies on cannabinoid-induced dopamine signaling and reward processing.
Systematic search of neuroimaging studies involving acute cannabinoid challenges in healthy and psychotic individuals.

Main Results:

Psychosis is linked to increased striatal dopamine synthesis/release and altered reward processing.
Acute THC challenges show modest striatal dopamine effects, while chronic use may impair dopaminergic function.
THC modulates reward/salience regions (striatum, midbrain), with effects correlating to symptom severity; CBD may have opposing effects.

Conclusions:

THC and CBD modulate reward processing and its neural substrates.
The link between these modulations and the psychotomimetic/antipsychotic effects of cannabinoids requires further investigation.
Future research should explore endocannabinoid dysfunction, reward abnormalities, and psychosis.