Chronic cannabis use associated with subcortical topological reorganization of structural connectivity in adults

Cannabis is commonly used in the United States. However, chronic cannabis use has been linked to alterations in white matter (WM) integrity. Studies investigating WM in people who use cannabis (PWC) have produced varying results, which may be due to a variety of factors, including a focus on individual WM tracts. Here, we examined WM connectivity using a module-based approach to help clarify whether cannabis use is associated with differences in WM organization.

Connectomics is used to map complex networks of inter and intra-connected cortical and subcortical regions. A key concept of brain organization is the presence of groups of densely interconnected regions, referred to as modules. Here, we used WM structural connectivity estimates to compare connectome organization between adults who used cannabis regularly (n=53), and adults who did not use cannabis (n=60). We quantified aspects of network organization both across the whole brain and within specific modules.

There were no significant results between groups after correcting for multiple comparisons for whole-brain metrics. When considering group differences in network organization metrics for 10 identified modules, we observed that adult PWC showed higher within-module degree, local efficiency, and network strength in a right subcortical module relative to adults that did not use cannabis.

These results suggest that cannabis use in adults is associated with alterations of subcortical WM network organization. The observed differences in WM organization may be due to the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in the alteration of WM growth processes.