Motor-Related Neural Dynamics are Modulated by Regular Cannabis Use Among People with HIV

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neuroimmunology

Background:

• People with HIV (PWH) show cognitive control deficits and altered brain activity.
• Regular cannabis use may normalize neural responses in PWH.
• The effect of cannabis on motor control neural dynamics in PWH is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of regular cannabis use on neural oscillations underlying motor control deficits in PWH.
• To examine the interaction between HIV status and cannabis use on brain activity during motor control tasks.

Main Methods:

• 102 participants (control cannabis users, control nonusers, PWH using cannabis, PWH not using cannabis) performed a motor control task.
• High-density magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to record neural dynamics.
• Whole-brain, voxel-wise statistical analyses examined oscillations, spontaneous activity, and neurobehavioral relationships.

Main Results:

• Cannabis-by-HIV interactions were observed in oscillatory gamma (prefrontal and motor areas) and beta (dorsal premotor cortex).
• Non-using PWH showed the strongest gamma interference responses.
• Spontaneous gamma was elevated in PWH and suppressed in cannabis users, correlating with performance.

Conclusions:

• Regular cannabis use appears to normalize neural oscillations related to motor control in PWH.
• Cannabis may reduce abnormally elevated spontaneous gamma activity in PWH.
• Findings suggest potential therapeutic utility of cannabis for PWH.