Editorial: Brain Mediators of the Cannabis –Prodromal Psychosis Connection

The article “Cannabis-Associated Psychotic-like Experiences Are Mediated by Developmental Changes in the Parahippocampal Gyrus” by Yu et al.1 in this issue investigates the role of the uncus (“hook”), a subregion of the parahippocampal gyrus, as a possible mediator of the known increase of psychotic-li ke experiences (PLEs) due to the consumption of cannabinoids (ie, cannabis).2 The authors chose a pattern of plausible inference worthy of pursuit. Cannabis continues to be one of the most widely used drugs globally, only behind alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco; 188 million people used cannabis worldw ide in 2017.3 As more world governments legalize cannabis for recreational use and owing to the widening availability of higher tetrahydrocannabinol content variants of cannabis, the number of cannabis users is increasing rapidly, which increases the number of people having PLEs worldwide. Schizophr enia is one of the top 15 leading causes of disability worldwide.4 The estimated prevalence of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders in the United States in 2005 ranged from 0.25% to 0.64%5; a recent meta-analysis found the lifetime prevalence worldwide to be 0.48% with interquartile range 0 .34% to 0.85%.6 The high variability of sampling domains, diagnostic criteria, data availability and analytic methods employed preclude reliable estimates of incidence and prevalence increases at the present time.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research