Marijuana may change the decision-making part of teen brains
A new rat study hints at damage during adolescence
SAN DIEGO — Marijuana use during teenage years may change the brain in key decision-making areas, a study in rats suggests.
“Adolescence is a dangerous time to be insulting the brain, particularly with drugs of abuse,” study coauthor Eliza Jacobs-Brichford said November 7 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Jacobs-Brichford and colleagues gave adolescent male and female rats a marijuana-like compound. Afterward, the researchers found changes in parts of the brain involved in making decisions.