Canada (Commonwealth Union) – Researchers at Western University (WU) are evaluating how exposure to marijuana, also known as cannabis, during pregnancy can affect brain development of the fetus.
WU PhD student Mohammed H. Sarikahya who led the study with supervision from Dr Steven Laviolette of the department of anatomy and cell biology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, embarked on the study on prenatal cannabis exposure in pre-clinical animal model to bridge the gap on the limited knowledge in this area.
Sarikahya stated that many people have no understanding that prebirth cannabis exposure has no extensive research, hence the complete impact on the developing brain is unknown. Dr Laviolette explained that cannabis is widely believed to be safe in pregnancy due to the idea that it is a natural, non-pharmacological option lowering symptoms of nausea and anxiety.
The researchers discovered that prenatal exposure to THC, the most prominent psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, severely impacting the rat’s brain development. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical component responsible for most of the effects of cannabis which gives users the feeling of being high.
Dr Laviolette demonstrated that despite obvious vital metabolic differences, rats are similar in neuroanatomy to humans as basic pathways to reward and emotions are matching.
The team saw the offspring of THC-treated rats lose significant amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the brain, particularly in areas responsible for emotion and anxiety. “We were very surprised at the magnitude of the impact on the brain’s fatty acid signaling pathways, especially given the critical importance of this system on normal brain development,” Dr Laviolette said.
The findings saw males having a hyperactive dopamine system that remained into adulthood while females had no indication of abnormal dopamine activity in adulthood. As dopamine is vital for emotion and anxiety, researchers believe elevated levels in the male may be the reason of increased sensitivity impacting prenatal cannabis use.
Sarikahya however cautioned that there may be other effects for female prenatal cannabis use to be found.
