[Rod_Cloutier]

Don't take marijuana then- Ayahausca psychedelics are much safer and more rewarding:

the-ayahausca-experience-t70301.html

[Cid_Yama]

What the LA Times journalist wrote was his own interpretation of the study, not what the actual study said.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Q')uestions surrounding the effects of chronic marijuana use on brain structure continue to increase. To date, however, findings remain inconclusive. In this comprehensive study that aimed to characterize brain alterations associated with chronic marijuana use, we measured gray matter (GM) volume via structural MRI across the whole brain by using voxel-based morphology, synchrony among abnormal GM regions during resting state via functional connectivity MRI, and white matter integrity (i.e., structural connectivity) between the abnormal GM regions via diffusion tensor imaging in 48 marijuana users and 62 age- and sex-matched nonusing controls. The results showed that compared with controls, marijuana users had significantly less bilateral orbitofrontal gyri volume, as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA). Increased OFC functional connectivity in marijuana users was associated with earlier age of onset. Lastly, a quadratic trend was observed suggesting that the FA of the forceps minor tract initially increased following regular marijuana use but decreased with protracted regular use. This pattern may indicate differential effects of initial and chronic marijuana use that may reflect complex neuroadaptive processes in response to marijuana use. Despite the observed age of onset effects, longitudinal studies are needed to determine causality of these effects.

[Plantagenet]

The researchers say
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')we measured gray matter (GM) volume via structural MRI across the whole brain

The results showed that compared with controls, marijuana users had significantly less bilateral orbitofrontal gyro volume

[Cid_Yama]

Again, morpological differences do not equate to damage. And that's Gyri as in plural for Gyrus. There is a small area of the prefrontal cortex known as the bilateral orbitofrontal gyri. Bilateral gyri as in there are two, left and right hemisphere.

The increased interconnectedness means there is more communication between the 2 hemispheres and there are more connections to the Limbic system.

As far as the brain is concerned, more connectedness generally means good.

The study said nothing about IQ. And frankly, the pot smokers I've known were of far higher IQ than the general population.

Take your nonsense elsewhere, Plant. You clearly don't know what you are talking about.

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cid_Yama', '.')...increased interconnectedness.....

[Cid_Yama]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'i')n regular pot smokers, that region is better connected than it is in non-users: the flow of signal traffic is speedier to other parts of that motivation and decision-making network, including across the superhighway of "white matter" that connects the brain's hemispheres.

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cid_Yama', 'G')et it together, Plant. Sounds like you need to light one up.

[MD]

Stoners are happy to sit and chill. That should be enough of a clue right there.

Mental anesthesia. In many cases it's medically indicated, whether they've seen a doctor or not.

[yellowcanoe]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'W')ho here hasn't smoked pot?

[KrellEnergySource]

I don't think there's been thread with more examples of confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias. Beliefs here are held more firmaly than that human affect on climate change thingy.

Brian

[hvacman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') don't think there's been thread with more examples of confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias. Beliefs here are held more firmaly than that human affect on climate change thingy.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hvacman', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') don't think there's been thread with more examples of confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias. Beliefs here are held more firmaly than that human affect on climate change thingy.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hvacman', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') don't think there's been thread with more examples of confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias. Beliefs here are held more firmaly than that human affect on climate change thingy.

[Cid_Yama]

Say it one more time Plant, maybe someone will believe you.

[SeaGypsy]

I have been near enough to a chronic pothead for 30 years. I have had an amazing career (x3 or 4), developed several start ups which are still running, been around the world 3 times, raised 5 children (2 still in progress). My boss knows I smoke every day almost, he doesn't care, because I am his most reliable staff member. The only regular pot smoker of 35 staff, the only one in six months I have been there to not have a sick day or be less than half an hour early. I do stop smoking regularly, I find I get waves of creativity from the process of stopping & starting smoking, waves which are not there when I am either totally off weed, or chronically on it.

[dinopello]

It's not the size that matters, it's how you use it.

[Plantagenet]

Think of the epidemiological studies on the health effects of Marijuana the same way you'd look at the statistics on the dangers of cigarette smoking----just because the science shows there is an increase in schizophrenia or a decrease on average in the IQs of pot smokers, it doesn't mean everyone will have exactly the same response.

Some people will smoke pot with no ill effects for decades, just as some cigarette smokers live to be 90 and never get throat cancer.


I started this thread because of a new and interesting MRI studies on the effects of marijuana smoking on the brain done at the Harvard Medical School. Their data clearly showed that marijuana causes brain damage---their MRI images showed that smoking pot causes various parts of the brain to shrink and become distorted. Now in this more recent study, published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), better MRI imagine shows that the brain gyrus structures are smaller in marijuana smokers. This fits with studies on mice that show that marijuana smoke cause the mice brains to shrink.

Why is this important?

The gyrus are the ridges and wrinkles on the surface of the brain. A lot of data shows that smarter people have bigger gyrus structures and deeper folds. Anything that causes the wrinkles on the brain to shrink is very dangerous. In fact, people who don't have normal size gyrus structures are often severely retarded.

For instance:

We have lots of evidence that gyri and sulci are positively linked to intelligence. (Remember, more wrinkles = more neurons.) Human brains are wrinklier than the brains of any other animal. For the most part, we’re all as wrinkly as the next person, but not always. Some people are born with a condition called lissencephaly. This means “smooth brain.” It causes severe mental retardation

from the brain geek: folds-of-brain

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dinopello', 'I')t's not the size that matters, it's how you use it.