Gene alteration affects psychosis in young cannabis users
DOI: 10.1038/NPP.2010.100
While there is a well-recognized association between cannabis use and psychotic illness, the mechanism that confers individual risk is not yet fully understood. Adolescent male mice are particularly susceptible to cannabis-induced psychosis, reports a study published online this week in Neuropsychopharmacology, indicating that age at exposure and genotype are important factors. The underlying mechanism appears to involve a variant in the gene for catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which breaks down dopamine.
Colm O’Tuathaigh and colleagues subjected mice lacking the COMT gene to chronic THC exposure – a component of cannabis already thought to be involved in psychosis – during either adolescence or adulthood. Their adult behavioral phenotypes were then measured and assessed for signs of psychosis. Adolescent THC exposure in mice lacking the COMT gene modified exploratory activity, spatial working memory and anxiety-related behaviors, particularly in male mice.
These findings indicate a genetic influence that, together with developmental factors, contributes to the vulnerability of adolescent cannabis users to psychosis. The authors caution, however, that future studies will be needed to confirm whether these findings are applicable to humans.
Author contact:
Colm O’Tuathaigh (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland)
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Editorial contact:
Diane Drexler (Neuropsychopharmacology, Nashville, TN, USA)
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