ArticleArchives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists2021
The Effects of Cannabis Use on Cognitive Function in Healthy Aging: A Systematic Scoping Review.
Article in Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Impact of Cannabis Use on Cognition in People with HIV: Evidence of Function-Dependent Effects and Mechanisms from Clinical and Preclinical Studies.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2024Pooled it
- Evidence for pro-cognitive benefits of cannabinoids in people with bipolar disorder.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Lifetime Cannabis Use Is Associated With Brain Volume and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2026Article
- Memory impairment and chronic high-dose Δ9-THC/cannabis exposure: a narrative review of molecular mechanisms underlying neurotoxic effects.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Navigating dose-effect complexities and challenges in cannabinoid therapy for aging-related neurobiological changes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- The Use of Cannabis-Based Medicine in Selected Neurological Disorders.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- A two-factor structure for cannabis use disorder identification test and its associations with demographic factors and cannabis use motives.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2026Article
- Cannabis use and cognition in older adults: Preliminary performance-based neuropsychological test results and directions for future research.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2025Observational
- Cognitive Effects of Cannabis Use: A Comprehensive Review Across Domains.Neurology international · 2025Review
- Sex Differences in the Association Between Cumulative Use of Cannabis and Cognitive Function in Middle Age: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2024Article
- The Role of Cannabis and The Endocannabinoid System in Sleep Regulation and Cognition: A Review of Human and Animal Studies.Behavioral sleep medicine · 2024Review
- Association Between Cannabis Use and Subjective Cognitive Decline: Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).Current Alzheimer research · 2024Article
- A longitudinal study of cannabis use and risk for cognitive and functional decline among older adults with HIV.AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- Differences in Inhibitory Control and Resting Brain Metabolism between Older Chronic Users of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or Cannabidiol (CBD)-A Pilot Study.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Inflammaging and Cannabinoids.Ageing research reviews · 2021Review
- Cannabis and Prescription Drug Use Among Older Adults With Functional Impairment.American journal of preventive medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOlder adults (≥50 years) represent the fastest-growing population of people who use cannabis, potentially due to the increasing promotion of cannabis as medicine by dispensaries and cannabis websites. Given healthy aging and cannabis use are both associated with cognitive decline, it is important to establish the effects of cannabis on cognition in healthy aging.
objectiveThis systematic scoping review used preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines to critically examine the extent of literature on this topic and highlight areas for future research.
methodA search of six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, and CINAHL) for articles published by September 2019, yielded 1,014 unique results.
resultsSix articles reported findings for older populations (three human and three rodent studies), highlighting the paucity of research in this area. Human studies revealed largely null results, likely due to several methodological limitations. Better-controlled rodent studies indicate that the relationship between ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cognitive function in healthy aging depends on age and level of THC exposure. Extremely low doses of THC improved cognition in very old rodents. Somewhat higher chronic doses improved cognition in moderately aged rodents. No studies examined the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) or high-CBD cannabis on cognition.
conclusionsThis systematic scoping review provides crucial, timely direction for future research on this emerging issue. Future research that combines neuroimaging and cognitive assessment would serve to advance understanding of the effects of age and quantity of THC and CBD on cognition in healthy aging.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.