SynthesisPsychopharmacology2021
Patterns of brain function associated with cannabis cue-reactivity in regular cannabis users: a systematic review of fMRI studies.
Synthesis in Psychopharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Measuring white matter microstructure in 1,457 cannabis users and 1,441 controls: A systematic review of diffusion-weighted MRI studies.Frontiers in neuroimaging · 2023Pooled it
- The Cannabis Research Image Database (CRESIDA): A standardized and validated image set for studying cannabis cue reactivity.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- No differences in inhibitory control or prefrontal activation during a cannabis cue stop-signal task across CUDIT-R-defined CUD-risk groups.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Considerations for Neural Cannabis Cue-Reactivity Studies in Individuals With Cannabis Use Disorder.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Article
- No differences in neural responses or performance during cannabis cue-specific inhibitory control tasks between recreational cannabis users and non-users: Insights from fNIRS.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Attentional biases in self-control are associated with reward cue-related brain activity.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2026Article
- The Neurocircuitry of Cannabis Cue Reactivity in Cannabis Use Disorder: A Functional Neuroimaging Study.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Article
- What Do Thirty Years of Neuroimaging Research Tell Us About Recreational Cannabis Use and Brain Integrity? A Narrative Review of the Multimodal Neuroimaging Evidence to Date.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2026Review
- Article
- Increased Mesostriatal Intrinsic Connectivity Associated With Cue Exposure in Adult Cannabis Users: Preliminary Findings.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Exploring the Utility of a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Cannabis Cue-Reactivity Paradigm in Treatment-Seeking Adults With Cannabis Use Disorder.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2025Article
- Chronic ΔNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Brain Function Outcomes of Recent and Lifetime Cannabis Use.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Similarities and Differences in Neuroimaging.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- The Limbic System in Co-Occurring Substance Use and Anxiety Disorders: A Narrative Review Using the RDoC Framework.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Cannabis Dependence is Associated with Reduced Hippocampal Subregion Volumes Independently of Sex: Findings from an ENIGMA Addiction Working Group Multi-Country Study.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2024Article
- Cannabis use disorder: from neurobiology to treatment.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Review
- Biological sex and hormonal contraceptive associations with drug cue reactivity in cannabis use disorder.Journal of psychiatric research · 2024Article
- The effectiveness of mobile-based ecological momentary motivational enhancement therapy in reducing craving and severity of cannabis use disorder: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Internet interventions · 2023Article
- A cross-cultural fMRI investigation of cannabis approach bias in individuals with cannabis use disorder.Addictive behaviors reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleRegular cannabis use (i.e. ≥ monthly) is highly prevalent, with past year use being reported by ~ 200 million people globally.High reactivity to cannabis cues is a key feature of regular cannabis use and has been ascribed to greater cannabis exposure and craving, but the underlying neurobiology is yet to be systematically integrated.
objectivesWe aim to systematically summarise the findings from fMRI studies which examined brain function in cannabis users while exposed to cannabis vs neutral stimuli during a cue-reactivity fMRI task.
methodsA systematic search of PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus databases was pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020171750) and conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Eighteen studies met inclusion/exclusion criteria. Samples comprised 918 participants (340 female) aged 16-38 years. Of these, 603 were regular cannabis users, and 315 were controls.
resultsThe literature consistently reported greater brain activity in cannabis users while exposed to cannabis vs neutral stimuli in three key brain areas: the striatum, the prefrontal (anterior cingulate, middle frontal) and the parietal cortex (posterior cingulate/precuneus) and additional brain regions (hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, occipital cortex). Preliminary correlations emerged between cannabis craving and the function of partially overlapping regions (amygdala, striatum, orbitofrontal cortex ).
conclusionsExposure to cannabis-cues may elicit greater brain function and thus trigger cravings in regular cannabis users and thus trigger cannabis craving. Standardised and longitudinal assessments of cannabis use and related problems are required to profile with greater precision the neurobiology of cannabis cue-reactivity, and its role in predicting cravings and relapse.
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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.