DATE: April 19, 2025 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Scientists find overlapping dopamine activity in cannabis use disorder and psychosis

URL: https://www.psypost.org/scientists-find-overlapping-dopamine-activity-in-cannabis-use-disorder-and-psychosis/

People with cannabis use disorder show signs of altered dopamine activity in the brain that mirror patterns seen in psychosis, according to a new brain imaging study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Using a specialized form of magnetic resonance imaging, researchers found that individuals who used cannabis heavily over time had increased dopamine-related signals in a midbrain region previously associated with psychotic symptoms.

The research aimed to understand how chronic cannabis use might influence brain systems that are also implicated in psychotic disorders. Past studies have shown a connection between frequent cannabis use and an increased risk of psychosis, but the underlying biological mechanisms have remained unclear. This study focused on the dopamine system, a network of brain structures and chemicals long linked to psychosis, particularly the positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions.

“I’m personally interested in the neurobiological basis of schizophrenia, and there is a well-established link between cannabis use and psychosis; however, the mechanism of this relationship is unclear. Since both psychosis and cannabis use are linked to changes in dopamine activity, we were interested in investigating whether they share the same dopamine pathway,” said study author Jessica Ahrens, a PhD student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University.

To better understand this connection, researchers in Canada recruited 61 individuals aged 18 to 35, including people with and without cannabis use disorder. Some participants were also experiencing a first episode of schizophrenia, allowing the researchers to explore how cannabis use might relate to psychosis.

All participants completed clinical interviews, cognitive testing, and provided saliva samples to measure THC levels. Brain imaging was conducted using a technique known as neuromelanin-sensitive MRI, which indirectly reflects dopamine activity in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area—regions critical for motivation, reward, and the processing of salient stimuli.

Neuromelanin is a byproduct of dopamine metabolism and accumulates in these brain regions over time. The more dopamine a person produces in this part of the brain, the stronger the neuromelanin signal on the scan. In disorders like schizophrenia, higher neuromelanin signal has been observed in these same areas, suggesting long-term increases in dopamine activity. By comparing the MRI results of people with and without cannabis use disorder, the researchers were able to examine whether cannabis use is associated with similar dopamine-related changes.

The study found that individuals with cannabis use disorder had significantly higher neuromelanin-MRI signal in specific parts of the midbrain, particularly in regions previously linked to the severity of psychotic symptoms. This pattern was not observed in individuals who did not meet criteria for cannabis use disorder, even though many of them had used cannabis in the past.

Notably, the increase in signal was strongest among participants with more severe cannabis use disorder, suggesting a dose-related pattern. The findings were independent of whether a person had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, although the effect was numerically stronger among participants with both conditions.

“We found that individuals with cannabis use disorder exhibited increased neuromelanin-MRI signal in a brain region previously associated with psychosis symptoms,” Ahrens told PsyPost. “Since neuromelanin-MRI signal is considered a potential marker of dopamine function, our findings suggest that people with cannabis use disorder may have elevated dopamine activity in a brain area linked to psychosis risk. We hope this research helps inform young people about the potential risks associated with harmful cannabis use — especially those with a family history of psychosis or other factors that may increase their vulnerability.”

Interestingly, the researchers did not find any significant interaction between cannabis use disorder and schizophrenia diagnosis, meaning that having both conditions did not amplify the neuromelanin signal beyond the effect of cannabis use alone. Over the course of one year, the elevated neuromelanin signal remained stable in those with cannabis use disorder, suggesting that the change may reflect long-lasting alterations in dopamine function. This is notable because increased dopamine activity in this brain region has been consistently linked to psychotic symptoms in other studies.

The researchers also explored whether neuromelanin signal decreased over time with continued cannabis use but found no evidence of this in the one-year follow-up. One explanation is that any reduction in dopamine function from long-term cannabis use may have already occurred before the first scan and remained stable. Another possibility is that increased dopamine activity is a pre-existing vulnerability that contributes to both psychosis and problematic cannabis use, though the study was not designed to test this idea directly.

An unexpected finding was that individuals with cannabis use disorder reported fewer personal problems related to their cannabis use, despite meeting clinical criteria for the disorder and showing biological evidence of its effects on the brain.

“Something that surprised me is that when asked about their cannabis use patterns, we did not find a significant difference in self-endorsed problems (when asked the question: ‘Have you ever had problems because of your use of cannabis?’); those with a cannabis use disorder reported less frequent personal harm due to cannabis,” Ahrens explained. “This indicates that individuals with a cannabis use disorder had lower perception of harm despite the higher measured severity.”

The researchers highlighted several strengths of their approach, including the use of multiple cannabis-related measures (clinical diagnosis, THC levels, and self-report), a well-matched control group, and detailed brain imaging protocols. However, the study also had limitations. The sample size was relatively small, particularly for the follow-up scans. Women were underrepresented, limiting the generalizability of the results. Additionally, the study focused exclusively on the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area and did not examine other neuromelanin-rich regions like the locus coeruleus, which may also play a role in psychosis.

Importantly, the study design does not allow conclusions about cause and effect. It remains unclear whether higher neuromelanin signals reflect a preexisting vulnerability to cannabis use disorder, a consequence of cannabis exposure, or some combination of both. Longitudinal studies that begin before cannabis use starts would be needed to clarify this.

“More research is needed to explore the neurobiological changes that occur before and after the development of cannabis use disorder, as well as the effects of quitting cannabis in those with a history of use,” Ahrens said. “Moving forward, our group plans to examine another neuromelanin-rich brain region, where the neuromelanin signal may be linked to a different neurotransmitter. Additionally, we aim to employ more sensitive MRI techniques to improve our understanding of neuromelanin dynamics.”

The study, “Convergence of Cannabis and Psychosis on the Dopamine System,” was authored by Jessica Ahrens, Sabrina D. Ford, Betsy Schaefer, David Reese, Ali R. Khan, Philip Tibbo, Rachel Rabin, Clifford M. Cassidy, and Lena Palaniyappan.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/scientists-find-overlapping-dopamine-activity-in-cannabis-use-disorder-and-psychosis/

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DATE: April 19, 2025 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Men underestimate each other’s willingness to seek help for depression, study finds

URL: https://www.psypost.org/men-underestimate-each-others-willingness-to-seek-help-for-depression-study-finds/

Many men underestimate how willing other men are to seek help for depression, which may discourage them from seeking help themselves, according to a new study published in Sex Roles.

Despite the availability of mental health services, many people experiencing depression delay or avoid seeking help. Hege H. Bye and colleagues investigated whether one barrier might be a form of pluralistic ignorance, where individuals mistakenly believe that others in their group are less likely to seek help than they themselves are. Prior research suggests people often misjudge how others perceive mental illness, assuming stigma is more widespread than it is. These misperceptions can shape behavior and hinder treatment-seeking.

The researchers were particularly interested in how gender affects these misperceptions. Past studies have yielded mixed findings on whether men seek help less than women, but cultural stereotypes tend to portray men as less inclined to pursue psychological support.

The researchers conducted two preregistered experiments using large, population-based samples of Norwegian adults. Experiment 1 utilized a between-groups experimental design in which 2,042 participants were randomly assigned to read a vignette describing either a male (Kristian) or female (Kristine) character experiencing symptoms of depression. The vignettes were based on diagnostic criteria for a depressive episode from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and adapted from prior research.

After reading the vignette, participants answered two key questions. First, they rated how likely they would be to seek help from a doctor or a psychologist if they felt like the character. Then, they rated how likely they believed “most men” or “most women” would seek such help if in the same situation. Both questions were rated separately for doctor and psychologist, using a six-point scale from “highly unlikely” to “highly likely.”

Experiment 2 focused on disclosure rather than help-seeking. It used a 2 (social context: friends vs. colleagues) × 2 (vignette character gender: male vs. female) × 2 (participant gender: male vs. female) experimental design. Participants (N = 1,528) read a vignette about a character (Anne or Arne) who had sought help from a general practitioner for depression. Depending on the condition, the vignette described either a workplace or social context in which the character was in conversation with colleagues or friends.

After reading the vignette, participants answered three fixed-order questions: what the character would likely do (descriptive norm), what the character should do (personal normative belief), and what they themselves would do (behavioral intention). Each item required participants to choose between disclosing truthfully or concealing the help-seeking.

Experiment 1 revealed that men reported lower willingness to seek professional help for depression than women. Specifically, men were less likely than women to say they would contact either a doctor or a psychologist. Further, men underestimated other men’s help-seeking willingness, demonstrating pluralistic ignorance. Men believed that “most men” were less likely to seek help than they themselves were. Women also underestimated men’s willingness to seek help, and to an even greater extent than men did.

In contrast, women’s perceptions of other women were accurate—they did not systematically underestimate other women’s likelihood of seeking help. Supporting this, women’s own willingness to seek help matched their estimates of “most women.” There was also evidence that perceptions of others’ help-seeking correlated with individuals’ own reported willingness, particularly when the perceived norms were about the same gender group (e.g., men’s own help-seeking correlated strongly with what they thought other men would do). This pattern supports the idea that perceived norms shape behavior.

Experiment 2 showed that men were significantly less likely than women to say they would disclose having sought help for depression, whether to friends or colleagues. This suggests that men may contribute to a more hidden information environment around male help-seeking, which could fuel the pluralistic ignorance observed in Experiment 1.

Women rated the male character as less likely to disclose help-seeking than the female character, both in friend and workplace contexts. Men showed a similar pattern, but the difference was not statistically significant. This indicates that women held stronger misperceptions about men’s disclosure behavior.

However, contrary to expectations, both men and women believed that both male and female characters should disclose—personal normative beliefs favored openness across the board. In other words, the reluctance to disclose was not rooted in beliefs that disclosure was wrong, but likely in anticipated stigma or discomfort. This helps explain how an environment of silence around male help-seeking might persist, even if people endorse disclosure in principle.

The authors note that participants’ own mental health status was not assessed, which could influence both help-seeking and perceptions of others’ behavior.

The research, “Men’s Help-Seeking Willingness and Disclosure of Depression: Experimental Evidence for the Role of Pluralistic Ignorance,” was authored by Hege H. Bye, Frida L. Måseidvåg, and Samantha M. Harris.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/men-underestimate-each-others-willingness-to-seek-help-for-depression-study-finds/

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DATE: April 19, 2025 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Impulsivity and resilience help explain how childhood trauma affects coping in youth with depression

URL: https://www.psypost.org/impulsivity-and-resilience-help-explain-how-childhood-trauma-affects-coping-in-youth-with-depression/

A study of youths with depression in China found that resilience and impulsivity may mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and coping style. However, impulsivity did not play a mediating role among healthy participants. The study was published in Scientific Reports.

Depression is a common and serious mental health disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities. It can affect individuals at any point in life, with symptoms that vary in severity and often impair daily functioning and overall well-being.

There are several types of depressive disorders. Two of the most prominent are major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. Major depressive disorder involves episodes of severe depressive symptoms lasting at least two weeks, significantly disrupting daily life. Bipolar disorder, in contrast, is marked by mood swings that alternate between emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression), leading to substantial fluctuations in mood, energy, and activity levels.

Study author Jiawei Zhou and her colleagues aimed to examine how childhood maltreatment influences coping styles in youth diagnosed with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, and how this relationship compares to that observed in healthy individuals. Childhood maltreatment includes a range of adverse experiences that can have lasting impacts on development and mental health, such as emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect.

Emotional abuse includes behaviors like verbal insults and constant criticism that undermine a child’s self-esteem. Physical abuse involves causing bodily harm, such as through hitting or burning. Sexual abuse refers to involving a child in sexual acts that they cannot understand or consent to, such as molestation or exploitation. Emotional neglect occurs when a child’s emotional needs are consistently ignored, while physical neglect refers to a failure to provide basic necessities like food, shelter, and medical care.

The study included 196 participants with major depressive disorder, 81 with bipolar disorder, and 98 healthy individuals. The average age of participants with depression was approximately 19 years, while the healthy participants had an average age of 21. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 25 years and were predominantly female. All participants were recruited from the outpatient psychiatric department of the Second Xiangya Hospital at Central South University in Changsha, China.

Participants completed several psychological assessments: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire – Short Form (to measure childhood maltreatment), the Beck Depression Inventory (to assess depressive symptoms), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (to measure resilience), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (to assess impulsivity), and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (to evaluate coping strategies).

The findings revealed that individuals with more severe childhood maltreatment experiences tended to report lower resilience, higher impulsivity, and less positive coping styles. This pattern was observed across all three groups. The researchers tested a statistical model suggesting that childhood maltreatment lowers resilience, which in turn increases impulsivity, which then negatively affects coping style. The data supported this proposed pathway, but also indicated that direct relationships exist between these variables.

When the model was analyzed separately for each group, it was fully supported among participants with major depressive disorder. In the bipolar disorder group, the model was also supported, although the effect of childhood maltreatment on coping style was entirely indirect—operating through resilience and impulsivity. Among healthy individuals, resilience was linked to more positive coping strategies, and childhood maltreatment was indirectly related to coping style through its negative effect on resilience. However, the direct link between impulsivity and coping style was not observed in this group.

“The study highlights that childhood maltreatment is directly related to coping styles in youths with depression and indirectly affects them through resilience and impulsivity. These findings suggest that improving resilience and managing impulsivity could enhance positive coping styles in this population,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the links between coping styles and childhood maltreatment experiences. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be derived from the results. The models proposed in the study are possible, not verified to be true as there may be other models of relationships between studied factors that are also possible.

The paper “Childhood maltreatment influences coping in youths with major depression and bipolar depression through resilience and impulsivity” was authored by Jiawei Zhou, Zheng Zhang, Sihong Li, Hui Chen, Xianliang Chen, HuajiaTang, and Jiansong Zhou.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/impulsivity-and-resilience-help-explain-how-childhood-trauma-affects-coping-in-youth-with-depression/

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