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Why Marijuana Impairs Memory
11-19-06|Live Science|Charles Q. Choi


Scientists may have just found out why marijuana impairs memory and why the brain's natural versions of the drug might help against epilepsy.

The active ingredient of marijuana, THC, is known to impair memory and to bind to areas of the brain linked to memory, such as the hippocampus. Still, the exact mechanisms by which marijuana impairs memory remain unclear.

Neuroscientists David Robbe and Gyorgy Buzsaki at Rutgers University and their colleagues recorded hippocampus activity in rats. Normally brain cells in this region often synchronize their electrical activity.

When the researchers injected rats with THC or a related synthetic drug, they found the normally synchronized workings of the hippocampus became disrupted. While the cells did not change how often they fired nerve impulses, their timing became erratic.

Imagine an orchestra where the musicians are deafened and perhaps blindfolded, Buzsaki said.

"They could still play their own pieces, but without any feedback from the other instruments played by other musicians or the conductor, depending on the nature and the length of the music played, it could be just a bit worse or outright disastrous, even though every note has been played. What is missing is the temporal coordination," Buzsaki explained. This is similar to what the researchers think goes on "in the hippocampal circuits under the influence of marijuana."

The neuroscientists put rats through a standard test of memory, where the animals had to learn to alternate which direction they went in a maze in order to get water. As rat hippocampal brain cell activity grew less synchronized under the influence of drugs, the rodents made more mistakes. This suggests synchronized brain cell activity is crucial for memory formation and hints that THC impairs memory by disrupting this synchronized activity.

The scientists suggest the way THC disrupts synchronized brain cell activity might help fight seizures. During seizures, brain activity becomes abnormally synchronized. Prior research suggested the brain's natural versions of THC, known as endocannabinoids, helped prevent seizures.

Whether or not marijuana is good against epilepsy remains unclear. Anecdotal reports going back centuries say it can help control seizures, but animal studies reveal it could also provoke fits.

The neuroscientists report their findings in the December issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

 

Burnin_Dro

i dont lose memory when i smoke. maybe its just me

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“I'm the one that has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life, the way I want to”
- Jimi Hendrix

casketfour

This is also good for helping victims of PTS

Buzzby

Then you're probably not doing it right...

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nornerator

Memory impairment is the only negative that I have ever experienced from smoking.

Usually the short term memory while under the immediate influence is severly impaired at times, forgetting what I am thinking about after 10 minutes of heavy thinking. But usually after a few hours my short term memory is about 85% of what it is had I not smoked at all.

I toke everyday, I go to university in the Biology/Chemistry program as a 19 year old sophomore/almost junior 4.0 student, marijuana causes minimal impairment for memory as far as I am concerned, when I take 3 or more days off my short term memory is back to 100%

 

28g

Marijuana doesn't seem to effect my, um, hmm, yeah...

totoro

when i smoke i have minimal memory impairment, but that b/c i usually smoke alone like after i finish HW and everything during weeknights, and i usually only take a few hits b/c im home. However, when i smokes with friends and i take like 15-20 hits, the memory loss is a bit more severe.

ZedRULES

Memory loss is not permanant, but temporary...everyone is forgetting something every nano second...booze, meth and a lot of other crap can seriously ruin your mind...ya I forget stuff all the time, but life is fast & furious and doesn't wait for you to remember...write things down when you're thinking about something important or need to do. I found that making little notes in something like a little pocket notebook keeps me from screwing up on commitments and the like. When I'm buzzed, I have to write down that stuff or draw the wrath of the wife.

1tokeovertheline

I would say....that is a fact.