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Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allowed the researchers to uncover subtle brain abnormalities in white matter fiber pathways that cannot be identified using standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Dr. Ashtari and Dr. Kumra focused on the arcuate fasciculus, a bundle of fibers that connects the different brain areas in the left temporal and frontal lobes of the brain. This is a fiber pathway that is linked to high level linguistic and auditory functioning.
The researchers found similar abnormalities in the brains of marijuana using adolescents and adolescents with schizophrenia. This language/auditory pathway is an area of the brain that continues to develop during adolescence and is therefore potentially susceptible to neurotoxic effects of recurrent marijuana exposure.
Further, the findings suggest that for those adolescents who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia, the toxic effect of marijuana may interfere with normal brain development and increase susceptibility for developing an earlier onset of schizophrenia.
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