Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Smoking cannabis during pregnancy may harm baby’s brain: Study – The Indian Express

By: PTI | London | Updated: June 22, 2016 3:32 pm
Smoking cannabis_Jennifer Thomas_759 Smoking cannabis throughout pregnancy might trigger structural mind abnormalities in babies. (Source: Flickr/Jennifer Thomas)

Moms-to-be, take note! Smoking cannabis throughout pregnancy might trigger abnormal mind framework in babies, affecting regions connecteded to complex cognition, decision-making and functioning memory, a brand-new study has actually warned.

An estimated 2-13 each penny of ladies international usage cannabis throughout pregnancy, researchers said.

Previous studies have actually identified short and long term behavioural consequences of prenatal cannabis exposure, but
effects when it come to mind morphology were unknown.

Compared along with unexposed children, those that were prenatally exposed to cannabis possessed a thicker prefrontal cortex, a area of the mind associated with complex cognition, decision-making and functioning memory.

“This study is vital since cannabis usage throughout pregnancy is relatively common and we already know fairly minor about
the potential consequences of cannabis exposure throughout pregnancy and mind progression later in life,” claimed Hanan El Marroun, from the Erasmus University Health care Centre in The Netherlands. “Knowing just what happens in the mind might offer us insights in exactly how youngsters create after being exposed to cannabis,” claimed El Marroun.

Researchers utilized structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the brains of 54 youngsters aged 6-8 years, that were prenatally exposed to cannabis. The majority of of the youngsters exposed to cannabis were additionally exposed to tobacco, so the researchers compared them to 96 youngsters prenatally exposed to tobacco only, also as to 113 manage youngsters along with no exposure. In addition, the youngsters were section of a prospective population-based study in the Netherlands.

Comparing tobacco-exposed youngsters along with those exposed to the two tobacco and cannabis stated distinctions in the cortical thickness, suggesting that cannabis exposure has actually various effects compared to tobacco.

“We have actually to be careful interpreting the outcomes of the most recent study,” claimed El Marroun.

The study was published in the diary Biological Psychiatry.