Priory Funds New Research Into Cannabis And Psychosis

The Priory Group, in conjunction with the Medical Research Council, is funding a new research project into cannabis use and transient psychotic symptoms.

Dr. Sagnik Bhattacharyya is the first recipient of the Priory / MRC Research Fellowship, which was established to contribute to the scientific understanding of serious mental health issues and their successful treatment.

Dr. Bhattacharyya's research will identify whether individuals with certain genes are more vulnerable to the effects of cannabis, advancing the medical profession's understanding of the biological effects of cannabis on the brain.  It will also illuminate the functional effect of psychosis vulnerability genes in the brain, increasing the scientific community's knowledge about the biological basis of psychosis. 

This study should have significant public health implications because it will help to identify high-risk groups for whom targeted substance abuse interventions can be developed.

Dr. Bhattacharyya said, "Cannabis is the most widely-used illicit drug in the world.  The prevalence of global cannabis use is increasing while the age of first use is decreasing, creating a mental health time-bomb.  This research project will test the hypothesis that vulnerability to psychosis determines the response to cannabis at the behavioural and neuro-cognitive levels through a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study.  It will also examine the behavioural, neuro-cognitive and brain activation response to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis."

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