A new study shows that stoners are better at empathizing than those who don’t use the drug.
Anyone who regularly enjoys a joint better recognizes the feelings of others and can better empathize with others.
Researchers at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma in Mexico asked 81 marijuana users and 51 people who did not use the psychoactive drug to fill out a 33-item questionnaire measuring their empathy skills.
It was about perspective taking – the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes – and emotional understanding and understand the feelings of others.
The scientists also analyzed whether volunteers can adapt to positive or negative feelings and act accordingly.
Those who regularly smoked marijuana showed increased activity in brain areas associated with reading others’ emotions compared to a group of non-users, according to a new Mexican study
About half of the week, brain scans were then performed on smokers and two-thirds of non-smokers to look for differences in activity in areas related to observing emotions in others.
Results published in the Journal of Neuroscience Research showed that marijuana users scored better on empathy tests and had greater connectivity in areas involved in emotions, such as the anterior cingulate, near the front of the brain.
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About one in five people in California use cannabis regularly, and it has become something of a health trend—not only legal and fair, but practically unavoidable.
The findings come amid a number of recent reports of the drug’s negative health effects, including an increased risk of heart attacks and schizophrenia.
The researchers do not provide any information about why this effect is observed.
However, other experts have previously suggested that long-term use of cannabis can cause lasting, positive changes in personality due to its effects on specific areas of the brain.
But the Mexican team in the current study makes a warning: “We cannot ignore that such differences were already present before consumers started using cannabis.”
Importantly, the results in the United States may be different because the strength of marijuana is typically higher than in Mexico, where the study was conducted.
In the study, the smoked marijuana contained only two to ten percent of the psychoactive substance THC. In some US states, the THC content in the average joint is between 10 and 17 percent.
“While further research is needed, these results open an exciting new window to explore the potential effects of cannabis in the adjunctive treatment of disorders associated with deficits in social interactions, such as sociopathy, social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder, among others,” did he say co. -Author Víctor Olalde-Mathieu, PhD, of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
