Exercise, Cognition, and Cannabis Use in Adolescents

Authors

Ileana Pacheco-ColónFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Psychology

First Advisor's Name

Raul Gonzalez

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Stefany Coxe

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Angela Laird

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Matthew Sutherland

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

cannabis use, exercise, adolescence, neurocognition, latent growth curve modeling, mediation, decision-making, memory

Date of Defense

5-24-2021

Abstract

Heavy and/or chronic cannabis use has been associated with neurocognitive impairment and decline, often in domains such as memory and executive functioning. On the other hand, exercise has been linked to positive effects on brain and cognitive health across the lifespan, as well as to better substance use outcomes. Despite this, little is known about the ways in which exercise could help prevent or ameliorate adverse cannabis-related outcomes among adolescents.

Through three separate studies, the current dissertation examines interrelations among exercise, cognition, and cannabis use in children and adolescents in an effort to determine whether exercise can prevent or ameliorate cannabis-related cognitive decline and other adverse outcomes. The first study examined whether exercise ameliorates cannabis-related declines in episodic memory in a sample of 401 adolescents. Results from multivariate latent growth curve models replicated findings that greater frequency of cannabis use is associated with declines in episodic memory. However, neither initial levels nor change in exercise moderated these associations. The second study examined associations between exercise and cannabis-related outcomes (e.g., cannabis use frequency, cannabis use disorder, cannabis-related problems) after a 6-month period, and tested the mediating role of exercise effects on decision-making in a sample of 387 adolescents. Results from prospective mediation analyses revealed that more exercise predicted greater cannabis use frequency, but not cannabis use disorder or problems. There was no evidence of a mediating role for decision-making in the associations between exercise and cannabis-related outcomes, and positive effects of exercise on decision-making were better accounted for by demographics. The third study examined cross-sectional associations between exercise, task-related brain activation, and executive functioning in a sample of 7,733 preadolescent children. Results from cross-sectional mediation analyses indicated that the association between exercise and executive functioning was largely accounted for by sociodemographic factors, and did not support a mediating role for task-related activation of frontoparietal and salience networks. Together, findings suggest that effects of exercise on neurocognitive functioning in pediatric populations are small, may be more readily observed within the domain of executive functioning, and may be better explained by sociodemographic characteristics.

Identifier

FIDC010844

ORCID

0000-0001-7908-8428

Previously Published In

Pacheco-Colón, I., Salamanca, M. J., Coxe, S., Hawes, S. W., & Gonzalez, R. (2021). Exercise, Decision-Making, and Cannabis-Related Outcomes among Adolescents. Substance Use & Misuse. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2021.1906279.

Pacheco-Colón, I., Lopez-Quintero, C., Coxe, S., Limia, J. M., Pulido, W., Granja, K., Paula, D. C., Gonzalez, I., Ross, J. M., Duperrouzel, J. C., Hawes, S. W., and Gonzalez, R. (under review). Risky Decision-Making as an Antecedent or Consequence of Adolescent Cannabis Use: Findings from a Two-Year Longitudinal Study. Addiction.

Recommended Citation

Pacheco-Colón, Ileana, "Exercise, Cognition, and Cannabis Use in Adolescents" (2021). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5134.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5134