Working Memory Training for Adolescents With Cannabis Use Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ABSTRACT

Adolescent cannabis use is associated with working memory impairment. The present randomized controlled trial assigned adolescents ages 14 to 21 enrolled in cannabis use treatment to receive either working memory training (experimental group) or a control training (control group) as an adjunctive treatment. Cognitive function, drug use, and other outcomes were assessed before and after training. We observed few differences in cognitive, functional, or self-reported drug use outcomes as a function of training group, although tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) urinalysis results favored the experimental group. These findings are similar to previous studies in substance users, which have shown limited transfer effects for working memory training.

KEYWORDS:

• adolescents
• cannabis
• cognitive training
• marijuana
• working memory

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Nicole Gosnell, Christa Lewis, Lisa Mitchell, Crystal Barnhouser, Akhil Korrapati, Gabriela Barnett, Hannah Gutjahr, Alexander Yang, Robert LeComte, and Jefferson Mattingly for their assistance in conducting this research, Dingfen Han for her assistance with statistical analyses, and Len Onyiah for computer programming.

Note

Conflicts of Interest

MJ Fishman is the Medical Director of Mountain Manor Treatment Center (MMTC) where the patients enrolled in the study described in this article were treated. He is a part-time faculty member of Johns Hopkins University. He is a beneficiary of the trust which owns MMTC. He also serves on the governing board of the trust and the Board of Directors of MMTC. This arrangement has been reviewed and approved by Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies. The authors have no other conflicts of interest.

Notes

1. A follow-up analysis in the present data comparing only participants who completed 20 or more training sessions to the full analysis presented here did not suggest that individuals who completed relatively fewer training sessions were interfering with our ability to detect an effect of training or reliably changing the magnitude of the effects reported here. β values for Group by Time interaction for those with 20 or more sessions and the full sample are presented in online supplemental materials.

Additional information

Funding

National Institute on Drug Abuse grants R21DA034942, R01DA035277 and T32DA007209 supported this work. The registered number for this clinical trial is NCT01948674.