A new study published in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology finds that regular marijuana use may help normalize abnormal brain activity linked to motor control deficits in people with HIV (PWH).
The study involved 102 participants split into four groups: HIV-positive cannabis users, HIV-positive non-users, HIV-negative cannabis users, and HIV-negative non-users. Researchers used high-density magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure brain activity during a motor control task, examining both spontaneous neural oscillations and activity during interference challenges.
The most striking findings showed that PWH who do not use cannabis exhibited significantly elevated spontaneous gamma activity in key brain regions tied to motor control, including the prefrontal cortex, dorsal and ventral premotor cortices, and cerebellum. In contrast, PWH who regularly use cannabis displayed normalized gamma activity levels similar to those of healthy controls. Elevated spontaneous gamma activity was also linked to worse performance on cognitive tasks, while lower levels among cannabis users correlated with improved outcomes.
Additionally, cannabis appeared to suppress abnormal interference-related beta and gamma oscillations in the brain, which were especially prominent in non-using PWH. The authors propose that this effect may stem from the action of THC on CB1 and CB2 receptors, which influence both neural rhythms and inflammation—two key factors implicated in HIV-related cognitive decline.
“These findings suggest that regular cannabis use has a normalizing effect on the neural oscillations serving motor control and the abnormally elevated spontaneous gamma activity that has been widely replicated in PWH, which may suggest that cannabis has at least some therapeutic utility in PWH”, concludes researchers.
The full study can be found here.
