Longitudinal fMRI Reveals Altered Developmental Trajectories of Functional Network Organisation Associated with Adolescent Cannabis Use

Exploring how cannabis use is associated with changes in brain connectivity across adolescence and adulthood.

Authors: Elizabeth J. Davies, Natalie Ertl, Tom P. Freeman, Anya Borissova, Rachel Lees Thorne, Shelan Ofori, Kat Petrilli, Clare Mokrysz, H. Valerie Curran, Will Lawn, Matthew B. Wall

Publication Date: October 24, 2026

Note: This publication is a preprint and has not yet been certified by peer review.

Adolescence is a critical period of brain development, during which large-scale neural networks continue to mature. Understanding how cannabis use may influence these developmental processes is important for identifying age-related differences in brain function and potential neuropsychiatric vulnerabilities.

In this recently published bioRxiv preprint, researchers from Perceptive Discovery and collaborating academic institutions used longitudinal resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) to investigate changes in brain connectivity among adolescent and adult cannabis users and non-using controls. The study followed 66 participants over one year, examining differences in functional connectivity across key brain networks involved in attention, cognitive control, and higher-order processing.

The findings revealed distinct patterns of connectivity changes associated with cannabis use and developmental stage, particularly within the salience, default mode, and executive control networks. These results highlight the importance of considering age when evaluating cannabis-related differences in brain function and demonstrate the value of longitudinal neuroimaging in understanding complex neurodevelopmental processes.

What You’ll Learn

• How cannabis use is associated with brain network development: Explore differences in functional connectivity between adolescent and adult cannabis users and age-matched controls over a one-year period.
• Which neural networks show altered connectivity: Understand findings involving the salience, default mode, executive control, and associative striatal networks, including regions associated with attention and higher-order cognitive processing.
• The value of longitudinal fMRI in neuroscience research: Discover how resting-state fMRI can characterize changes in functional brain organization over time and provide insights into age-dependent neurobiological differences.

Read the Publication Preprint

Access the full preprint to explore the study methodology, neuroimaging findings, and implications for understanding cannabis-associated differences in brain development.