How Cannabis Improves Memory

Cannabis and Memory

Cannabis affecting the endocannabinoid system plays a role in memory and cognitive functioning. This is due to CB1 receptors in the endocannabinoid system contributing to retrograde signaling in the brain. Researchers are studying how this relation can aid in treatment to depression and PTSD.

A main study to discover this relation is from mice that were engineered to not have the CB1 receptor. The mice were impaired in short-term and long-term extinction of memories. Their cognition of new hidden mazes also showed their disability in learning.(Source)

Extinction of memories may seem at first as a bad thing. However, our brain does this continually to allow us to see new avenues of thinking. In the mice example the CB1 deficient mice continued to look for the old way out of their cage. They weren't able to allow themselves to discover a new door. Depression and PTSD may improve the ability to forget long term memories.(Source)

The ability to improve cognitive thinking has given cannabis a reputation to flourish creative thinking. CB1 receptors play a role with use of marijuana to increase dopamine levels. This change allows for white noise of the environment to be reduced to give rise to focus and concentration.(Source)

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_and_memory

http://veteransformedicalmarijuana.org/content/general-use-cannabis-ptsd-symptoms

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2571074/

How Cannabis Helps with Creativity

One common trait of famous people in society is their ability to be creative. Marijuana has been known for enhancing creativity. There is scientific basis evidence to support the correlation to cannabis and thinking outside the box. Many famous artists have admitted to the use of marijuana.

Alice Flaherty from the Department of Neurology at Harvard Medical School researched how creativity worked in the brain. Different parts of the brain work on creativity in different ways to give balance. The Frontal Lobe judges ideas and decides the values of the idea and divergent thinking. The Temporal Lobe gives idea generation with no concern about quality.(Source)

Research has shown that the frontal lobe activity increases with a rise in cerebral blood flow (CBF).(Source) Smoking cannabis increases Cerebral blood flow. Studies have shown that the CBF peaks thirty minutes after smoking.(Source)

An increase in dopamine allows for the mind to have more inhibited and novel thoughts.(Source) Cannabis has been shown to increase dopamine levels.(Source) Dopamine allows the brain to disregard outside “white noise” stimulus. This allows the brain to focus on a certain thought and enhance all of the possibilities giving to creativity.(Source)

It's not a surprise that popular figures in society benefit from the use of cannabis. On the TV show 60 Minutes Lady Gaga told the reporter “I smoke a lot of pot when I write music.” Marijuana residue was found in pipe fragments of William Shakespeare's garden. Carl Sagan was a big advocate to marijuana and the decriminalizing of it in society. Bill Gates was known to smoke weed in college and a strong advocate for legalizing marijuana in his state of Washington.(Source)

Source:

https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~issues/articles/18.2_Talise_J_Marijuana_1.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2571074/

http://www.biblioteca.juriquilla.unam.mx/WONDERLAND/collect/inb_Lucene/index/assoc/HASH01cc.dir/doc.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1324250

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18754005

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/10673775

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/7-successful-famous-cannabis-smoking-geniuses

San Diego's Comic-Con, Welcome Creativity

San Diego's Comic Con and the Creative Mind with Cannabis

As a person that worked in the video game industry, I loved going to San Diego's Comic Con for the people watching, but most importantly the talented artists. Going down the aisles of the convention center it was daunting how much work went into the amazing detail and imagination of the comics and displays.

Let me tell you how a typical day at a video game company went. People roll in at 10am – closer to 11. At noon of course was lunch, and why not go to the gym while your at it... make it a two hour lunch. Followed by a sleepy afternoon from the big lunch. But wait a minute, 4:20 rolled around. Empty; the office was empty. 4:40 – 8pm? Perfection. Much of the work got accomplished at this time. Why? The mind needed to be relaxed and opened to imagination and discovery.

Now not all workers were driven by marijuana, but from what I could see, many needed a way to stop the analytical mind and open the artistic mind. To sit at a desk can be boring, but not when the mind is active with many ideas and thoughts the time flies by with great exploration and development.

Marijuana has been known by many artists to allow open creativity, increased pattern recognition, and insight. Jonah Lehrer in “Psychiatry Research” states that Marijuana does a hyper-priming to allow the brain to make association patterns with things that are further apart. In layman's terms, it allows a musician or an artist to get rid of the writers block and allow the brain to explore and make connections that may not have been seen when it was more analytical.

The United States is at the forefront of imagination in movies, games and technology gadgets. Comic Con attracts this treasure in our society of new ideas, detail to the non analytical brain and beauty of the open mind. San Diego is so fortunate to host such a wonderful convention.

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By an Anonymous Artist that worked for 12 years in the video game industry, making Xbox and PS2 games for a major company