Interactions Between Physical Activity and Cannabis Use in Adults

It is unknown how the response of cannabis users might compare to those of non-users in response to similar dose of physical activity. We will therefore compare brain activation during craving to cannabis, a natural reward (food) and a neutral scene (nature images). The food cues will allow us to determine if effects of exercise on brain activation and craving generalize to two different reward conditions and the nature scenes provide a neutral, no rewarding control. In addition to the analysis of predetermined regions of interest, whole-brain exploratory analyses will also be conducted to examine for additional brain regions showing associations between various conditions of interest and regional brain activation. Specific Aims 1\. To explore methodological factors involved in finding the relationship between PA and cannabis use. 1. to examine the effects of cannabis and food cues on brain activation and craving in cannabis users and nonusers 2. to examine the effects of vigorous exercise on brain activation and craving in response to cannabis and food cues. Our working hypothesis is that the regional brain activation in response to drug cues will be different in cannabis users than in controls and that exercise will significantly alter brain responses to these cues in both groups. Our secondary hypothesis is that exercise will tend to normalize the abnormal brain activation observed in cannabis users. Our expectation is that exercise will alter cue-responding in terms of brain activation or craving. It is possible that exercise may be a useful treatment in cannabis dependence. Future studies may examine this specific relationship. There are no reports available exploring the relationship between physical activity and cannabis use. Current data suggest that there are convergent findings regarding the chronic and acute effects of cannabis on brain activity