Cannabis and false memories

Cannabis increases susceptibility to the false recognition of words and to misinformation related to mock crime scenarios, according to a study. The main psychoactive constituent of cannabis has been associated with memory impairments. However, relatively little is known about the effect of cannabis on the generation of false memories. Lilian Kloft, Elizabeth Loftus, Johannes Ramaekers, and colleagues conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of false memory in 64 healthy, occasional cannabis users. In each experiment, the participants inhaled the vapor of a single dose of cannabis or a placebo and then performed memory tasks immediately afterward and 1 week later. In the first experiment, cannabis-intoxicated individuals showed an increase in the false recognition of words that had not been not previously presented. In two separate virtual reality experiments, the participants witnessed a fight or perpetrated a theft. The participants were then exposed to misinformation about the scenarios through suggestive questions during an interview or through the testimony of a second virtual witness. The authors report that cannabis appeared to increase false memories for misinformation while subjects were intoxicated. According to the authors, the findings carry implications for the questioning of cannabis-intoxicated eyewitnesses and suspects during investigative interviews.

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Article #19-20162: “Cannabis increases susceptibility to false memory,” by Lilian Kloft et al.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Lilian Kloft, Maastricht University, THE NETHERLANDS; e-mail: <

[email protected]

>; Elizabeth Loftus, University of California, Irvine, CA; tel: 949-824-3285; e-mail: <

[email protected]

>; Johannes Ramaekers, Maastricht University, THE NETHERLANDS; e-mail: <

[email protected]

>