Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis

Abstract Healthy individuals that use cannabis are at greater risk of developing mental health conditions than those that do not use cannabis. Here, using mobile electroencephalography (EEG) in controlled laboratory settings, we examined two putative biomarkers of mental health across two studies of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Conor H. Murray, Kaihan Danesh, Ziva D. Cooper
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-07-01
Series:NPP-Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s44277-025-00039-8
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849238543477506048
author Conor H. Murray
Kaihan Danesh
Ziva D. Cooper
author_facet Conor H. Murray
Kaihan Danesh
Ziva D. Cooper
author_sort Conor H. Murray
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Healthy individuals that use cannabis are at greater risk of developing mental health conditions than those that do not use cannabis. Here, using mobile electroencephalography (EEG) in controlled laboratory settings, we examined two putative biomarkers of mental health across two studies of people who use cannabis (N = 100, 50% male; N = 40, 60% male). We examined associations to cannabis use and mood and assessed the influence of sex and age on the outcomes. Specifically, in the first study, we examined prefrontal broadband power, previously found to be related to healthy neurocognitive development, in relation cannabis use. We also examined left prefrontal alpha power, previously found to be related to anxiety and depression, in relation to Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores. In the second study, we examined only left prefrontal alpha power during the cold pressor test (CPT), which elicits a stress response. We found that in the first study, young males (ages 21–23) showed the greatest association between prefrontal broadband power and cannabis use (R = 0.50; p = 0.007), while females showed associations between left prefrontal alpha power and BAI scores (R = 0.61, p = 0.013). In the second study, the CPT increased anxiousness (p < 0.001) but did not affect left prefrontal alpha power. Together, our findings help to characterize these putative biomarkers in individuals that use cannabis, while informing the utility of mobile EEG devices for tracking markers of mental health and wellness outside of laboratory settings.
format Article
id doaj-art-5c7f72544fdb42bbb79d75946a3312e4
institution Kabale University
issn 2948-1570
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series NPP-Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-5c7f72544fdb42bbb79d75946a3312e42025-08-20T04:01:35ZengSpringerNPP-Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience2948-15702025-07-01311810.1038/s44277-025-00039-8Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabisConor H. Murray0Kaihan Danesh1Ziva D. Cooper2UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of CaliforniaUCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of CaliforniaUCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of CaliforniaAbstract Healthy individuals that use cannabis are at greater risk of developing mental health conditions than those that do not use cannabis. Here, using mobile electroencephalography (EEG) in controlled laboratory settings, we examined two putative biomarkers of mental health across two studies of people who use cannabis (N = 100, 50% male; N = 40, 60% male). We examined associations to cannabis use and mood and assessed the influence of sex and age on the outcomes. Specifically, in the first study, we examined prefrontal broadband power, previously found to be related to healthy neurocognitive development, in relation cannabis use. We also examined left prefrontal alpha power, previously found to be related to anxiety and depression, in relation to Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores. In the second study, we examined only left prefrontal alpha power during the cold pressor test (CPT), which elicits a stress response. We found that in the first study, young males (ages 21–23) showed the greatest association between prefrontal broadband power and cannabis use (R = 0.50; p = 0.007), while females showed associations between left prefrontal alpha power and BAI scores (R = 0.61, p = 0.013). In the second study, the CPT increased anxiousness (p < 0.001) but did not affect left prefrontal alpha power. Together, our findings help to characterize these putative biomarkers in individuals that use cannabis, while informing the utility of mobile EEG devices for tracking markers of mental health and wellness outside of laboratory settings.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44277-025-00039-8
spellingShingle Conor H. Murray
Kaihan Danesh
Ziva D. Cooper
Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis
NPP-Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience
title Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis
title_full Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis
title_fullStr Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis
title_full_unstemmed Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis
title_short Mobile EEG examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis
title_sort mobile eeg examination of putative biomarkers of mental health in individuals that use cannabis
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s44277-025-00039-8
work_keys_str_mv AT conorhmurray mobileeegexaminationofputativebiomarkersofmentalhealthinindividualsthatusecannabis
AT kaihandanesh mobileeegexaminationofputativebiomarkersofmentalhealthinindividualsthatusecannabis
AT zivadcooper mobileeegexaminationofputativebiomarkersofmentalhealthinindividualsthatusecannabis