The Pharmaco-genetic and Brain Mechanisms Associated With Cannabis- Induced Psychosis

There is growing evidence of high rates of substance use disorders among individuals with psychotic disorders especially in young people with predisposition for psychosis. There is some genetic evidence that carriers of the valine158 allele of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene had increased risk to exhibit psychotic symptoms and to develop schizophrenia if they used cannabis by the age of 18. It was also shown that carriers of the COMT val/val genotype were most sensitive to THC-induced psychotic experiences but this was conditional on pre-existing susceptibility to psychosis. The investigators propose to use brain-imaging and molecular genetics to investigate whether genetic factors may contribute to the THC-induced dopamine release and possibly to cannabis- induced psychosis.