Influence of Personality on Acute Smoked Cannabis Effects on Simulated Driving

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Christine M. Wickens - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Robert E. Mann - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Bruna Brands - , University of Toronto, Health Canada (Author)
  • Gina Stoduto - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Justin Matheson - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Gillian Sayer - , University of Toronto, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Author)
  • Jillian Burston - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Jie Fei Pan - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Patricia Di Ciano - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Tony P. George - , University of Toronto (Author)
  • Jürgen Rehm - , Chair of Behavioral Epidemiology, University of Toronto, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Calvin Kenney - , University of Toronto, Humber College (Author)
  • David Soule - , University of Toronto, Humber College (Author)
  • Marilyn A. Huestis - , Thomas Jefferson University (Author)
  • Bernard Le Foll - , University of Toronto (Author)

Abstract

A recent study of the impact of smoked cannabis on simulated driver behavior demonstrated a reduction in mean speed after smoked cannabis. Previous research identified an association between personality and individual differences and acute drug effects. The present study examined the impact of personality on the reduction in mean speed after smoking cannabis under single and dual-task driving conditions originally reported by Brands et al. (2019). Sixty-one participants randomly assigned to the active drug condition completed a battery of self-report questionnaires measuring various personality constructs and subsequently operated a driving simulator before and 30 min after smoking a 12.5% Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cigarette. Linear regression modeling tested the influence of self-reported driving errors, lapses, and violations, driver vengeance, psychological distress, impulsivity, and sensation seeking on the reduction in speed after smoking cannabis. After adjusting for the influence of sex, blood THC concentration, and predrug mean speed, impulsivity was a significant predictor of change in speed under both single- (β = −.45, t = −3.94, p <.001) and dual- (β = −.35, t = −2.74, p =.008) task driving conditions after cannabis. Higher trait impulsivity was significantly associated with greater reductions in driving speed after cannabis use, which may reflect greater sensitivity to drug effects and a stronger compensatory response. Further multidisciplinary study, including neurochemical, genetic, and psychological components, would be beneficial in helping to better understand how impulsivity and other personality or individual differences may impact the effects of cannabis on driver behavior and performance.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)547-559
Number of pages13
JournalExperimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
Volume30
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 22 Jul 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 34291988

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Cannabis, Impulsivity, Personality, Simulated driving