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Lab-based studies examining the effects of cannabis administration on human behavior compromise ecological validity due to the influence of set and setting. Contextual factors of clinical settings have long been recognized as producing measurable changes in physiology, emotionality, and cognition. Among people who use drugs, these settings may be associated with higher levels of perceived stigma and stereotype threat which may meaningfully confound the effects of cannabis on outcomes of interest. Recent liberalization of cannabis regulation may allow novel and more ecologically valid approaches to assessing the acute effects of cannabis. The Naturalistic Cannabis Administration Protocol (NCAP) is a novel paradigm for the study of acute cannabis effects in an ecologically valid manner. Two independent studies demonstrated the safety and feasibility of the NCAP. Participants (

Cannabis has long been widely used throughout the prenatal period. However, motives for prenatal cannabis use (PCU) have not been comprehensively examined. Stigmatization has been identified as a barrier to therapeutic cannabis use and related physician communication. Such stigma may be particularly salient in the context of PCU. One hundred and three women who reported current or past pregnancy were recruited online. Participants completed a survey querying prenatal experiences, substance use, and attitudes toward PCU. PCU was reported by 35 (34%) respondents. Treating nausea and vomiting of pregnancy was the most frequently reported reason for PCU (89%), and 24 (69%) reported substituting cannabis for pharmaceutical drugs. Sixty-two percent of PCU participants and 31% of non-PCU participants indicated discomfort discussing PCU with their physician, and 74% of PCU participants and 27% of non-PCU participants indicated they would not disclose PCU to their physician if it occurred in future pregnancies. Our findings suggest that PCU may reflect primarily therapeutic motives of relieving symptoms of morning sickness, nausea, low appetite, pain, and substituting for other prescription medications. Respondents reported discomfort discussing PCU with physicians, which was more pronounced among respondents with lived experience of PCU. Findings suggest PCU might best be evaluated within a therapeutic framework and highlight the importance of efforts to enhance patient-caregiver communication regarding PCU.

Previous reports of cognitive functioning in children with the 22q11 Deletion Syndrome have reported marked variability in IQ and achievement subtest scores. Studies have begun to explore neuropsychological function in 22q11 DS however results are inconsistent and the profile incomplete. We assessed 40 children ages 5–12 with 22q11 DS. Consistent with past results, visual-spatial memory was significantly lower than verbal memory. Differentially lowered scores were found only in visual attention, working memory and motor function. Contrary with some past results quantitative, verbal ability, and visual spatial memory scores were within 1 SD from the standardization sample mean. Motor behavior, not typically discussed with regard to 22q11 DS school-age children, may be critical to incorporate in neurocognitive studies of children with 22q11 DS. Implications of these findings are considered with regard to past results.

The 22q11 chromosomal deletion syndrome (22q11 DS) is associated with learning disabilities and a complex neuropsychological profile. Previous findings have suggested that executive attention deficits might underlie other neurocognitive anomalies. We administered the child Attention Network Test (ANT) to 52 children ages 5.0 to 11.5, 32 22q11 DS children (19 girls) and 20 controls (13 girls) and assessed the efficiency of segregated executive, orienting, and alerting networks. We hypothesized that 22q11 DS children have impaired executive network efficiency as compared to control siblings. The internal validity of the child ANT was confirmed for this population. Analysis of variance results showed significant main effects for flanker and cue types and no interaction effect in either 22q11 DS children or control siblings. Compared to control siblings, 22q11 DS children had significantly larger (less efficient) executive network scores, significantly increased errors on only incongruent trials, and a significant correlation between executive network scores and accuracy. The implications of these findings for future neurocognitive studies of 22q11 DS children are considered.