{"id":5850,"date":"2023-11-15T04:20:52","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T12:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?p=5850"},"modified":"2023-11-21T08:31:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T16:31:35","slug":"cannabis-increases-empathy-for-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/cannabis-increases-empathy-for-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannabis Increases Empathy for Others, New Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most people who use cannabis will tell you that it&#8217;s better as a communal experience, sharing the laughs and insights with others. A new study shows that not only do people share a good time when they use cannabis in a social setting, but they may also understand each other better.<\/p>\n<p>The small study, <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/jnr.25252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published<\/a> in the Journal of Neuroscience Research, found that using cannabis increased users\u2019 empathy &#8211; the ability to understand or share the feelings of another person. Researchers used brain imaging to show that cannabis users\u2019 brains were more connected and functional in the brain region linked to empathy when compared to the brains of non-users.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn our study, regular cannabis users showed differences in emotional comprehension, showing greater connectivity of empathy-related areas,\u201d the researchers wrote. They added that cannabis users also showed \u201cgreater connectivity within the empathy core network\u201d in the brain.<\/p>\n<h2>Cannabis Users Good at Emotional Comprehension<\/h2>\n<p>The researchers conducted interviews exploring empathy and analyzed participants&#8217; brains. Using the Cognitive and Affective Empathy Test, individuals rated their agreement with statements like, \u201cWhen a friend is sad, I get sad, too,\u201d assessing four dimensions of empathy skills.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, some participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), revealing that marijuana users exhibited more connections in the brain region responsible for perceiving others&#8217; emotions within one&#8217;s own body.<\/p>\n<p>In the questionnaire segment of the study, marijuana users demonstrated notably enhanced skills in one of the four empathy areas known as emotional comprehension. This proficiency involves understanding the emotions and intentions of others.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Not All Empathetic Areas Increased<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The study found no distinctions between cannabis users and non-users in the were observed between users and non-users in the three other empathy skill areas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Empathic stress skills, the ability to share negative emotions with others or be emotionally attuned to them.<\/li>\n<li>Empathic joy skills, aiding in sharing positive emotions and celebrating others&#8217; successes.<\/li>\n<li>Perspective-taking, the capacity to understand the viewpoints of others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The study involved 85 regular cannabis users and 51 non-consumers who completed psychometric tests and a subset of 46 users and 34 nonusers who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging exams.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1006853\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a> about the study, co-author V\u00edctor Olalde-Mathieu, PhD, of the Universidad Nacional Aut\u00f3noma de M\u00e9xico, said, \u201cAlthough further research is needed, these results open an exciting new window for exploring the potential effects of cannabis in aiding treatments for conditions involving deficits in social interactions, such as sociopathy, social anxiety, and avoidant personality disorder, among others.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People who use cannabis show a higher degree of empathy for other people, according to a new study out of Mexico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1501,1524,1310,1523],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.10 - 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