Cannabis users scored higher on the part of the test that assesses emotional understanding, the ability to understand the emotional states of others. In the imagery section of the study, cannabis users had higher connectivity in areas related to emotion and empathy.
Víctor Olalde Mati, author of the paper and a neuroscientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said that research on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, is sparse, so cannabis and the ability to empathize are linked. He said that he was motivated to explore the relationship between Cannabis.
Olalde-Massie believed that cannabis users could show higher levels of empathy because cannabis has been shown to have anxiety-mediating effects. “If you’re not feeling that anxious, your physiological and autonomic responses aren’t as high,” he said. “You can leverage your resources.”
Research on cannabis and empathy is limited, but a study published in 2022 found that Cannabis and prosocial behavior It also suggests potential positive effects of cannabis. In the study, 146 college students who had varying amounts of THC in their urine filled out questionnaires measuring measures of prosocial behavior, empathy, and morality.
People who use cannabis “are more likely to feel compassion for others and engage in the world in benevolent and selfless ways,” said the study co-authors, a professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico. Since completing his research, Vigil has created a cannabis retail company. Doctor V’s Mountain Medicine.
The results of research on empathy vary depending on the research method. 2016 report used a technique called “event-related potentials” that assess participants’ responses to a series of stimuli. Researchers found that empathic processing was impaired in cannabis users compared to non-users.
“They can focus on emotions, but they can’t empathize,” explains study author Lucy Tropp, a neuroscientist at the University of the West of Scotland.
The mixed results suggest that individual and situational differences may play a major role in responses to cannabis. “What may make one person easier, kinder, happier in one situation may have a different effect on another person,” Troup said. “We are not all the same.”
Carrie Cutler, a psychology professor at Washington State University, said recent studies show a link between cannabis use and empathy, but do not prove causation.
“We don’t know whether people who are more empathetic are more likely to use cannabis in the first place,” Cutler said.
Alternatively, Cutler said there may be other reasons, such as “differences in personality traits and life experiences that make people more interested in cannabis use and more empathetic.” “There is still not enough evidence to convince me that cannabis increases people’s empathy.”