Marijuana use has long been associated with a more positive attitude in pop culture references, but now, new research suggests it might actually make you a nicer person. A study conducted with 85 regular marijuana users and 52 nonusers suggests there could be a neurological connection between cannabis and empathetic responses.
The test called the Cognitive and Affective Empathy Test, uses a series of questions with Likert scale answers ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” to measure one’s ability to identify and understand people’s emotions as well as the ability to feel and connect with people’s emotions, sensations and feelings. Researchers said cannabis users scored higher on the test with emotional comprehension. The cannabis users also had more excellent connectivity in areas associated with emotional and empathy-related regions of their brains, as seen in the imaging portion.
Also, studies show that cannabis can improve your motor skills. Researchers found that when comparing people who consume it versus those who don’t, they performed tasks equally well, with no differences in reaction time, accuracy, or movement duration. However, they also found that cannabis users had more robust neural oscillations (motor reactions) in the primary motor cortex and several other movement-related brain regions. Motor control is planning and executing movements, such as walking, typing, or playing an instrument. It involves the activity of nerve cells in the motor cortex, a part of the brain that sends signals to the muscles.
