While pot smokers aren’t known for being the most retentive lot, a new study out of Germany shows that THC, the component of marijuana that makes you feel high, could be a key to helping the memories of folks with aging brains.
Research from the University Hospital Bonn that was just published in the journal ACS Pharmacology & Translation Science showed that aging rats that were given low doses of THC showed “dramatic improvements” in cognitive flexibility, learning and even memory.
In fact, “THC had an antiaging effect on the brain by restoring cognitive abilities and synapse densities” in the rodents.
The study found that low doses of THC triggered a series of metabolic changes in the rats’ brains that actually led to the creation of new brain connections: synapses began firing as they do in younger mice, and synapse connections are related to being cognitively sharp, helping one’s memory and ability to learn new things.
But before you blaze up to boost your brain, the researchers warn very controlled doses of pure THC were used in a very specific regimen, so more study is needed.
That said, their results show a prescription for dealing with age-related memory loss could ironically someday come from the wacky weed.
Methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.