Emotional interference and right prefrontal hemodynamic responses in adult cannabis users: a pilot fNIRS study.

Overview

1. Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain
2. Mental Health Research Department, Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute, Santander, Spain
3. Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, Santander, Spain

Abstract

Introduction: Cannabis use has been linked to alterations in cognitive control and emotional processing, although findings vary according to use pattern and abstinence status. This pilot study examined whether emotional interference is especially sensitive to short-term abstinence-related differences across cannabis-use profiles and whether such differences are accompanied by distinct prefrontal hemodynamic responses.

Methods: Non-users, occasional cannabis users, and chronic cannabis users completed a pre–post cognitive battery including an Emotional Stroop task. In the cannabis-use groups, the post session followed 72 h of abstinence. Behavioral outcomes were analyzed using non-parametric tests. Prefrontal oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin responses were recorded with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and analyzed using mixed-effects models with false-discovery-rate correction, complemented by Bayesian contrasts on post–pre change scores.

Results: Behavioral effects were concentrated in the Emotional Stroop task. Occasional users showed a significant pre–post reduction in response latency for negative stimuli, together with an accuracy-related pattern in between-group comparisons. Chronic users showed no significant behavioral changes, whereas controls showed a latency change compatible with possible retest effects. fNIRS analyses revealed a significant time × group interaction for deoxygenated hemoglobin in right and bilateral prefrontal regions.

Discussion: These preliminary findings suggest that emotional interference may be more sensitive than non-emotional cognitive performance to short-term abstinence-related differences across cannabis-use patterns.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. The code used for data processing and analysis is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Version 2, 28 September 2026

• Funding: added Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; Instituto de Salud Carlos III

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 7 authors, 6 keywords, 38 references.

Cite

This paper

Castaño, S. C., Díaz-Pons, A., Yorca-Ruiz, Á., de la Foz, V. O.-G., Ayala, J. L. M., Vistorte, A. O. R., & Ayesa-Arriola, R. (2026). Emotional interference and right prefrontal hemodynamic responses in adult cannabis users: a pilot fNIRS study. Frontiers in psychology, 17, 1873912. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1873912

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