Hugh Garavan will give a virtual talk on “Differential Associations of Adolescent vs. Young Adult Cannabis Initiation with Longitudinal Brain Change and Behavior” at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 12. The event is free and open to the public.

Register for the Zoom link here.

Leveraging approximately 10 years of prospective longitudinal data on 704 participants, Garavan’s team examined the effects of adolescent versus young adult cannabis initiation on MRI-assessed cortical thickness development and behavior. In the seminar, he will dive into their results which suggest the developmental timing of cannabis exposure may have a marked effect on neuroanatomical correlates of cannabis use as well as on associated behavioral sequelae.

Garavan received his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and behavioral neuroscience from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Cornell University and the Medical College of Wisconsin. His research uses structural and functional neuroimaging to study cognitive control and reward processes with a particular interest in addiction and related mental health issues.

This talk is sponsored by the Rural Drug Addiction Research Center, and it is an installment within their Seminar Series.