Although the stereotype of the forgetful stoner persists, a new scientific study suggests that marijuana might actually help retain memories.
In a study published Monday in Nature Medicine, researchers from the University of Bonn, Germany found that marijuana’s psychoactive compound THC significantly benefits mature mice by improving cognitive functions such as memory, reports Newsweek.
Scientists studied the effects of THC by administering small doses to mice at three different life stages, with the latter two groups representing mature and old age. The mice were then given a series of tasks to exercise their memory functions, such as walking through a maze or locating a specific object.
Older mice showed improvement at running the maze, while younger mice tested much worse. Older mice treated with THC also performed as well as younger mice without THC when trying to locate objects. Older, stoned mice also performed better during a partner recognition test.
“Together, these results reveal a profound, long-lasting improvement of cognitive performance resulting from a low dose of THC treatment…