吸食大麻使我們更容易回憶起錯誤的記憶

吸食大麻使我們更容易回憶起錯誤的記憶

Smoking marijuana makes a person more likely to recall false memories and information, resulting in a higher likelihood of false confessions and inaccurate witness statements when pursuing criminal cases, according to new research.

一項新的研究表明，吸食大麻會使人更容易回憶起錯誤的記憶和信息，從而在刑事案件中更容易出現虛假供詞和不準確的證人陳述。

In a study of 64 healthy occasional cannabis users, an international team of researchers determined that smoking THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis, can lead to people recalling fake or implanted memories.

在一項對64名偶爾吸食大麻的健康人士的研究中，一個國際研究小組確定，吸食大麻中的四氫大麻酚(THC)這種精神活性化學物質會讓人回憶起虛假或植入的記憶。

Madison Dapcevich

“Testimonies by eyewitnesses or suspects are oftentimes the only piece of evidence that triers of fact can use for legal decision making, and, thus, gathering reliable testimony is crucial. However, memory performance is imperfect, resulting sometimes in false memories,” write the authors, adding that such false memories can have disastrous consequences in legal cases, such as wrongful convictions or false accusations.

“目擊者或嫌疑犯的證詞往往是審判人員能夠用于法律決策的唯一證據，因此，收集可靠的證詞至關重要。然而，記憶的表現是不完美的，有時會導致錯誤的記憶，”作者寫道，并補充說，這種錯誤的記憶在法律案件中會產生災難性的后果，比如錯誤的判決或錯誤的指控。

To test the impact of cannabis use on recalling memories, study participants were given a dose of the drug and were then asked to participate in three separate memory tests involving reading, reciting words, and recalling events from virtual reality-based scenarios. Researchers phrased their questions in a way to influence the volunteers’ memories, sometimes even introducing fake information. Each test was performed immediately after a participant smoked and again one week later.

為了測試大麻使用對回憶的影響，研究人員給參與者一劑大麻，然后要求他們參加三個獨立的記憶測試，包括閱讀、背誦單詞和回憶虛擬現實場景中的事件。研究人員通過提問來影響志愿者的記憶，有時甚至會引入虛假信息。每項測試都是在參與者吸煙后立即進行，一周后再次進行。

Writing in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, study authors found evidence that suggests using cannabis consistently increases a person’s susceptibility to form false memories based on false information. In particular, two types of memories were noted: “spontaneous” memories that arise from cognitive processes and “suggestion-based” memories that occur from external suggestions.

研究報告發(fā)表在《美國國家科學院院刊》上。報告作者發(fā)現，有證據表明，吸食大麻會增加一個人形成基于錯誤信息的錯誤記憶的可能性。特別地，有兩種類型的記憶被注意到:“自發(fā)的”記憶來自認知過程，“基于建議的”記憶來自外部建議。

“Cannabis seems to increase false-memory proneness,” write the authors. “Our findings have implications for how and when the police should interview suspects and eyewitnesses.”

“大麻似乎增加了錯誤記憶的傾向，”作者寫道。“我們的發(fā)現對警方如何以及何時對嫌疑人和目擊者進行問詢具有重要意義。”

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the world. Though previous studies have associated its use with memory impairments and distortion, little evidence has connected cannabis with procuring false confessions and witness statements in criminal investigations. Drug testing is often a common protocol with suspects, but not with witnesses or victims.

大麻是世界上使用最廣泛的非法毒品。盡管之前的研究將大麻的使用與記憶障礙和扭曲聯系在一起，但幾乎沒有證據表明大麻與犯罪調查中的虛假供詞和證人陳述有關。毒品檢測通常是對嫌疑人的常規(guī)檢測，但對目擊者或受害者則不是。

“The results have implications for police, legal professionals, and policymakers with regard to the treatment of cannabis-intoxicated witnesses and suspects and the validity of their statements,” note the researchers. “With the growing global acceptance of cannabis and its widespread use by eyewitnesses and suspects in legal cases, understanding the popular drug’s ramifications for memory is a pressing need.”

研究人員指出:“這一結果對警察、法律專業(yè)人士和政策制定者在如何對待大麻中毒的證人和嫌疑人以及他們陳述的有效性方面具有啟示意義。”“隨著大麻在全球范圍內的日益普及，以及目擊者和嫌疑犯在法律案件中對其的廣泛使用，了解這種流行毒品對記憶的影響是一種迫切的需要。”

It is possible that misinformation can lead to false confessions in criminal interrogations when the accused is under the use of cannabis. The researchers add that their findings stress the need to further study cannabis use in facilitating false-memory production.

當被告使用大麻時，錯誤的信息可能會導致刑事審訊中的虛假供詞。研究人員補充說，他們的發(fā)現強調了進一步研究大麻使用促進假記憶產生的必要性。