Association of CNR1 genotypes with changes in neurocognitive performance after eighteen-month treatment in patients with first-episode psychosis

Abstract Introduction We analyzed the association of cannabinoid receptor CNR1 genotypes with changes in neurocognitive performance in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) after 18 months of treatment. Our secondary aim was to analyze the association of CNR1 genotypes with changes of perceived levels of stress. Methods We enrolled a sample of 159 patients with FEP from two Croatian psychiatric hospitals between 2014 and 2017. Patients were assessed at baseline and after 18 months. We analyzed the associations of changes in neurocognitive test results and the perceived levels of stress with CNR1 polymorphic loci (rs7766029 and rs12720071) in 121 patients. Results In the analysis adjusted only for baseline neurocognitive test scores, carriers of rs7766029 CC genotype had significantly (with false discovery rate, FDR  Conclusions The rs7766029 CNR1 variants may moderate changes in neurocognitive performance as well as in perceived levels of stress of patients with FEP over time.