Can cocaine and marijuana distort time perception?

In BBC’s video from June 2009, researchers tried to better understand this phenomenon by testing it on rats. They carried out an experiment with three participating creatures; one was given marijuana, another was administered cocaine, and the third just received saline as a comparison.

These rats had been previously trained to tell time precisely by being rewarded with a treat after 12 seconds. The rat on saline pressed on a lever after the exact amount of time and reaped the rewards.

Meanwhile, the rat on cocaine pressed the lever after only eight seconds, and the one who received marijuana didn’t respond until after 16 seconds.

Read: This Is Your Brain On Drugs: The Truth About Where LSD Trips Take Your Mind And Body

Previous studies have also looked at how cannabis impacts the mind using rodents as subjects. A study published in August exposed 29 male rats to the active ingredients in marijuana, Medical Daily previously reported.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found that when we gave THC to these rats, they basically became cognitively lazy,” said lead author Mason Silveira in a statement. “What’s interesting, however, is that their ability to do the difficult challenge was unaffected by THC. The rats could still do the task — they just didn’t want to.”

Want to see how the rats react to this experiment? Watch the video above.

Read more:

Marijuana Risks Update: THC Doesn't Make Rats Stupid — Just Lazy

Cocaine Addiction Causes 2016: This Brain Molecule May Drive Compulsive Drug Use