THC may affect older brains in a surprising way

A toke a day might just keep the doctor away, or at least keep your brain younger. That's according to a new study out Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

Researchers at the University of Bonn and Hebrew University gave young and old mice THC — the stuff in marijuana that gets you high — and found something interesting.

The younger mice conformed to stoner stereotypes; they struggled with simple tasks they could easily do sober.

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But in older mice, the exact opposite was true. They struggled while sober, but under the influence, they were as good as their younger sober counterparts.

The daily low dosage of THC also seemed to protect against, and even reverse, signs of aging in the brains of older rats.

Previous research has shown that the brain's cannabis receptors might be related to brain health.

The researchers want to explore the impact of THC on older human brains later this year.