About

Jane Metrik, Ph.D., is a Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, based at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. She holds a joint appointment at the Providence VA Medical Center as a research scientist and licensed clinical psychologist. Trained in the Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at the University of California, San Diego/San Diego State University, she completed Brown’s clinical psychology internship and postdoctoral fellowship at CAAS before joining the faculty in 2007. Dr. Metrik directs NIH-funded research focused on cannabis behavioral pharmacology, ecological momentary assessment studies, and clinical trials examining mechanisms that influence the etiology and maintenance of cannabis use disorder and its comorbidity with alcohol use and psychiatric disorders. She also leads a Department of Veterans Affairs-funded program researching treatment approaches for comorbid substance use and mood disorders, as well as cannabinoid-based pain treatment in Veterans. Her extensive work includes serving as Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, and Mentor on numerous federally-funded grants centered on addictive behaviors, particularly cannabis use disorder. As a core faculty member at Brown, she trains postdoctoral fellows and psychology residents, contributing significantly to the academic and clinical training of future researchers and clinicians in her field.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Clinical psychology
• Biology
• Psychiatry
• Environmental health
• Psychology

Selected publications

• Perinatal Cannabis Use, Depression, and the Mother-Child Dyad: Protocol for a Prospective Multimethod Study (Preprint)

  2025-01-23

  preprintOpen access

  <sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Postpartum depression (PPD) rates in the United States are among the highest globally, and PPD can pose significant, long-term risks to families. Concurrently, perinatal cannabis use is increasing in prevalence and may exacerbate PPD. Although evidence links cannabis use with PPD, little is known about its impact on immediate depressive symptoms or depression trajectories across the perinatal period. Moreover, the potential impact of cannabis use on mother-child attachment, bonding, and emotional availability could intensify the effects of cannabis on PPD. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> This protocol study is a longitudinal investigation aimed at detecting initial signals of the daily and long-term associations between cannabis use, PPD symptoms, and the mother-infant relationship. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> Participants (N=20) were individuals carrying a singleton pregnancy who reported using cannabis at least twice weekly. Recruitment was through community outreach and online advertisements. Study participation began with a baseline laboratory assessment during pregnancy, which included surveys on mental health and substance use. Follow-ups were conducted virtually at 6 weeks post partum and in the laboratory at 6 months post partum and included additional surveys on infant development, aspects of the mother-infant relationship (eg, attachment), as well as behavioral interaction tasks. Each assessment was paired with a 2-week ecological momentary assessment burst, resulting in three bursts. To support retention, brief check-in visits were completed during the second and third trimesters (depending on gestational age at enrollment), and a postdelivery phone call was conducted within 2 weeks of delivery. A 2-level linear mixed-effect models will be used to examine both event-level and person-level associations of cannabis use with momentary negative affect, PPD symptoms, and attachment, bonding, and emotional availability. Interaction models will test whether these characteristics of the mother-child relationship intensify the association between cannabis use and PPD symptoms. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> This project received institutional review board approval on December 19, 2022, and was awarded funding on February 1, 2023. The recruitment goal of 20 participants was reached on September 4, 2024. Recruitment challenges were encountered early in the study, leading to successful adaptations in recruitment and data collection protocols. Follow-up data collection is ongoing, with completion expected by October 2025 and results anticipated by April 2026. Retention rates approach 100% at follow-up, and ecological momentary assessment compliance rates exceed those observed in nonpregnant samples (ie, &amp;gt;80%). </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> This protocol study demonstrates our ability to collect momentary and longitudinal data to examine the daily and cumulative impact of cannabis use on PPD and the mother-infant relationship. These data are well-positioned to provide preliminary evidence on how cannabis use may shape depressive symptoms during a particularly high-risk period for maternal mental health. The findings will inform a larger-scale study and advance understanding of the potential effects of cannabis use on perinatal mental health. </sec> <sec> <title>CLINICALTRIAL</title> <p/> </sec> <sec> <title>INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT</title> DERR1-10.2196/71302 </sec>

  PublisherDOI

• Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use is associated with daily consequences reflective of alcohol use disorder symptoms

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2025-10-14

  articleOpen access

  Alcohol use is common in the U.S., with 10.9% of adults meeting criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) in 2023. Co-use of alcohol and cannabis is also widespread and is associated with increased alcohol-related problems. Few studies have examined how different co-use patterns, such as simultaneous (same day use with overlapping effects) versus concurrent (same day use without overlapping effects) use affect alcohol-related consequences, particularly those reflecting AUD symptoms. This study compares the associations between daily simultaneous, concurrent, and alcohol-only use patterns with the likelihood of endorsing alcohol consequences categorized as AUD symptoms. Participants ( N =116, 56% female at birth, M age =23.2) completed a 28-day ecological momentary assessment study, reporting daily alcohol and cannabis use and alcohol-related negative consequences. Analyses were preregistered. Consequences were categorized into four AUD categories based on DSM-5 criteria: impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological effects. Multilevel binomial logistic regressions assessed the relationship between daily substance use patterns and each AUD consequence subtype. Compared to simultaneous use, concurrent use (i.e. using in the same day but without overlapping effects) was associated with a lower likelihood of endorsing (all p<0.05): impaired control (OR=0.45), social impairment (OR=0.47), risky use (OR=0.41), and pharmacological effects (OR=0.36). No significant differences were found between simultaneous and alcohol-only days. Results underscore the relevance of the timing and pattern of alcohol and cannabis co-use in understanding alcohol-related problems. Further research is needed to explore the clinical implications of concurrent versus simultaneous use for AUD prevention and treatment. • Co-use of alcohol and cannabis is common and linked to alcohol-related problems. • Daily consequences may differ based on co-use type (simultaneous vs. concurrent). • Study compares daily simultaneous, concurrent, alcohol-only and consequences. • Ultimately, simultaneous use linked to more AUD-related consequences. • No differences between simultaneous use and alcohol-only use.

  PublisherDOI

• Acute Effects of Cannabis on Alcohol Craving and Consumption: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial

  American Journal of Psychiatry · 2025-11-19 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVE: Cannabis use is strongly linked with heavy drinking and worse alcohol treatment outcomes; however, it may also contribute to decreased alcohol consumption. To date, no human studies have established a causal effect of cannabis on alcohol motivation. The aim of this double-blind crossover randomized clinical trial was to examine dose-dependent acute effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on alcohol craving and consumption. METHODS: Across three experimental days, 157 participants reporting heavy alcohol use and cannabis use two or more times weekly were randomized to smoke cannabis cigarettes containing 7.2% THC, 3.1% THC, or 0.03% THC (placebo), followed by exposures to neutral and personalized alcohol cues and an alcohol choice task for alcohol self-administration. A total of 138 participants completed two or more experimental sessions (mean age, 25.6 years [SD=5.1]; 35% women; 45% racial/ethnic minorities). Primary outcomes included craving, Alcohol Craving Questionnaire-Short Form, Revised (ACQ-SF-R), and an alcohol urge question; the secondary outcome was percent of total available milliliters of alcohol consumed. RESULTS: There were no significant effects of cannabis on ACQ-SF-R ratings after smoking and during alcohol cue exposure, but 7.2% THC reduced alcohol urge immediately after smoking. Participants consumed significantly less alcohol after smoking cannabis with 3.1% THC and 7.2% THC, reducing consumption by 19% and 27%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Following overnight cannabis abstinence, smoking cannabis acutely decreased alcohol consumption compared to placebo. Further controlled research on a variety of cannabinoids is needed to inform clinical alcohol treatment guidelines.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Working memory capacity predicts cannabis-induced effects on alcohol urge

  Addictive Behaviors · 2025-11-20

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The role of subcortical brain tissue iron as an indicator of dopamine neurophysiology in adolescent cannabis use

  2025-10-28

  preprintOpen access

  Approximately 10-20% of U.S. adolescents report past-year cannabis use (CU). Although regular CU beginning in adolescence is expected to blunt dopamine-related neurophysiology, this hypothesis has not been tested in adolescents due to methodological limitations. However, neurophysiology contributing to dopamine can be noninvasively indexed via subcortical tissue iron measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We examined adolescent CU quantity, frequency, and problems in relation to tissue iron in regions with high dopamine activity, hypothesizing that greater CU would be linked to less tissue iron. Adolescents (n=81; 64.2% female) aged 14-17 reporting either fewer than 5 lifetime cannabis episodes (n=47) or more than 11 episodes (n=34), with limited alcohol and nicotine use and no other illicit substance use, completed substance use assessments and an MRI. We calculated the inverse of the normalized T2* measurement (1/nT2*; lower values indicate less tissue iron) from resting-state functional scans by assessing relative T2* decay. 1/nT2* was estimated using subcortical masks for hypothesized regions. Lower 1/nT2* signal was associated with increased daily concentrate hits (b = -0.01, p &amp;lt; 0.001), cannabis hours high (b = -0.01, p = 0.016), CU frequency (b = -0.01, p = 0.01), and cannabis use disorder (CUD) severity (b = -0.01, p = 0.003). Post-hoc analyses highlighted the VTA as a key region. Results align with reduced dopamine-related neurophysiology associated with CU in adult and animal samples, and have implications for understanding adolescent CUD development. Measuring 1/nT2* offers an innovative, non-invasive method to index neurobiological alterations in adolescent CU.

  PublisherDOI

• Discriminating Between Marijuana and Alcohol Gait Impairments Using Tile CNN With TICA Pooling

  IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access

  <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Goal:</i> To investigate whether machine learning analyses of smartphone sensor data can discriminate whether a subject consumed alcohol or marijuana from their gait. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methods:</i> Using first-of-a-kind impaired gait datasets, we propose <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">MariaGait</i>, a novel deep learning approach to distinguish between marijuana and alcohol impairment. Subjects' time-series smartphone accelerometer and gyroscope sensor gait data are first encoded into Gramian Angular Field (GAF) images that are then classified using a tiled Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with TICA pooling. To mitigate the insufficiency of positively labeled alcohol and marijuana instances, the tiled CNN was pre-trained on sober gait samples that were more abundant. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</i> <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">MariaGait</i> achieved an accuracy of 94.61%, F1 score of 88.61%, and 94.33% ROC AUC score in classifying whether the subject consumed alcohol or marijuana, outperforming baseline models including Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Long Short Term Memory (LSTM), Multi-head CNN and Multi-head LSTM, Random Forest and Support Vector Machines (SVM)). <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusions:</i> Our results demonstrate that <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">MariaGait</i> could be a practical, non-invasive approach to determine which substance a subject is impaired by from their gait.

  PublisherDOI

• Perinatal Cannabis Use, Depression, and the Mother-Child Dyad: Protocol for a Prospective Multimethod Study

  JMIR Research Protocols · 2025-10-28 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression (PPD) rates in the United States are among the highest globally, and PPD can pose significant, long-term risks to families. Concurrently, perinatal cannabis use is increasing in prevalence and may exacerbate PPD. Although evidence links cannabis use with PPD, little is known about its impact on immediate depressive symptoms or depression trajectories across the perinatal period. Moreover, the potential impact of cannabis use on mother-child attachment, bonding, and emotional availability could intensify the effects of cannabis on PPD. OBJECTIVE: This protocol study is a longitudinal investigation aimed at detecting initial signals of the daily and long-term associations between cannabis use, PPD symptoms, and the mother-infant relationship. METHODS: Participants (N=20) were individuals carrying a singleton pregnancy who reported using cannabis at least twice weekly. Recruitment was through community outreach and online advertisements. Study participation began with a baseline laboratory assessment during pregnancy, which included surveys on mental health and substance use. Follow-ups were conducted virtually at 6 weeks post partum and in the laboratory at 6 months post partum and included additional surveys on infant development, aspects of the mother-infant relationship (eg, attachment), as well as behavioral interaction tasks. Each assessment was paired with a 2-week ecological momentary assessment burst, resulting in three bursts. To support retention, brief check-in visits were completed during the second and third trimesters (depending on gestational age at enrollment), and a postdelivery phone call was conducted within 2 weeks of delivery. A 2-level linear mixed-effect models will be used to examine both event-level and person-level associations of cannabis use with momentary negative affect, PPD symptoms, and attachment, bonding, and emotional availability. Interaction models will test whether these characteristics of the mother-child relationship intensify the association between cannabis use and PPD symptoms. RESULTS: This project received institutional review board approval on December 19, 2022, and was awarded funding on February 1, 2023. The recruitment goal of 20 participants was reached on September 4, 2024. Recruitment challenges were encountered early in the study, leading to successful adaptations in recruitment and data collection protocols. Follow-up data collection is ongoing, with completion expected by October 2025 and results anticipated by April 2026. Retention rates approach 100% at follow-up, and ecological momentary assessment compliance rates exceed those observed in nonpregnant samples (ie, >80%). CONCLUSIONS: This protocol study demonstrates our ability to collect momentary and longitudinal data to examine the daily and cumulative impact of cannabis use on PPD and the mother-infant relationship. These data are well-positioned to provide preliminary evidence on how cannabis use may shape depressive symptoms during a particularly high-risk period for maternal mental health. The findings will inform a larger-scale study and advance understanding of the potential effects of cannabis use on perinatal mental health. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/71302.

  PublisherDOI

• Intentions matter: How planned and unplanned alcohol and cannabis use influences outcomes.

  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors · 2025-08-11 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: An important antecedent of substance use among young adults is intentions for use (e.g., planned vs. unplanned use). In contrast to previous theories, emerging evidence suggests planned use, rather than unplanned use, is primarily related to consumption and sometimes consequences. As this has been most recently investigated with alcohol-only use, there remains a limited understanding of planned versus unplanned cannabis use, as well as how cannabis consumption influences planned versus unplanned alcohol events. METHOD: = 110) that frequently use alcohol and cannabis, we examined how planned versus unplanned alcohol and cannabis use influence consumption levels and consequences while controlling for the impact of each substance on the other. RESULTS: Alcohol models revealed that planned alcohol use was linked to greater alcohol consumption at the day level and higher likelihood of experiencing positive alcohol consequences at the person level. The use of cannabis on a drinking day was also positively associated with experiencing a positive alcohol consequence. There were no day-level associations between planned alcohol use and negative alcohol consequences. Cannabis models revealed planned use was associated with higher likelihood of experiencing a negative cannabis consequence at the day level but was not associated with cannabis consumption or positive consequences. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlighted differences in planned alcohol and cannabis use in predicting consumption and related consequences in young adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Depressive Symptoms Before and During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Veteran Nursing Home Residents

  International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · 2025-06-01 · 1 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVES: Infection control measures in the Department of Veterans Affairs Community Living Centers (CLCs), analogous to nursing homes, during the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted residents' mental health. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in depressive symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in CLC residents. METHODS: This cross-sectional national cohort study evaluated depressive symptoms in Veteran CLC residents from geographically diverse CLCs across four 9-month periods of the COVID-19 pandemic: pre (before COVID-19), early (before vaccine), mid (before booster), and late (after booster). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a standardized depression assessment, which is a required measure in the Minimum Data Set (MDS). We computed change in PHQ-9 scores from the initial to the last PHQ-9 assessment for each pandemic period. We also performed a focused analysis of residents with a past year depression diagnosis. RESULTS: The overall sample comprised 47,755 Veteran CLC residents, 43% percent (n = 20,554) of whom had a depression diagnosis. The overall cohort mean PHQ-9 scores were similar across pandemic periods (pre = 2.64, early = 2.48, mid = 2.61, late = 2.45). There was intra-resident decline in PHQ-9 during each period which was statistically, but not clinically significant (pre = -0.54, early = -0.47, mid = -0.55, late = -0.49). Residents with a depression diagnosis followed a similar pattern for scores and decline in the periods compared with the full sample. PHQ-9 average scores indicated minimal depression even among those with a depression diagnosis, limiting ability to detect changes over time. CONCLUSIONS: For CLC residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, PHQ-9 scores were not meaningfully different between time periods. Characteristics of the study (e.g., sample/setting) or of older adults generally (e.g., resilience) may explain the low rates of depression.

  PublisherDOI

• Using prospective mixed methods to investigate the effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic on cannabis demand

  Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior · 2025-02-25

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Following the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital to understand how major global stressors influence substance use, including cannabis-related outcomes. The Marijuana Purchase Task assesses hypothetical cannabis demand (i.e., relative reinforcing value) and can detect contextual alterations. This study paired prospective cannabis demand assessment with qualitative inquiry to explore how COVID-19 impacted cannabis use behavior. Individuals previously enrolled in a laboratory cannabis administration study opted in to a remote follow-up survey (n = 41, 46% female). Participants were categorized as those who did or did not increase use based on self-reported changes in cannabis flower use and provided contextual explanations regarding pandemic-related influences on cannabis outcomes. General linear models with repeated measures examined mean differences in demand by occasion (i.e., before/during COVID-19), group (i.e., those who did/did not increase use), and their interaction. Those who increased use exhibited significantly higher demand during the pandemic; those who did not increase use exhibited similar demand across time revealing a Group × Time interaction. Thematic analysis contextualized quantitative findings, explaining external influences that affect use and demand (e.g., changes in cost, access, environment). COVID-19 differentially impacted cannabis use and demand, with prepandemic use affecting trajectories. Contextual influences (i.e., availability, free time, income) facilitate the escalation of use under conditions of extreme global stress.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Marijuana's Impact on Alcohol Motivation and Consumption

  NIH · $2.0M · 2016–2022

• NIH Grant R01DA033425

  NIH · $1.1M · 2017

• NIH Grant R03DA027484

  NIH · $483k · 2013

• NIH Grant R01DA021403

  NIH · $941k · 2012

Frequent coauthors

• Elizabeth R. Aston

  Providence College

  128 shared

• Brian Borsari

  98 shared

• Kristina M. Jackson

  Pacific Institute For Research and Evaluation

  96 shared

• James MacKillop

  St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

  92 shared

• Christopher W. Kahler

  Brown University

  91 shared

• Samantha G. Farris

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  76 shared

• John E. McGeary

  Providence College

  72 shared

• Damaris J. Rohsenow

  Brown University

  71 shared

Labs

• Metrik, JanePI

Education

• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

  University of California, San Diego/San Diego State University

• Other, Clinical Psychology

  Brown University

• Other, Clinical Psychology

  Brown University