Nature Mental Health
May 1, 2026
Daniel Bello, Sophia H. Blyth, Rachel A Rabin et al.
Cannabis and tobacco use are highly prevalent among people with psychosis and are associated with medical comorbidities and poor prognosis. Concurrent use of cannabis and tobacco (‘co-use’) is rising in the general population, but has not been studied in psychosis. Given the devastating consequences of cannabis and tobacco use, it is critical to understand how their co-use affects psychiatric...
Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
April 1, 2026
Daniel Bello, J. Connolly, Jean Addington et al.
BACKGROUND Cannabis use is highly prevalent among people with psychotic disorders. While there is some indication that cannabis use exacerbates psychosis symptoms, its neurocognitive effects remain unclear. Co-use of cannabis and tobacco is increasing in the general population, but little is known about its effects in people with psychosis or those at risk for developing a psychotic disorder,...
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
2026
Hemant Bhargav, Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta, Ashish Kumar et al.
This paper explores pranayama, the ancient yogic practice of breath control, as a promising natural method of neuromodulation. Pranayama aims to regulate the flow of prana (life force) to enhance mental clarity, emotional balance, and physiological resilience. We synthesize evidence from clinical, neuroimaging, and psychophysiological studies, illustrating how various pranayama techniques -...
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
June 1, 2025
Matcheri S Keshavan, Hemant Bhargav
4 citations
Eastern spiritual traditions offer insights into the mind-body approaches to enhance health and well-being. These insights focus on self-awareness (the path of knowledge), intrinsically motivated and selfless action (karma yoga) and on faith and compassion (Bhakti yoga). Yogic meditative practices (Dhyana yoga), developed by ancient Hindu and other eastern traditions, are effective tools to...
Schizophrenia Research
July 30, 2024
L. Kennedy, B. Ku, Jean Addington et al.
Background: Neurocognitive deficits have been widely reported in clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR) populations. Additionally, rates of cannabis use are high among CHR youth and are associated with greater symptom severity. Cannabis use has been sometimes shown to be associated with better neurocognition in more progressed psychosis cohorts, therefore in this study we aimed to determine...
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
February 1, 2024
Matcheri S Keshavan, Hemant Bhargav
12 citations
Humans have asked themselves the question "who am I" from ancient times. Vedic, upanishadic and buddhist philosophers have pointed out over millennia the illusive nature of the individual self, and posit either a no-self, or a universal Self. Vedantic scholars also posit the illusory nature of the universe (Maya) and suggest that the only reality is the knower (Brahman), a view resonating with...
Schizophrenia Research
August 25, 2022
Olga Santesteban-Echarri, Lu Liu, Madeline Miller et al.
Cannabis use is more prevalent among youth at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis than healthy controls (HC). There is mixed evidence as to whether cannabis use is associated with increased severity of attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) or whether current cannabis use is associated with the transition to psychosis. This study aims to assess cannabis use differences between CHR youth and HC...
Journal of the Neurological Sciences
August 15, 2022
Ryan L Henner, Matcheri S Keshavan, Kevin P Hill
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental illness with limited treatment options and a high treatment dropout rate. Psychedelics, often in combination with psychotherapy, are now under investigation as a potential treatment option for a variety of psychiatric conditions including PTSD. This paper reviews the proposed mechanism of action for 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine...
The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry
March 22, 2022
Deepak C. D’Souza, Marta DiForti, Suhas Ganesh et al.
Abstract Objectives The liberalisation of cannabis laws, the increasing availability and potency of cannabis has renewed concern about the risk of psychosis with cannabis. Methods The objective of the WFSBP task force was to review the literature about this relationship. Results Converging lines of evidence suggest that exposure to cannabis increases the risk for psychoses ranging from...
Journal of Psychiatric Research
2022
E. Kline, M. Ferrara, Fang-Yong Li et al.
Cannabis has been implicated as both a potential cause and adverse prognostic factor in psychotic disorders. Investigating the contributory role of cannabis toward the overall burden of psychotic illnesses may represent an important step toward psychosis prevention and treatment. The current study samples consecutive admissions (N = 246) to two community based first-episode psychosis services...
Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging
March 28, 2018
H. Abush, S. Ghose, Erin van Enkevort et al.
Associations between cannabis use and psychotic disorders suggest that cannabis may be a contributory risk factor in the neurobiology of psychosis. In this study, we examined brain structure characteristics, total and regional gray matter density (GMD), using Voxel Based Morphometry, in psychotic individuals, stratified by history of cannabis use (total n=109). We also contrasted GMD estimates...
International Review of Psychiatry
June 1, 2016
Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta, Matcheri S Keshavan, Bangalore N Gangadhar
Schizophrenia patients experience a 'disconnect' at multiple levels-neuronal networks, mental processes, and interpersonal relationships. The resultant poor quality-of-life and functional disability are related to the persistent cognitive deficits and negative symptoms, which are rather resistant to conventional antipsychotic medications. Yoga has emerged as an important therapeutic...
Schizophrenia Research
February 2008
Srihari S Bangalore, Konasale M R Prasad, Debra M Montrose et al.
Structural alterations of the brain in schizophrenia have been associated with genetic and environmental factors. Among the environmental factors, cannabis use has been associated with increased risk for patients with schizophrenia, but the effect of cannabis on their brain structure is unclear. We examined gray matter alterations in first episode schizophrenia patients (FES) with cannabis use...
Elisabetta C. del Re, Walid Yassin, Victor Zeng et al.
preprint
Abstract Background Cannabis use (CA) and childhood trauma (CT) independently increase the risk of earlier psychosis onset; but their interaction in relation to psychosis risk and association with endocannabinoid-receptor rich brain regions, i.e. the hippocampus (HP), remains unclear. The objective was to determine whether lower age of psychosis onset (AgePsyOnset) is associated with CA and CT...
Yunong Bai, Simon N. Vandekar, Brandee Feola et al.
Abstract Objective Tobacco and cannabis are the most used substances among individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P), but it remains controversial whether substance use drives symptom exacerbation and psychosis transition, or vice versa. We investigated longitudinal dose-response relationships of tobacco and cannabis use with clinical presentation in a CHR-P population. Methods...