Human Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2020
Laura Orsolini, Stefania Chiappini, Duccio Papanti et al.
27 citations
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic plant preparation, traditionally consumed in sacred ceremonies by indigenous North-Westerner Amazonian countries like Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador. It is fundamental to carefully balance benefits/risks related to the ayahuasca intake, both during ceremonies and experimental settings. The aim is at evaluating and comparing the potential therapeutic benefits...
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
January 31, 2020
Domenico de Berardis, Carmine Tomasetti, Maurizio Pompili et al.
38 citations
BACKGROUND: A research on mood disorder pathophysiology has hypothesized abnormalities in glutamatergic neurotransmission, by suggesting further investigation on glutamatergic N-methyl-Daspartate (NMDA) receptor modulators in treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Esketamine (ESK), an NMDA receptor antagonist able to modulate glutamatergic neurotransmission has been recently developed as an...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
November 20, 2019
Laura Orsolini, Stefania Chiappini, Duccio Papanti et al.
41 citations
The critical spread and dissemination of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), particularly among the most vulnerable youngsters, may pose a further concern about the psychotic trajectories related to the intake of new synthetic drugs. The psychopathological pattern of the "new psychoses" appears to be extremely different from the classical presentation. Therefore, clinicians need more data on...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
September 23, 2018
Domenico de Berardis, Michele Fornaro, Alessandro Valchera et al.
171 citations
Despite the continuous advancement in neurosciences as well as in the knowledge of human behaviors pathophysiology, currently suicide represents a puzzling challenge. The World Health Organization (WHO) has established that one million people die by suicide every year, with the impressive daily rate of a suicide every 40 s. The weightiest concern about suicidal behavior is how difficult it is...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
May 22, 2018
Laura Orsolini, Michela Ciccarese, Duccio Papanti et al.
25 citations
Currently different classes of psychoactive substances are easily available for abuse, including several hundred novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Some of these drugs occur naturally in plants and animals or are chemically modified from plant or animal compounds and have been abused by humans over millennia. Recently, the occurrence of a new "drug culture" (e.g., psychonauts) who consume a...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
November 20, 2017
Laura Orsolini, Gabriele Duccio Papanti, Domenico de Berardis et al.
99 citations
Hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is a syndrome characterized by prolonged or reoccurring perceptual symptoms, reminiscent of acute hallucinogen effects. HPPD was associated with a broader range of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)-like substances, cannabis, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin, mescaline, and psychostimulants. The recent emergence of novel...
Current Neuropharmacology
December 2, 2016
Laura Orsolini, Paul St John‐smith, Daniel Mcqueen et al.
28 citations
Indeed, a range of evolutionary mechanisms, such as: optimal foraging, costly signaling, and reproduction at the expense of health may all cooperate to explain the recent spread and diffusion of the NPS market, and this may represent a reason of concern.
Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology
March 17, 2016
Fabrizio Schifano, Gabriele Duccio Papanti, Laura Orsolini et al.
66 citations
There are increasing levels of concern relating to the rapidly evolving novel psychoactive substances/NPS and web markets' scenarios. The paper aims at providing an overview of the clinical pharmacological issues related to some of the most popular NPS categories, e.g. stimulants and hallucinogens. NPS intake is typically associated with the imbalance of a complex range of neurotransmitter...
European Psychiatry
March 1, 2016
Laura Orsolini, Alessandro Valchera, Duccio Papanti et al.
3 citations
Introduction Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) is a syndrome characterized by prolonged or reoccurring perceptual symptoms, reminiscent of acute hallucinogen effects. HPPD was associated with a broader range of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)-like substances, including cannabis, MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), psilocybin, mescaline and other psychostimulants....
World Psychiatry
February 1, 2016
Fabrizio Schifano, Laura Orsolini, Gabriele Duccio Papanti et al.
319 citations
Novel psychoactive substances include synthetic cannabinoids, cathinone derivatives, psychedelic phenethylamines, novel stimulants, synthetic opioids, tryptamine derivatives, phencyclidine-like dissociatives, piperazines, GABA-A/B receptor agonists, a range of prescribedmedications, psychoactive plants/herbs, and a large series of performance and image enhancing drugs. Users are typically...
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental
July 1, 2015
Giulia Francesconi, Laura Orsolini, Duccio Papanti et al.
22 citations
INTRODUCTION: Venlafaxine is one of the most frequently prescribed antidepressants worldwide, despite its toxicity risk in overdose. Furthermore, the molecule has been recently identified at the EU-wide level as one of the novel psychoactive substances. This paper aims at investigating the potential of misuse, taking into account both the existing literature and the analysis of the misusers'...
Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking
May 1, 2015
Laura Orsolini, Gabriele Duccio Papanti, Giulia Francesconi et al.
90 citations
Within online drug fora communities, there are some "educated and informed" users who can somehow provide reliable information on psychoactive compounds and combinations. These users, also called "e-psychonauts," may possess levels of technical knowledge relating to a range of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). The present project aimed at identifying and describing the e-psychonauts'...
Advances in Dual Diagnosis
August 12, 2014
Duccio Papanti, Laura Orsolini, Giulia Francesconi et al.
24 citations
Purpose – “Spice” products are synthetic cannabimimetics (SC; also called “synthetic cannabinoids”)-based designer drugs used as a legal alternative to cannabis for their very strong tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-like effects. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of more recent clinical and pharmacology/toxicology findings relating to SC and describe how they could impact on health,...