Introduction Numerous studies have shown a link between hypnotic susceptibility, the hypnotically altered state of consciousness, and the intensity of experienced emotions (De Pascalis et al., 1987; De Pascalis, Marucci, & Penna, 1989; Bryant & McConkey, 1989; Crowson, Conroy, & Chester, 1991; Crawford, Kapelis, & Harrison, 1995). One of the most suitable experimental psychological methods for...
Abstract Adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often struggle with emotion regulation (ER), impacting their empathic skills and relationships. ADHD medication might not be as effective for ER issues as for ADHD symptoms. Microdosing (MD) psychedelics has shown promise for ADHD treatment and previous studies reported social-emotional benefits. Two online prospective studies...
Introduction N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction is hypothesised to underlie psychosis but this has not been tested early in illness. Objectives Our aim was to determine if NMDAR availability was lower in patients with first episode psychosis compared to healthy controls. Methods To address this, we studied 40 volunteers (21 patients with first episode psychosis and 19 matched...
Introduction Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) a semi synthetic hallucinogen, was first synthetized by Albert Hofmann in 1938 and its psychological properties were not discovered until 1943. There was a brief renaissance of its use in psychiatry, specifically in assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of alcoholism, neurosis and psychosomatic disorders. However, research with LSD and others...
Introduction Esketamine nasal spray has been developed for patients with treatment resistant depression. Objectives A cohort Temporary Authorization for Use (ATUc) allowed to collect for a 6-month period the first data in real life Methods On 02/08/2019 the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Product Safety granted an early access program for Esketamine nasal spray framed by a...
Introduction Globally, depression affects millions of individuals. A third of depression patients meet the criteria for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, ketamine, improved depressive symptoms in a span of 24-hours. Recently, the FDA approved esketamine, an enantiomer of ketamine for TRD. Objectives To determine the effectiveness of ketamine and...
European PsychiatryNovember 17, 2023J. Curto Ramos, H. Dolengevich, M.a. Morillas Romerosa et al.
Introduction The intentional use of drugs before or during sexual intercourse (chemsex), due to its impact on mental health, is a phenomenon of high importance in men who have sex with men. Objectives We report the case of a patient with polysubstance acute intoxication, including 2C-B, in order to review the evidence about the mechanisms of action of 2C-B, its efects on sexual pleasure,...
In spite of the historically consolidated psychopathological perspective, neuroscientific research applied to schizophrenia has so far almost entirely neglected the first-person experiential dimension of this syndrome, mainly focusing on higher-order cognitive functions such as executive function, working memory, theory of mind, and the like. An alternative view posits that schizophrenia is a...
Introduction During the last decade there has been a resurgence of interest on the use of psychedelics as novel treatments for mental disorders, including treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Psilocybin, the chemical component of “magic mushrooms”, has been administered with psychotherapy in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) showing large and sustained antidepressant effects. As the use of...
Introduction Insomnia and Nightmare disorder are the two most common comorbid sleep disturbances in psychotic conditions. However, insomnia and psychotic symptoms are umbrella terms that hide the heterogeneity of these concepts. Several studies have found that worsening sleep quality is associated with the strengthening of psychotic symptoms. Until now, there was less interest in the...
European PsychiatryNovember 17, 2023L. Fernandez Mayo, D. Baño Rodrigo, E. Barbero García et al.
Introduction While it is well known that there is an interaction between sleep disorders and substance abuse, it is certainly more complex than was previously thought. The effects on sleep depend on the substance used, but it has been shown that both during use and in withdrawal periods consumers have various sleep problems, and basically more fragmented sleep. We know that sleep problems must...
Introduction Recent studies reported very high cumulative risk for a patient who had cannabis-induced psychosis to be diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Objectives We aim to compare sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, treatment and discharge plan in cannabis-induced first psychosis episode (CI-FEP) vs. multiple cannabis-induced psychotic episodes (CI-MEP) inpatients....
Introduction The incubus phenomenon is a paroxysmal sleep-related disorder in which patients experience sleep paralysis and compound hallucinations. The symptoms of this phenomenon contain: sensed presence, fear, visual and auditory hallucinations, unusual body experiences such as out-of-body experience and feelings of floating/paralysis, experiencing a pressure on the thorax, difficulties...
Introduction The overlap between imagery and perception has long fascinated philosophers and scientists. Many scientists considered how the mind is capable of constructing an internal world without intervention of the external environment. Descriptions of their core characteristics often draw attention to differential features, but other currents reveal that many of these are shared rather than...
European PsychiatryNovember 17, 2023C. Alvarez Garcia, L. Nocete Navarro, A. Sanz Giancola
Introduction Posttraumatic nightmares are one of the most frequent symptoms in posttraumatic stress disorder. Prevalence can be up to 96%. These nightmares evoke the experienced traumatic event, causing a negative impact. Besides, they are and independent risk for suicide. There are different pharmacological and non-pharmacological options for PTN, despite is no optimal treatment. Objectives To...
Introduction In nightmare disorder, dysfunctional emotion regulation goes along with poor subjective sleep quality, which is characterised by pathophysiological features such as abnormal arousal processes and sympathetic influences. Dysfunctional parasympathetic regulation, especially before and during REM phases, is assumed to alter heart rate (HR) and its variability (HRV) of frequent...
Introduction The therapeutic effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has been shown for various mental disorders. However, for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), only a few trials have been conducted, mostly in outpatient settings. Objectives This study aimed to investigate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a four-week mindfulness-based group...
European PsychiatryNovember 17, 2023V. Lucarini, F. Cangemi, F. Paraboschi et al.
Introduction Patients with schizophrenia show severe difficulties in interpersonal communication, including impairments in conversation skills, like the turn-taking. To our knowledge, very few studies to date have taken into account conversation analysis in order to investigate turn-taking in schizophrenia patients. Objectives To investigate the conversational patterns in schizophrenia...
European PsychiatryOctober 23, 2023I. B. Nita, O. D. Ilie, A. S. Ciobica et al.
Introduction Zebrafish (Danio rerio) has evolved over the years as a preferred organism due to its vast repertoire in research fields that mimic a targeted phenotype, particularly behavioral typologies and specific attributes comparable to murine models and relatively high homology with humans. Considering this consideration, different pharmacological treatments have been tested and proven that...
European PsychiatryOctober 23, 2023O. Martin-Santiago, G. Guerra-Valera, C. Alario-Ruiz et al.
Introduction The presence of perceptual disturbances and psychotic symptoms associated with substance abuse are widely known. While the abuse of substances is becoming more widespread, there is a general perception that their use entails fewer risks. 25I-NBOMe is a recently introduced hallucinogenic drug producing visual hallucinations and euphoria. Although people consume it like LSD, its...
Introduction Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder is a severe disorder of emotional regulation. In people with BPD, mood swings are extreme, relationships are uncertain, and emotions are difficult to control, suicide and self-destructive behaviors are extremely common. medical treatment can certainly reduce the symptoms and suffering of...
Introduction Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) form a central symptom in the current diagnosis of schizophrenia in the DSM-5 and ICD-10. In both internatinal classifications, hallucinations are considered an erroneous perception without external stimulation. AVH are often viewed as a well-defined entity in itself with certain quasi objective properties. They seem not to arise from nothing...
Abstract Interest in possible clinical uses for psychedelic drugs has grown steadily over the past decade. Although impressive findings from small studies stimulated considerable speculation and provided a strong justification for further study of psychedelic treatments, until very recently there was a dearth of high-quality evidence for their efficacy, mechanisms of action, and appropriate...
Introduction Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound whose effects have been seen in studies for treatment of depression, anxiety and pain management. Given its structural similarities to 5-hydroxytryptamine, a monoamine controlling brain modulation of pain input, preliminary studies sought to test serotonergic interactions of psilocybin with headaches. Objectives Explore...
European PsychiatryMarch 1, 2023Diana-Elena Nistor, Mihai Corban, Lavinia Horoșan3 citations
Introduction Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours that considerably impact general functioning. Recent evidence links the endocannabinoid system to OCD neurobiology, and several case reports describe significant improvement after using dronabinol (synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol) in patients with severe OCD. Nevertheless, to what...