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Psychological Medicine

ISSN 0033-2917

80 papers in the library · 5,332 citations · publishing 1977-2026

Papers

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Cannabis use as a potential mediator between childhood adversity and first-episode psychosis: results from the EU-GEI case–control study

Psychological Medicine May 4, 2023 Giulia Trotta, Victoria Rodriguez, Diego Quattrone et al.

Abstract Background Childhood adversity and cannabis use are considered independent risk factors for psychosis, but whether different patterns of cannabis use may be acting as mediator between adversity and psychotic disorders has not yet been explored. The aim of this study is to examine whether cannabis use mediates the relationship between childhood adversity and psychosis. Methods Data were...

Voice phenomenology as a mirror of the past.

Psychological Medicine May 1, 2023 David Van den Berg, Eva Tolmeijer, Alyssa Jongeneel et al.

Post-traumatic mechanisms are theorised to contribute to voice-hearing in people with psychosis and a history of trauma. Phenomenological links between trauma and voices support this hypothesis, as they suggest post-traumatic processes contribute to the content of, and relationships with, voices. However, research has included small samples and lacked theory-based comprehensive assessments. In...

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement remediates anhedonia in chronic opioid use by enhancing neurophysiological responses during savoring of natural rewards.

Psychological Medicine April 1, 2023 Eric L Garland, Spencer T Fix, Justin Hudak et al. 51 citations

Neuropsychopharmacologic effects of long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) in the context of chronic pain may result in subjective anhedonia coupled with decreased attention to natural rewards. Yet, there are no known efficacious treatments for anhedonia and reward deficits associated with chronic opioid use. Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), a novel behavioral intervention combining...

Independent contribution of polygenic risk for schizophrenia and cannabis use in predicting psychotic-like experiences in young adulthood: testing gene × environment moderation and mediation.

Psychological Medicine April 1, 2023 Laurent Elkrief, Bochao Lin, Mattia Marchi et al.

It has not yet been determined if the commonly reported cannabis-psychosis association is limited to individuals with pre-existing genetic risk for psychotic disorders. We examined whether the relationship between polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PRS-Sz) and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), as measured by the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences-42 (CAPE-42) questionnaire, is...

LSD, madness and healing: Mystical experiences as possible link between psychosis model and therapy model.

Psychological Medicine March 1, 2023 Isabel Wießner, Marcelo Falchi, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes et al. 53 citations

For a century, psychedelics have been investigated as models of psychosis for demonstrating phenomenological similarities with psychotic experiences and as therapeutic models for treating depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. This study sought to explore this paradoxical relationship connecting key parameters of the psychotic experience, psychotherapy, and psychedelic experience. In...

The independent and combined effects of cannabis use and systemic inflammation during the early stages of psychosis: exploring the two-hit hypothesis.

Psychological Medicine December 1, 2022 Fabiana Corsi-Zuelli, Leonardo Marques, Daiane Leite Da Roza et al.

Cannabis consumption is a modifiable risk factor associated with psychosis, but not all cannabis users develop psychosis. Animal studies suggest that an antecedent active immune system interacts with subsequent cannabis exposure and moderates the cannabis-psychosis association, supporting the two-hit hypothesis. The clinical investigations are few, and it is unclear if the immune system is a...

Modulation of the functional connectome in major depressive disorder by ketamine therapy.

Psychological Medicine October 1, 2022 Ashish K Sahib, Joana R Loureiro, Megha M Vasavada et al. 36 citations

Subanesthetic ketamine infusion therapy can produce fast-acting antidepressant effects in patients with major depression. How single and repeated ketamine treatment modulates the whole-brain functional connectome to affect clinical outcomes remains uncharacterized. Data-driven whole brain functional connectivity (FC) analysis was used to identify the functional connections modified by ketamine...

Anterior default mode network and posterior insular connectivity is predictive of depressive symptom reduction following serial ketamine infusion.

Psychological Medicine September 1, 2022 Benjamin Wade, Joana R Loureiro, Ashish K Sahib et al. 18 citations

Ketamine is a rapidly-acting antidepressant treatment with robust response rates. Previous studies have reported that serial ketamine therapy modulates resting state functional connectivity in several large-scale networks, though it remains unknown whether variations in brain structure, function, and connectivity impact subsequent treatment success. We used a data-driven approach to determine...

Risk-thresholds for the association between frequency of cannabis use and the development of psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Psychological Medicine March 24, 2022 Tessa Robinson, Muhammad Usman Ali, Bethany Easterbrook et al. 61 citations

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies show a dose-response association between cannabis use and the risk of psychosis. This review aimed to determine whether there are identifiable risk-thresholds between the frequency of cannabis use and psychosis development. METHODS: Systematic search of Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science for relevant studies (1 January 2010-26 April 2021)....

Why was early therapeutic research on psychedelic drugs abandoned?

Psychological Medicine 2022 Wayne Hall

Advocates of the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs have argued that a promising approach to treatment was prematurely abandoned in the 1960s primarily because of Richard Nixon's 'War on Drugs'.This paper (1) briefly describes research in the 1950s and 1960s in North America on the use of LSD to treat alcohol dependence, anxiety in terminal illness, and anxiety and depression; and (2)...

Precision psychiatry: promise for the future or rehash of a fossilised foundation?

Psychological Medicine July 1, 2021 Annemarie C J Köhne, Jim van Os

Precision psychiatry is currently described as an approach that would bring significant advance to psychiatric clinical practice. Theaim of this article is to investigate Precision Psychiatry's promise for the future; should we substantially invest in this new approach? Thearticle is based on a review of the literature and reports a conceptual analysis. A critical examination of Precision...

Underestimating harm in mindfulness-based stress reduction

Psychological Medicine December 7, 2020 Nicholas T. van Dam, Julieta Galante 19 citations

In a recent study of harm following the completion of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs, the authors used a large observational dataset (n = 2155), alongside the active arm (n = 156) and wait-list arm (n = 118) of several amalgamated randomized controlled trials The authors interpret their results as 'strong evidence that MBSR is no more harmful than no treatment' (p. 8). While...

Post-acute psychological effects of classical serotonergic psychedelics: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Psychological Medicine November 4, 2020 Simon B. Goldberg, Benjamin Shechet, Christopher R. Nicholas et al. 66 citations

Abstract Background Scientific interest in the therapeutic effects of classical psychedelics has increased in the past two decades. The psychological effects of these substances outside the period of acute intoxication have not been fully characterized. This study aimed to: (1) quantify the effects of psilocybin, ayahuasca, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on psychological outcomes in the...

Acute effects of cannabis on speech illusions and psychotic-like symptoms: two studies testing the moderating effects of cannabidiol and adolescence

Psychological Medicine April 28, 2020 Claire Mokrysz, Natacha D. C. Shaban, Tom P. Freeman et al. 24 citations

BACKGROUND: Acute cannabis administration can produce transient psychotic-like effects in healthy individuals. However, the mechanisms through which this occurs and which factors predict vulnerability remain unclear. We investigate whether cannabis inhalation leads to psychotic-like symptoms and speech illusion; and whether cannabidiol (CBD) blunts such effects (study 1) and adolescence...

Daily use of high-potency cannabis is associated with more positive symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients: the EU-GEI case–control study

Psychological Medicine March 18, 2020 Diego Quattrone, Laura Ferraro, Giada Tripoli et al. 89 citations

Abstract Background Daily use of high-potency cannabis has been reported to carry a high risk for developing a psychotic disorder. However, the evidence is mixed on whether any pattern of cannabis use is associated with a particular symptomatology in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients. Method We analysed data from 901 FEP patients and 1235 controls recruited across six countries, as part of...

Annual incidence of cannabis-induced psychosis, other substance-induced psychoses and dually diagnosed schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder in Denmark from 1994 to 2016

Psychological Medicine December 16, 2019 C. Hjorthøj, Maria Larsen, M. Starzer et al.

Abstract Background Worldwide, cannabis is the most used illegal substance, and the use of cannabis has increased over the years. An increase in the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis has also been seen. It is currently unclear whether this has led to an increase in the incidence of cannabis-induced psychosis. We aimed to investigate (1) the development of incidence of...

Characterizing psychosis-relevant phenomena and cognitive function in a unique population with isolated, chronic and very heavy cannabis exposure

Psychological Medicine October 16, 2019 Deepak C. D’Souza, Suhas Ganesh, Jose A Cortes-Briones et al.

Abstract Background The literature on psychosis-relevant outcomes in cannabis users does not adequately address the confounding effects of other substance use/misuse and psychiatric disorders. Methods We studied a unique population for whom cannabis use is central and necessary to their way of life. They are forbidden from using other substances, including tobacco and alcohol. Their use of...

LSD acutely impairs working memory, executive functions, and cognitive flexibility, but not risk-based decision-making

Psychological Medicine September 10, 2019 Thomas Pokorny, Patricia Duerler, Erich Seifritz et al. 102 citations

Abstract Background Psychiatric and neurodegenerative illnesses are characterized by cognitive impairments, in particular deficits in working memory, decision-making, and executive functions including cognitive flexibility. However, the neuropharmacology of these cognitive functions is poorly understood. The serotonin (5-HT) 2A receptor might be a promising candidate for the modulation of...

Use of illicit substances and violent behaviour in psychotic disorders: two nationwide case-control studies and meta-analyses

Psychological Medicine August 29, 2019 Jelle Lamsma, Wiepke Cahn, Seena Fazel et al. 48 citations

Abstract Background Substance use disorder explains much of the excess risk of violent behaviour in psychotic disorders. However, it is unclear to what extent the pharmacological properties and subthreshold use of illicit substances are associated with violence. Methods Individuals with psychotic disorders were recruited for two nationwide projects: GROUP ( N = 871) in the Netherlands and NEDEN...

New/emerging psychoactive substances and associated psychopathological consequences

Psychological Medicine July 22, 2019 Fabrizio Schifano, Flavia Napoletano, Stefania Chiappini et al. 118 citations

BACKGROUND: The present paper provides an updated review of both the large number of new/novel/emerging psychoactive substances (NPS) and their associated psychopathological consequences. Focus was here given on identification of those NPS being commented in specialised online sources and the related short-/long-term psychopathological and medical ill-health effects. METHODS: NPS have been...

Meditation techniques v. relaxation therapies when treating anxiety: a meta-analytic review

Psychological Medicine July 19, 2019 Jesus Montero-Marin, Javier García-campayo, Maria C Perez-Yus et al.

Abstract To what extent meditation techniques (which incorporate practices to regulate attention, construct individual values, or deconstruct self-related assumptions), are more or less effective than relaxation therapy in the treatment of anxiety, is not clear. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of meditation compared to relaxation in reducing anxiety. A systematic review...

Cannabis and psychosis: revisiting a nineteenth century study of ‘Indian Hemp and Insanity’ in Colonial British India

Psychological Medicine May 27, 2019 Oyedeji Ayonrinde 11 citations

BACKGROUND: In nineteenth-century British India, concern regarding large numbers of asylum patients with 'Indian Hemp Insanity' led to establishment of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission. The exotic cannabis plant was widely used in pharmacopeia and a source of government revenue. The Commission was tasked with determining the public health risks of cannabis use, particularly mental illness. This...

Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Psychological Medicine June 15, 2018 Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Dayanna Barreto, Heloisa Onias et al. 827 citations

Abstract Background Recent open-label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. Methods To test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either...

Acute LSD effects on response inhibition neural networks

Psychological Medicine October 2, 2017 André Schmidt, Felix Müller, Claudia Lenz et al. 62 citations

Abstract Background Recent evidence shows that the serotonin 2A receptor (5-hydroxytryptamine2A receptor, 5-HT 2A R) is critically involved in the formation of visual hallucinations and cognitive impairments in lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-induced states and neuropsychiatric diseases. However, the interaction between 5-HT 2A R activation, cognitive impairments and visual hallucinations is...