Depression is a leading cause of global disability, affecting over 300 million individuals and imposing substantial personal, clinical, and societal burdens. This comprehensive review synthesizes recent advances in understanding depression across biological, cognitive, and psychosocial domains, emphasizing innovations in diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment. We explore emerging...
Background: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance. Numerous scientific evidence confirm the strong association between cannabis and psychosis. Exposure to cannabis can induce the development of psychosis and schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals. However, the neurobiological processes underlying this relationship are unknown. Neurotrophins are a class of proteins that serve as...
Abstract: Lysergic acid Diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and psilocin are being intensively evaluated as potential therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and a host of other psychiatric illnesses. Pre-clinical investigation of these compounds in rodent models forms a key component of their drug development process. In this review, we will summarize the evidence...
Background: The therapeutic options for neurobehavioral disorders are still limited, and in many cases, they lack a satisfactory balance between efficacy and side effects. Objective: This work aims to review current evidence regarding the potential contribution of psychedelics and hallucinogens to the discovery of new drugs for treating different psychiatric disorders. Discussion:...
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...
Schizophrenia is a major mental illness that is characterized by psychosis, social withdrawal, and cognitive impairment. High comorbidity rates with substance use disorders have consistently been found - especially with abuse of cannabis and psychostimulants. While the role of these drugs in the onset of psychosis and schizophrenia has received much attention, relatively few studies have been...
Sleep is clearly not only a whole-brain or global phenomenon, but can also be a local phenomenon. This accounts for the fact that the primary states of being (wakefulness, NREM sleep, and REM sleep) are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and components of these states may appear in various combinations, with fascinating clinical consequences. Examples include: sleep inertia, narcolepsy, sleep...