Salud Mental
April 3, 2017
Helen Dolengevich-Segal, Beatriz Rodríguez-salgado, Jorge Gómez-arnau et al.
16 citations
New psychoactive drugs (NPD) are substances that pose a public health danger but are not yet prohibited by international narcotics conventions; the concept also includes novel consumption contexts, routes, and distribution methods, especially via the Internet. Risks associated with NPD use are largely unknown to users and healthcare providers. This review integrates existing evidence on the description, epidemiology, psychopharmacology, medical complications, and psychoactive effects of the most relevant NPD: synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, NBOMe series, indoleamines, piperazines, hallucinogenic mushrooms, synthetic opioids, plant products (khat, kratom, Salvia divinorum, ayahuasca), and dissociative anesthetics. The emergence of NPD is a rising phenomenon with important public health consequences, and medical professionals should learn about new consumption trends and potential risks.
Salud Mental
January 1, 2014
J. Díaz
4 citations
A multidisciplinary analysis of Salvia divinorum and its main active principle, salvinorin A, examines whether the plant's ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology can explain its experienced effects and traditional divinatory uses. Field research from 1973-1983 documented that a water potion of crushed leaves produced short-lasting light-headedness, dysphoria, tactile and proprioceptive sensations, depersonalization, amplified sound perception, and increased visual and auditory imagery, but no actual hallucinations. Similar effects were attributed to salvinorin A, but cannot be explained solely by its potent brain kappa-opioid receptor agonist activity. The paper proposes requirements for classifying consciousness-altering substances and suggests top-down analyses of neural networks to explore differential ethnic effects.
Salud Mental
January 27, 2023
Carolina Eugenia Cáceres Videla, Rocío Carlota Cáceres Melillo
A systematic review of research from 2018 to 2022 found that mindfulness-based interventions, specifically Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), are associated with improvements in PTSD symptoms. MBCT participants showed significant symptom improvement, even if some had high baseline symptoms. MBSR participants with moderate to severe trauma symptoms experienced greater symptom reduction, while those with mild symptoms showed slightly higher symptomatology after treatment. The two approaches appear to target different aspects of PTSD: MBSR improves attentional difficulties, while MBCT addresses dysfunctional cognitive concepts and avoidant behaviors. However, the active components responsible for symptom reduction remain unknown.