Psychopharmacology
April 2008
Brenda J Gehrke, Vladimir I Chefer, Toni S Shippenberg
Acute systemic administration of salvinorin A, a naturally occurring kappa-opioid receptor (KOPr) agonist, decreases locomotion and striatal dopamine (DA) overflow. Conventional and quantitative microdialysis techniques were used to determine whether salvinorin A infusion into the dorsal striatum (DSTR) decreases DA overflow by altering DA uptake or release. The influence of repeated salvinorin...
Psychopharmacology
April 2008
Tomonori Seo, Tomiki Sumiyoshi, Masahiko Tsunoda et al.
Neurodegenerative changes have been suggested to provide a basis for the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. T-817MA (1-{3-[2-(1-benzothiophen-5-yl) ethoxy] propyl} azetidin-3-ol maleate) is a novel compound with neuroprotective and neurite-outgrowth effects, as elicited in rat primary cultured neurons. We examined the effect of T-817MA on phencyclidine (PCP)-induced disruption of prepulse...
Psychopharmacology
March 2008
Sami Ben Hamida, Erin Plute, Brigitte Cosquer et al.
(+/-)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is often taken recreationally with ethanol (EtOH). In rats, EtOH may potentiate MDMA-induced hyperactivity, but attenuate hyperthermia. Experiment 1 compared the interactions between EtOH (1.5 g/kg) and MDMA (6.6 mg/kg) with EtOH + cocaine (COCA; 10 mg/kg) and EtOH + amphetamine (AMPH; 1 mg/kg) on locomotor activity and thermoregulation....
Psychopharmacology
February 28, 2008
Glenn Dumont, E. Wezenberg, M. M. G. J. Valkenberg et al.
50 citations
Co-administration of MDMA and ethanol did not exacerbate the effects of either drug alone. Although the impairment of performance by all drug conditions was relatively moderate, all induced significant impairment of cognitive function.
Psychopharmacology
January 2008
Matthew L Banks, Jon E. Sprague, Paul W Czoty et al.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is frequently used in hot environments, such as rave parties. Studies in laboratory animals have shown that ambient temperature can alter the behavioral and neurochemical effects of MDMA. To examine the influence of ambient temperature on the relative reinforcing strength of MDMA and reinstatement of behavior previously maintained by MDMA is the...
Psychopharmacology
November 20, 2007
Manel J. Barbanoj, Jordi Riba, S. Clos et al.
74 citations
ObjectivesAyahuasca is a traditional South American psychoactive beverage and the central sacrament of Brazilian-based religious groups, with followers in Europe and the United States. The tea contains the psychedelic indole N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and beta-carboline alkaloids with monoamine oxidase-inhibiting properties that render DMT orally active. DMT interacts with serotonergic...
Psychopharmacology
November 2007
Marilyn A. Huestis, Susan J Boyd, Stephen J Heishman et al.
A single 90-mg dose of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant attenuates effects of smoked cannabis in humans. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether repeated daily 40-mg doses of rimonabant can attenuate effects of smoked cannabis to the same extent as a single higher (90 mg) dose. Forty-two male volunteers received one of three oral drug regimens in a randomized,...
Psychopharmacology
October 6, 2007
Tomáš Páleníček, Marie Balı́ková, Vĕra Bubeníková‐valešová et al.
61 citations
RationaleMescaline is a nonselective serotonin receptor agonist. It has relatively delayed onset of action and prolonged duration. Mescaline attenuates various behavioral parameters in rats; however, no information is available about its pharmacokinetics in rats and its relation to the behavioral changes produced by the drug.ObjectivesThe present study evaluates the spontaneous locomotor...
Psychopharmacology
October 2007
Rosa Hoshi, Kate Mullins, Catherine Boundy et al.
Despite years of research and much controversy surrounding the effects of ecstasy use, findings are equivocal. Attempting to reduce methodological problems, such as concurrent use of other recreational drugs, could lead to a clearer picture of the effects of ecstasy use on cognitive function. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of both prolonged abstention from ecstasy use and...
Psychopharmacology
September 13, 2007
Olivia Carter, Felix Hasler, John D. Pettigrew et al.
150 citations
RationaleBinocular rivalry occurs when different images are simultaneously presented to each eye. During continual viewing of this stimulus, the observer will experience repeated switches between visual awareness of the two images. Previous studies have suggested that a slow rate of perceptual switching may be associated with clinical and drug-induced psychosis.ObjectivesThe objective of the...
Psychopharmacology
September 2007
Nurith Amitai, Svetlana Semenova, Athina Markou
Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are severe and do not respond well to available treatments. The development and validation of animal models of cognitive deficits characterizing schizophrenia are crucial for clarifying the underlying neuropathology and discovery of improved treatments for such deficits. We investigated whether single and repeated administrations of the psychotomimetic...
Psychopharmacology
September 2007
Stephen A Varvel, Billy R Martin, Aron H Lichtman
Recent evidence has provided support for the incentive-sensitization model of addiction, where repeated stimulation of neural reward circuits leads to a long-lasting sensitization of mesolimbic dopaminergic activity. This phenomenon has been demonstrated with many drugs of abuse, most often by measuring progressively increased activating effects of drugs on locomotor activity, thought to...
Psychopharmacology
August 2007
Gerry Jager, Maartje M. L. de Win, Hylke K E Vervaeke et al.
Heavy ecstasy use in humans has been associated with cognitive impairments and changes in cognitive brain function supposedly due to damage to the serotonin system. There is concern that even a single dose of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine may be neurotoxic, but very little is known about the consequences of a low dose of ecstasy for cognitive brain function. The objective of the study was...
Psychopharmacology
July 2007
Silke Harich, Gerhard Gross, Anton Bespalov
Glutamatergic mechanisms are implicated in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Modulation of glutamatergic neurotransmission via stimulation of the metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptors (mGluR2/3) has been shown to reverse a number of behavioral effects of NMDA receptor antagonists thus indicating potential antipsychotic activity of mGluR2/3 agonists. The present study aimed to evaluate...
Psychopharmacology
July 2007
Sami Ben Hamida, Erin Plute, Sonia Bach et al.
In our previous work, we showed that ethanol (EtOH) potentiates 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-induced hyperlocomotion while protecting against its hyperthermic effects. Whereas the effect on activity were found on all days (although declining over the three first days), the protection against hyperthermia completely disappeared on the second day. The latter effect was previously...
Psychopharmacology
July 2007
Clara Touriño, Rafaël Maldonado, Olga Valverde
3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and cannabis are widely abused illicit drugs that are frequently consumed in combination. Interactions between these two drugs have been reported in several pharmacological responses observed in animals, such as body temperature, anxiety, cognition, and reward. However, the interaction between MDMA and cannabis in addictive processes such as physical...
Psychopharmacology
June 2007
Bret A Morrow, John D Elsworth, Robert H Roth
Repeated exposure to the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist, phencyclidine, has been shown to result in biochemical and cognitive changes similar to aspects of schizophrenia. Recently, emerging evidence indicated that the symptoms of schizophrenia might result at least in part from dysfunction of local circuit neurons containing parvalbumin, including a loss of their axo-axonic projections to...
Psychopharmacology
June 2007
A A Boucher, Jonathon C Arnold, L Duffy et al.
Cannabis use may precipitate schizophrenia especially if the individual has a genetic vulnerability to this mental disorder. Human and animal research indicates that neuregulin 1 (Nrg1) is a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether dysfunction in the Nrg1 gene modulates the behavioural effects of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major...
Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2007
Gary S Linn, Robert T O'Keeffe, Kenneth Lifshitz et al.
Schizophrenia is a major mental disorder. Dissociative anesthetics such as phencyclidine (PCP) produce a syndrome in humans that is clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia by blocking neurotransmission at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptors. NMDA receptors in brain are modulated by the amino acid glycine (GLY), which reverses neurochemical and behavioral effects of PCP...
Psychopharmacology
May 2007
Nicole L Schramm-Sapyta, Young May Cha, Saba Chaudhry et al.
Unpleasant side effects of drugs of abuse often limit their repeated use; however, such effects may be attenuated in adolescents compared to adults. We investigated whether the anxiogenic, aversive, or locomotor effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) differ between adolescent and adult rats. We used the elevated plus maze (EPM) and light-dark tests of anxiety, the conditioned taste...
Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2007
Erik Pålsson, Kim Fejgin, Caroline E. Wass et al.
The cognitive and attentional deficits observed in schizophrenic patients are now considered central to the pathophysiology of the disorder. These deficits include an inability to filter sensory input as measured by, e.g., prepulse inhibition (PPI) reflex. Administration of phencyclidine (PCP), a drug that can induce a schizophrenia-like psychosis in humans, disrupts PPI in experimental...
Psychopharmacology
April 1, 2007
A C Parrott
85 citations
AIMS AND RATIONALE: The purpose of this study was to review whether methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has the appropriate pharmacodynamic profile to be a therapeutic agent. Empirical descriptions of MDMA's subjective effects in humans will be reviewed to evaluate the proposal that MDMA has psychotherapeutic properties. The focus will be published evidence on its functional effects in...
Psychopharmacology
March 2007
Daniela Braida, Valeria Limonta, Simona Pegorini et al.
The hallucinatory effect and potential abuse of salvinorin A, the major ingredient of Salvia divinorum, has not been documented in animals. The effects of salvinorin A on the zebrafish (Danio rerio) model, through its swimming behavior and conditioned place preference (CPP) task, was studied. Swimming activity was determined in a squared observational chamber after an i.m. treatment of...
Psychopharmacology
January 2007
Ronald L Cowan
Determining whether, under what circumstances, and to what extent 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) exposure produces chronic changes in human brain function is a critical public health issue. MDMA is a widely used recreational drug commonly sold as "Ecstasy". Because findings from the animal literature have indicated that specific dosage regimens of MDMA can produce long-lasting...
Psychopharmacology
January 2007
Q David Walker, Christina N Williams, Rakesh P Jotwani et al.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "Ecstasy") use has been associated with acute toxicities and persistent depletion of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT). This study investigates whether sex differences in the acute and long-term effects of MDMA exist. Male and female rats received saline or 15 mg/kg MDMA, ip, bid for 4 days. Temperature was monitored on days 1 and 4. Locomotor...