The updating of prospective internal models is necessary to accurately predict future observations. Uncertainty-driven internal model updating has been studied using a variety of perceptual paradigms, and have revealed engagement of frontal and parietal areas. In a distinct literature, studies on temporal expectations have also characterized a time-perception network, which relies on temporal...
Chronic pain and its associated syndrome have become increasingly prevalent in primary care. With the increase in narcotic use and subsequent adverse events, primary care physicians often seek safer alternatives to treating this condition. Prescribing narcotics necessitates using methods to screen for high abuse risk and protect against misuse. With the understanding of how chronic pain is...
Background: Although mindfulness has been hypothesized to promote health behaviors, no research has examined how dispositional mindfulness might influence the process of smoking cessation. Purpose: The current study investigated dispositional mindfulness, smoking abstinence, and recovery from a lapse among African American smokers. Methods: Participants were 399 African Americans seeking...
The core clinical symptoms of addiction include an enhanced incentive for drug taking (craving), impaired self-control (impulsivity and compulsivity), emotional dysregulation (negative mood) and increased stress reactivity. Symptoms related to impaired self-control involve reduced activity in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), adjacent prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and other brain areas. Behavioral...
Recently, an increasing number of emergency cases due to a novel ketamine-like drug, methoxetamine (MXE), were reported in several countries. However, very little is known about the neuropsychopharmacological and reinforcing profile of this compound. Our study aims to investigate the effects of MXE on self-administration (SA) behaviour in comparison to ketamine and on dopaminergic transmission....
Background: Ketamine, an antagonist on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, can produce neurobehavioral changes ranging from mood alterations and psychotic episodes in human to hyperactivity and stereotyped motion in mice. In the study, we tested the pharmacological properties of ketamine on anxiety, locomotion and motor activity. Materials and Methods: Subjects were C57BL/6J mice with age of...
Specific objective of the study: This study is aimed to investigate desipramine, venlafaxine and bupropion on depression and anxiety in mice. Methods used: We used a classic tricyclic antidepressant, desipramine; a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitör, venlafaxine; a second-generation antidepressant agent that blocks centrally the reuptake of noradrenaline and dopamine, bupropion in...
Although the recreational use of psychoactive substances is common there is only limited systematic collection of data on acute drug toxicity or hospital presentations, in particular regarding novel psychoactive substances (NPS) that have emerged on the illicit market in the last years. We included all cases presenting at the emergency department (ED) of the University Hospital of Basel,...
Among the opioid receptors, the κ-opioid receptor (κOR) has been gaining considerable attention as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of complex CNS disorders including depression, visceral pain, and cocaine addiction. With an interest in discovering novel ligands targeting κOR, we searched natural products for unusual scaffolds and identified collybolide (Colly), a nonnitrogenous...
This study is an examination of the positive and persisting psychological and behavioral aftereffects in eight individuals who reported consumption of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Mushrooms containing psilocybin have been used for healing and spiritual purposes for thousands of years, and the therapeutic applications of psilocybin were scientifically examined beginning in the mid-20th...