Biological Psychiatry
November 8, 2008
Laura E. Phelps, Nancy E. Brutsché, J. Moral et al.
Background A high rate of comorbidity exists between mood disorders and alcohol dependence. Furthermore, both ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic with a recently described rapid-onset antidepressant effect, and ethanol are N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists. Previous investigations of healthy individuals with a family history of alcohol-dependence have found that these individuals...
Current Drug Abuse Reviews
November 2008
George Panagis, Styliani Vlachou, George G. Nomikos
Cannabis preparations as recreational drugs are the most widely used illicit drugs in the world. Although cannabis derivatives produce clear subjective motivational responses in humans leading to drug-seeking behavior and in a specific proportion in repeated drug use, the reinforcing/rewarding attributes of these subjective effects are difficult to define in experimental animals. This led to...
Neuropharmacology
July 19, 2008
Jason R. Clapper, Regina A. Mangieri, Daniele Piomelli
The endocannabinoid system modulates neurotransmission at inhibitory and excitatory synapses in brain regions relevant to the regulation of pain, emotion, motivation, and cognition. This signaling system is engaged by the active component of cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), which exerts its pharmacological effects by activation of G protein-coupled type-1 (CB1) and type-2 (CB2)...
Addiction Biology
June 2008
Ziva D. Cooper, Margaret Haney
Awareness of cannabis dependence as a clinically relevant issue has grown in recent years. Clinical and laboratory studies demonstrate that chronic marijuana smokers can experience withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of marijuana smoking and have difficulty abstaining from marijuana use. This paper will review data implicating the cannabinoid CB1 receptor in regulating the behavioral effects of...
Addiction Biology
June 2008
Fabrício A. Moreira, Beat Lutz
The identification of the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1 receptor) was the milestone discovery in the elucidation of the behavioural and emotional responses induced by the Cannabis sativa constituent Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol. The subsequent years have established the existence of the endocannabinoid system. The early view relating this system to emotional responses is reflected by the...
Addiction Biology
June 2008
F Markus Leweke, Dagmar Koethe
Since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, a growing body of psychiatric research has emerged focusing on the role of this system in major psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), major depression and anxiety disorder. Continuing in the line of earlier epidemiological studies, recent replication studies indicate that frequent cannabis use doubles the risk...
Recent developments in alcoholism : an official publication of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism, the Research Society on Alcoholism, and the National Council on Alcoholism
2008
Marc Galanter
This chapter is directed at defining the nature of spirituality and its relationship to empirical research and clinical practice. A preliminary understanding of the spiritual experience can be achieved on the basis of diverse theoretical and empirically grounded sources, which will be delineated: namely, physiology, psychology, and cross-cultural sources. Furthermore, the impact of spirituality...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
October 1, 2007
John D. Sellman, Michael P Baker, Simon J Adamson et al.
The purpose of the present paper was to explore the concept and experience of God in relation to recovery from drug addiction from a scientific perspective. Examination of a diverse literature was undertaken, including five key threads: the universality of the experience of God; the induction of spiritual experiences of God through hallucinogenic drugs; the nature of drug addiction from an...
American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric Genetics
July 5, 2007
Rachel F. Tyndale, Jennifer I Payne, Alexandra L Gerber et al.
A genetic variation in fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), C385A (P129T), has been previously associated with risk for problem street drug use. FAAH is a mammalian enzyme that inactivates neuromodulatory-signaling lipids including the endogenous cannabinoid 1 receptor agonist anandamide. We investigated in adult Caucasians (N = 749) whether this FAAH variant altered the risk for trying, regular...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 1, 2007
Adrienne Heinz, David H Epstein, Kenzie L Preston
Although spirituality is an integral component of some of the most popular approaches to substance abuse treatment, there is little empirical evidence for a causal relationship between spirituality and treatment success. In the present study, 169 (121 male) opiate- or cocaine-abusing treatment seekers completed the Index of Spiritual Experience (INSPIRIT), a questionnaire that assesses both...