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...
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...
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...
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...
A prior study found that one ketamine-assisted psychotherapy session was significantly more effective than active placebo in promoting abstinence (Krupitsky et al. 2002). In this study of the efficacy of single versus repeated sessions of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in promoting abstinence in people with heroin dependence, 59 detoxified inpatients with heroin dependence received a...
Attitudes, perceived social norms, and intentions were assessed for 376 counselors and 1,083 clients from outpatient, methadone, and residential drug treatment programs regarding four medications used to treat opiate dependence: methadone, buprenorphine, clonidine, and ibogaine. Attitudes, social norms, and intentions to use varied by treatment modality. Methadone clients and counselors had...
We recently showed that the up-regulation of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) pathway in the midbrain, is the molecular mechanism by which the putative anti-addiction drug Ibogaine mediates its desirable action of reducing alcohol consumption. Human reports and studies in rodents have shown that a single administration of Ibogaine results in a long-lasting reduction of...
Abstract This study uses latent class methods and multiple regression to shed light on hypothesized hallucinogen dependence syndromes experienced by young people who have recently initiated hallucinogen use. It explores possible variation in risk. The study sample, identified within public‐use data files of the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), consists of 1186 recent‐onset...
NeuropharmacologyJune 2006Evelyne Célérier, Therese Ahdepil, Helena Wikander et al.
The identification of the possible factors that might enhance the risk of developing drug addiction and related motivational disorders is crucial to reduce the prevalence of these problems. Here, we examined in mice whether the exposure to the anabolic-androgenic steroid nandrolone would affect the pharmacological and motivational effects induced by Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the...
Numerous animal studies have been able to demonstrate neurotoxic damage to central serotonergic systems after exposure to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy). It has been suggested that a high loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) and, particularly, of the tangential N1/P2 source activity is associated with a low functioning of serotonergic activity. Therefore,...