Research has shown that external stimuli presented during sleep can affect dream content, thus reflecting information processing of the sleeping brain. Olfactory stimuli should have a stronger effect on dream emotions because their processing is linked directly to the limbic system. Because selective olfactory stimulation does not increase arousal activity, intense olfactory stimulation is...
Aims: To present the prevalence and correlates of hallucinogen use disorders (HUDs: abuse or dependence) and subthreshold dependence. Methods: The study sample included adolescents aged 12-17 years (N=55,286) who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2004-2006). Data were collected with a combination of computer-assisted personal interviewing and audio computer-assisted...
The 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA)-related designer drug 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA, Eve) is a chiral compound that is mainly metabolized by N-deethylation and demethylenation during phase I metabolism. The involvement of several cytochrome P450 (P450) isozymes in these metabolic steps has been demonstrated by inhibition assays using human liver microsomes. However, a...
The perspective from where the world is perceived is an important aspect of the bodily self and may break down in neurological conditions such as out-of-body experiences (OBEs). These striking disturbances are characterized by disembodiment, an external perspective and have been observed after temporoparietal damage. Using mental own body imagery, recent neuroimaging work has linked...
The present study compared the disposition and metabolism of the recreational drug (±) 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) in squirrel monkeys and humans because the squirrel monkey has been extensively studied for MDMA neurotoxicity. A newly developed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric procedure for simultaneous measurement of MDMA, 3,4-dihydroxymethamphetamine,...
In the present study, cytochrome P450 isozymes (P450) involved in the stereoselective metabolism of the designer drug N-methyl-benzodioxolyl-butanamine (MBDB, Eden) were identified for the first time. Demethylenation and N-demethylation of racemic MBDB as well as its single enantiomers were investigated using cDNA-expressed insect cell microsomes. After incubation of MBDB, the two resulting...
Block [Block, N. (2005). Two neural correlates of consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Science, 9, 46-52] and Snodgrass (2006) claim that a signal detection theory (SDT) analysis of qualitative difference paradigms, in particular the exclusion failure paradigm, reveals cases of phenomenal consciousness without access consciousness. This claim is unwarranted on several grounds. First, partial...
Salvinorin A is an unregulated potent hallucinogen isolated from the leaves of Salvia divinorum. It is the only known non-nitrogenous kappa-opioid selective agonist, and rivals synthetic lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in potency. The objective of this study was to characterize the in vitro transport, in vitro metabolism, and pharmacokinetic properties of Salvinorin A. The transport...
This paper attempts to determine a method for making use of the “image of deviation,” which we fieldworkers possess and typically regard as a bias contaminating our research, as a resource for interpretation, and by doing so open the door to the field of “deviation.” Among qualitative studies of educational sociology, only a handful have focused on the self (involvement, attitude, etc.)...
Repeated, intermittent exposure to the psychomotor stimulants amphetamine and cocaine induces a progressive and enduring augmentation of their locomotor-activating effects, known as behavioral sensitization, which is accompanied by similarly stable adaptations in the dendritic structure of cortico-striatal neurons. We examined whether repeated exposure to the increasingly abused amphetamine...