Although the precise mechanisms for control of consciousness are not fully understood, emerging data show that conscious information processing depends on the activation of certain networks in the brain and that the impairment of consciousness is related to abnormal activity in these systems. Epilepsy can lead to transient impairment of consciousness, providing a window into the mechanisms...
The recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxy-metamphetamine (MDMA; 'ecstasy') enhances serotonin and dopamine transmission. Repeated binge treatment with MDMA (5 mg/kg, 3 times daily, 3 h apart, once per week for 4 wk) was found to increase gene expression of S100B, a neurotrophic factor that modulates neuronal plasticity. Mutant mice overexpressing S100B were investigated to better understand how...
Repeated administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (ecstasy) produces eccentric left ventricular (LV) dilation and diastolic dysfunction. While the mechanism(s) underlying this toxicity are unknown, oxidative stress plays an important role. MDMA is metabolized into redox cycling metabolites that produce superoxide. In this study, we demonstrated that metabolites of MDMA induce...
Understanding the goals or intentions of other people requires a broad range of evaluative processes including the decoding of biological motion, knowing about object properties, and abilities for recognizing task space requirements and social contexts. It is becoming increasingly evident that some of this decoding is based in part on the simulation of other people's behavior within our own...
Abstract According to Division 30 of the American Psychological Association, “hypnosis” typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which a subject, client, or research participant is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The so-called “hypnotic induction” is an extended initial suggestion for using one’s imagination, and may contain further...
Seven transmembrane domain receptors, also termed G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), represent the most common molecular target for therapeutic drugs. The generally accepted pharmacological model for GPCR activation is the ternary complex model, in which GPCRs exist in a dynamic equilibrium between the active and inactive conformational states. However, the demonstration that different...
Discriminative stimulus effects of the serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonist 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOM) have been studied in rats and, more recently, in rhesus monkeys. This study examined DOM, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine (2C-T-7), and dipropyltryptamine hydrochloride (DPT) alone and in combination with three antagonists, MDL100907...
Research in animals has demonstrated that patterns of neural activity first seen during waking experience are later "replayed" during sleep, in hippocampal and cortical networks. The characteristics of memory reactivation during human sleep, however, have not yet been fully described. Meanwhile, the possible relationship of dreaming to this "replay" of memories in the sleeping brain is entirely...
Abstract I am a qualia realist. I believe that specifically phenomenal qualia are present in perception. Thus, when we see a yellow lemon in good light, we typically see that it is yellow by experiencing a yellow quale. We can experience (an instance of) the same yellow quale in the absence of the lemon, or of any yellow object. In my view, not only is the experience of the lemon’s quality real...
Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are key activity-dependent signals regulating synaptic transmission throughout the CNS. Accordingly, eCBs are involved in neural functions ranging from feeding homeostasis to cognition. There is great interest in understanding how exogenous (e.g. cannabis) and endogenous cannabinoids affect behavior. As behavioral adaptations are widely considered to rely on changes in...