Hallucinogenic psilocybin is known to alter the subjective experience of time. However, there is no study that systematically investigated objective measures of time perception under psilocybin. Therefore, we studied dose-dependent effects of the serotonin (5-HT) 2A/1A receptor agonist psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine) on temporal processing, employing tasks of temporal...
The noradrenergic pathway arising from the locus coeruleus (LC) is involved in the regulation of attention, arousal, cognitive processes and sleep. These physiological activities are affected by Cannabis exposure - both in humans and laboratory animals. In addition, exogenous cannabinoids, as well as pharmacological and genetic manipulation of the endocannabinoid system, are known to influence...
During the last decades a new landscape of cannabis has been designed on account of: the increase in its use the greater youth of its users; the increase in the content of its main active constituent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and a lot of new epidemiological and neurobiological data. THC displays an exceptional lipophilicity, allowing its cerebral storage, leading to long lasting effects, by...
Attention and memory deficits have been reported in heavy marijuana users, but these effects may be reversible after prolonged abstinence. It remains unclear whether the reversibility of these cognitive deficits indicates that chronic marijuana use does not alter cortical networks, or that such changes occur but the brain adapts to the drug-induced changes. Blood oxygenation-level dependent...
Anlässlich des 100. Geburtstages des LSD-Drogen-Erfinders Albert Hofmann veranstaltete die Gaia Media Stiftung einen dreitägigen Kongress im Baseler Kongresszentrum. Insgesamt kamen über 1600 Besucher bei doch recht hohen Eintrittspreisen und 200 Pressevertreter zu der Tagung. Atmosphärisch interessant gestaltete sich schon der Vorraum des Zentrums, in dem psychonautische Klänge und eine...
Several brain functions such as movement coordination and visual perception are analysed in terms of synergetics, an interdisciplinary field of research dealing with spontaneous pattern formation. Accordingly, the brain is conceived as a self-organizing system operating close to instabilities where its activities are governed by collective variables, the order parameters, that enslave the...
The German pages of the Internet were searched for the presence of the hallucinogenic herbal drug Salvia divinorum, which is not dealt with in current addiction medicine or psychiatric text books. The investigation is part of the EU sponsored project "Psychonaut" as preparatory work for the development of an Internet-based early warning system. The first 100 websites of the search using "Salvia...
Abstract: Like any other psychiatric condition, the diagnosis of depersonalization disorder (DPD) is made clinically, by meeting with the patient and conducting a thorough evaluation interview. Descriptions of the symptoms, as we have described throughout this book, and as spelled out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), serve as the point of...
ObjectiveA few personality traits are characteristic of pathologic gamblers (PGs), but it is not clear if and how their personality profile differs from that of non-pathologic gamblers (non-PGs).MethodsSixty-five non-clinical subjects, differentiated into non-PGs and PGs with the means of the South Oak Gambling Screen (SOGS) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth...
Abstract: Psychotic disorders affecting up to 1% of the human population represent pathological changes to the metabolic homeostasis of the brain. Increasing evidence in the literature suggests complex biochemical and/or transcriptional alterations accompanying schizophrenia‐like phenomena. Sub‐chronic treatment with sub‐anaesthetic doses of ketamine induces schizophrenia‐related psychotic...