Epiphenomenalism is shown to be absurd because the development of consciousness must be explainable through natural selection. A detailed neuromolecular basis of the neuromediator release is given and it is stressed on the possible key point where the quantum mind could act, namely presynaptic scaffold protein dynamics and detachment of the calcium sensor v-SNARE synaptotagmin-1. The...
Les qualia , considérés comme des propriétés intrinsèques de nos expériences, ne sont pas toujours bien accueillis par les matérialistes, qui préfèrent les considérer comme des propriétés intentionnelles présentées dans l’expérience. Je me demande si cette forme de réductionnisme s’applique aux qualia de la conscience corporelle. Selon la théorie matérialiste standard, l’objet intentionnel de...
There is substantial evidence that lisuride can produce effects linked to 5-HT(1A) receptor occupancy. Nevertheless, this action has generally been ignored in the mechanism of action of lisuride, in favor of an exclusive role for dopamine receptors in considering its antiparkinsonian effects, or an exclusive role of 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor activation in hallucinogenesis. These conclusions are...
Neuroscience LettersSeptember 27, 2002Werner J Schmidt, Andreas Mayerhofer, Anja Meyer et al.
Parkinson's disease is due to a dopamine deficiency caused by the degeneration of midbrain dopamine neurons. Current therapies are aimed to substitute dopamine or to directly stimulate postsynaptic dopamine receptors. However, not all patients profit from current therapies to the same extent, even serious side effects such as dyskinesias are complicating the therapy. Therefore, there is still a...
Neuroscience LettersSeptember 27, 2002Anja Meyer, Andreas Mayerhofer, Karl‐artur Kovar et al.
3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine (MDMA) ('Ecstasy') and its analogue 3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine (MDE) ('Eve') are well known illicit street drugs mainly abused by young people. In spite of the actual research going on, the classification of their abuse potential remains unclear. Since secondary reinforcers are the main factors responsible for craving and relapse, the aim of our...
Salvia divinorum, whose main active ingredient is the neoclerodane diterpene Salvinorin A, is a hallucinogenic plant in the mint family that has been used in traditional spiritual practices for its psychoactive properties by the Mazatecs of Oaxaca, Mexico. More recently, S. divinorum extracts and Salvinorin A have become more widely used in the U.S. as legal hallucinogens. We discovered that...
The phencyclidine (PCP) model of schizophrenia suggests that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor hypofunction and its consequences may play an important role in the pathophysiology of this psychiatric disorder. Moreover, the schizophreniform psychosis caused by PCP resembles schizophrenia in all of the relevant domains of psychopathology, especially negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction....
Studies have shown that the Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC) concentration in marijuana cigarettes is an important factor for the maintenance of marijuana self-administration. Yet, the impact of oral Delta(9)-THC treatment on marijuana self-administration is unknown. Because other agonist therapies have been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of substance use disorders,...
I.c.v. self‐administration of MDMA (0.01–2 μg per infusion), alone and in combination with CP 55,940 (0.4 μg infusion −1 ), was studied on an operant responding procedure. On the basis of individual preference for one of two levers, developed during training, rats were allowed to self‐administer vehicle from the preferred lever and MDMA from the other. Pressings on the MDMA associated‐lever,...
PsychopharmacologyJuly 2002Jeffrey A Vivian, Courtney A Waters, Kendall T Szeliga et al.
The current study was designed to extend our knowledge of the N-methyl- D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor system in mediating the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol in non-human primates. To characterize the discriminative stimulus effects of the NMDA uncompetitive antagonists dizocilpine, phencyclidine (PCP) and ketamine in male and female monkeys under different ethanol training...