CONTEXT: Cannabis sativa use can impair verbal learning, provoke acute psychosis, and increase the risk of schizophrenia. It is unclear where C. sativa acts in the human brain to modulate verbal learning and to induce psychotic symptoms. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of 2 main psychoactive constituents of C. sativa, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta9-THC) and cannabidiol, on regional...
Metacognitive strategies of emotion regulation such as an objective perspective of one's self are known as primary factors in mindfulness intervention. Earlier studies, however, suggest that the effect of mindfulness differs because of the individual variability. In this study, we investigated the influence of the serotonin transporter gene polymorphism during the application of a metacognitive...
Mindfulness is associated with low levels of neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as high levels of self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Brown & Ryan, 2003). As part of a 3-month randomized waitlist-controlled trial of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program on university students (N=295), we examined the impact of TM practice on mindfulness as measured by...
Previous research has found a relationship between sleep paralysis (SP) and anxiety states and higher rates have been reported among certain ethnic groups. To advance the cross-cultural study of SP, we developed a brief assessment instrument (which can be self-administered), the Unusual Sleep Experiences Questionnaire (USEQ). In this article, we report on a pilot study with the USEQ in a sample...
Research has shown that mindfulness-based treatment interventions may be effective for a range of mental and physical health disorders in adult populations, but little is known about the effectiveness of such interventions for treating adolescent conditions. The present randomized clinical trial was designed to assess the effect of the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for...
CONTEXT: Cannabis use can both increase and reduce anxiety in humans. The neurophysiological substrates of these effects are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of 2 main psychoactive constituents of Cannabis sativa (Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol [Delta9-THC] and cannabidiol [CBD]) on regional brain function during emotional processing. DESIGN: Subjects were studied on 3 separate...
The authors respond to the article by H. F. Coelho, P. H. Canter, and E. Ernst (2007), which reviewed the current status of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). First, they clarify the randomization procedures in the 2 main MBCT trials. Second, they report posttreatment and follow-up data to show that trial participants allocated to "treatment as usual" did not become worse. Third, they...
Depression and Anxiety2008Thomas A. Mellman, Notalelomwan Aigbogun, Ruth Elaine Graves et al.
The occurrence of sleep paralysis (SP) absent narcolepsy appears to not be uncommon in African Americans and probably other non-European groups. Prior research has linked SP to trauma and psychiatric disorders and suggested a specific relationship to panic disorder in African Americans. The objective of our study was to evaluate relationships of SP with trauma, concurrent psychiatric symptoms...
A survey of magic mushroom use was completed by 174 participants in 2004, a year when the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms was not illegal in the UK. The data were collected in Edinburgh and Bristol (UK). Participants were a self-selecting convenience sample. Participants tended to be in their 20s, White-British, in education or employed; 64% were male. Participants reported a pattern of...
Research suggests that methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)/`ecstasy' can cause serotonin depletion as well as serotonergic neurodegradation that may result in depression. This longitudinal study used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) to assess depressive symptomatology every six months over a two-year period among a community sample of young adult MDMA/`ecstasy' users ( n = 402)....