Two subtypes of cannabinoid receptors have been identified to date, the CB1 receptor, essentially located in the CNS, but also in peripheral tissues, and the CB2 receptor, found only at the periphery. The identification of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC) as the major active component of marijuana (Cannabis sativa), the recent emergence of potent synthetic ligands and the identification...
Objective: To compile and assess the English-language literature on drug-induced nightmares, excluding nightmares secondary to drug withdrawal or drug-associated night terrors. Data sources: Published articles, letters, case reports, and abstracts in English were identified by MEDLINE (1966-May 1998) searches using the search term nightmares, chemically induced. Additional articles were...
Recent neuroimaging studies of brain function have led to an explosion of knowledge about psychological processes and states. In this paper functional brain imaging studies of Yoga meditation are reviewed. Tantra-based meditations activate frontal and occipital cortical regions involved in focused, sustained attention and visual imagery. The overall pattern of brain activation in Tantra-based...
The inability to cope successfully with the enormous stress of medical education may lead to a cascade of consequences at both a personal and professional level. The present study examined the short-term effects of an 8-week meditation-based stress reduction intervention on premedical and medical students using a well-controlled statistical design. Findings indicate that participation in the...
Sleep disturbances are one of the hallmarks of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, sleep laboratory studies have provided inconsistent evidence of the existence of objective sleep disturbances in PTSD patients. Reports that awaking thresholds from sleep in war-related PTSD patients were significantly elevated compared to normals are discordant with complaints of insomnia. The present...
BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES BRUCE GREYSON* Near-death experiences (NDEs) are profound psychological events with transcendental or mystical elements typically occurring to individuals close to death or in situations of intense physical or emotional danger. Such experiences, once regarded as meaningless hallucinations, have become the subject of serious study by medical and other...
Synaptopathies (Fall, 2022) Synaptic neurotransmission lies at the heart of nervous system's functioning. Clearly then, alterations in synaptic signal transduction can lead to a variety of neural disorders. Perhaps the most widely known of these disorders include certain movement disorders and myasthenia gravis. More recent interest in synaptic dysfunction has focused on neurodevelopmental and...
We have evaluated the effect of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenal axis diurnal rhythms through the determination of hormone levels. Blood samples were taken at 0900 hours. and at 2000 hours. These samples were taken from 18 healthy volunteers who regularly practice TM and from nine healthy non-meditators. Cortisol, beta-endorphin, and adrenocorticotropic...
Ibogaine may have antiaddiction potential against alcohol, psychostimulant and opiate abuse, but its mechanism of action is unclear. Ibogaine, however, has been demonstrated in numerous studies to have effects in multiple central nervous system (CNS) neurotransmitters systems. We are using in vitro and in vivo systems to study the effects of cocaine and whether these effects can be blocked by...
ABSTRACT The material for this paper is drawn from essays written, as part of their ordinary class work, by a group of Papua New Guinea High School students, under the title ‘Recently I had a Dream’. The paper offers a content analysis of this material. The categories employed to present and analyse the data are rooted in the assumption that a dream may be likened to the performance of a play...