Psychopharmacology
February 2012
Michelle Carbuto, R Andrew Sewell, Ashley H Williams et al.
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of the few cannabinoid receptor ligands that can be used to probe the cannabinoid system in humans. Despite increasing interest in the cannabinoid receptor system, use of intravenous THC as a research tool has been limited by concerns about its abuse liability and psychoactive effects. This study aims to evaluate the safety of all intravenous THC...
Consciousness and Cognition
January 10, 2012
Gráinne Schäfer, Amanda Feilding, Celia J. A. Morgan et al.
60 citations
Cannabis acutely increases schizotypy and chronic use is associated with elevated rates of psychosis. Creative individuals have higher levels of schizotypy, however links between cannabis use, schizotypy and creativity have not been investigated. We investigated the effects of cannabis smoked naturalistically on schizotypy and divergent thinking, a measure of creativity. One hundred and sixty...
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
January 2012
Marcel A De Dios, Debra S. Herman, Willoughby B. Britton et al.
This pilot study tested the efficacy of a brief intervention using motivational interviewing (MI) plus mindfulness meditation (MM) to reduce marijuana use among young adult females. Thirty-four female marijuana users between the ages of 18 and 29 were randomized to either the intervention group (n = 22), consisting of two sessions of MI-MM, or an assessment-only control group (n = 12). The...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
January 2012
Diana Dow-Edwards, Sari Izenwasser
Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) remains one of the most widely used illegal drugs, with adolescents being particularly vulnerable to its use and abuse. In spite of this, most studies are conducted in adult animals even though the effects might be quite different in adolescents. Additionally, the use of marijuana often precedes the use of other psychoactive drugs including cocaine, especially when...
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
January 2012
Robert S. Goodwin, Michael H Baumann, David A. Gorelick et al.
The endocannabinoid system modulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, but the effect of cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor antagonism following chronic CB1 receptor stimulation in humans is unknown. To evaluate effects of the CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant on the HPA axis in cannabis-dependent individuals. Fourteen daily cannabis smokers received increasingly frequent 20 mg...
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
January 2012
Brett C Ginsburg, David R Schulze, Lenka Hruba et al.
Products containing naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl) methanone (JWH-018) and naphthalen-1-yl-(1-butylindol-3-yl) methanone (JWH-073) are emerging drugs of abuse. Here, the behavioral effects of JWH-018 and JWH-073 were examined in one behavioral assay selective for cannabinoid agonism, rhesus monkeys (n = 4) discriminating Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC; 0.1 mg/kg i.v.), and another assay...
Archives of General Psychiatry
January 2012
Sagnik Bhattacharyya, José Alexandre S. Crippa, Paul Allen et al.
The aberrant processing of salience is thought to be a fundamental factor underlying psychosis. Cannabis can induce acute psychotic symptoms, and its chronic use may increase the risk of schizophrenia. We investigated whether its psychotic effects are mediated through an influence on attentional salience processing. To examine the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
2012
Adriana Caballero, Kuei Y Tseng
The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) is the G-protein coupled receptor responsible for the majority of the endocannabinoid signaling in the human brain. It is widely distributed in the limbic system, basal ganglia, and cerebellum, which are areas responsible for cognition, memory, and motor control. Because of this widespread distribution, it is not surprising that drugs that activate CB1R have...
Developmental Neuroscience
2012
John C Churchwell, Paul D Carey, Helen L Ferrett et al.
It has been hypothesized that changes in striatal-mediated dopamine modulation during adolescence may increase the risk for initiating substance abuse as a result of its fundamental role in arbitrating reward sensitivity and motivation during learning and decision making. However, substance abuse during adolescence may also significantly modify striatal structure and function and concomitantly...
2012
Robert J. Kupper
Recently it has been suggested for the first time that patients with psychotic disorder experience higher levels of craving compared to healthy controls, independent of frequency of cannabis use [120].Yet, this study did not control for the effects of antipsychotic medication and there is evidence that craving is associated with type of antipsychotic treatment [121].Still, increased craving...
Neuropsychobiology
2012
Franziska Hürlimann, Stephan Kupferschmid, Andor E Simon
We present a case series of 6 patients who developed persistent depersonalization disorder in adolescence after consuming cannabis. In 2 of these cases, the illness course was severely disabling. Within the growing body of literature that investigates the effects of cannabis use on mental health, the association between cannabis and depersonalization disorder is widely neglected. We review the...
Psychopharmacology
2012
Michael E. Ballard, David A Gallo, Harriet Wit
38 citations
Rationale Several psychoactive drugs are known to influence episodic memory. However, these drugs’ effects on false memory, or the tendency to incorrectly remember nonstudied information, remain poorly understood. Objectives Here, we examined the effects of two commonly used psychoactive drugs, one with memory-enhancing properties (dextroamphetamine; AMP), and another with memory-impairing...