Clinical Neuropharmacology
2009
Massimiliano Aragona, Emanuela Onesti, Valentina Tomassini et al.
To study possible psychopathological symptoms and cognitive deficits, abuse induction, as well as general tolerability and effects on quality of life, fatigue and motor function in cannabis-naïve patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with a free-dose cannabis plant extract (Sativex). In an 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group crossover trial, 17...
Health and History
2009
Mathew T Martin-Iverson
Health& History 1112 2009 159 has to sort through a lot of other stuff to get it.He has some trouble keeping onmessage, often diverting tonon-related areas of psychiatric history. Then, we have to deal with his well-known opinions of the dreaded drug companies who are undoubtedly a part of the history, but could have been dealt with more objectively. I rather enjoyed his interludes into the...
Neuropsychobiology
2009
Wael M.Y. Mohamed, Sami Ben Hamida, Anne Pereira De Vasconcelos et al.
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a widely used recreational drug, often associated with dance parties. Users self-report euphoria, a sense of well-being and increased feelings of affiliation. In experimental animals, MDMA produces an acute, rapid release of serotonin and, to a lesser extent, dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. It can also produce a dose-dependent,...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 2009
John E. Fisk, C Montgomery
Previous research has suggested that the separate aspects of executive functioning are differentially affected by ecstasy use. Although the inhibition process appears to be unaffected by ecstasy use, it is unclear whether this is true of heavy users under conditions of high demand. Tasks loading on the updating process have been shown to be adversely affected by ecstasy use. However, it remains...
Neuropsychobiology
2009
Clare Dickson, Raimondo Bruno, John Brown
A growing body of evidence suggests that regular 'ecstasy' (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) use causes lasting changes to central serotonergic functioning in humans, including in the occipital lobe. Serotonin may play a role in visual orientation processing, mediated in the occipital lobe, via lateral inhibition. The tilt aftereffect is an illusion apparent following adaptation to stimuli...
Archives of General Psychiatry
November 3, 2008
Mikkel Christoffer Berg B. Arendt, Preben Bo Mortensen, Raben Rosenberg et al.
77 citations
CONTEXT: Cannabis-induced psychosis is considered a distinct clinical entity in the existing psychiatric diagnostic systems. However, the validity of the diagnosis is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: To establish rate ratios of developing cannabis-induced psychosis associated with predisposition to psychosis and other psychiatric disorders in a first-degree relative and to compare them with the...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 2008
G Bedi, J Redman
Previous research has found relationships between self-rated memory and ecstasy use, such that heavier users report worse function. These findings have been interpreted in terms of objective memory capacity. However, research on metamemory suggests that self-reported memory may be only weakly related to objective function, with demographics, mood, and memory-related beliefs and feelings also...
Current Drug Abuse Reviews
November 2008
George Panagis, Styliani Vlachou, George G. Nomikos
Cannabis preparations as recreational drugs are the most widely used illicit drugs in the world. Although cannabis derivatives produce clear subjective motivational responses in humans leading to drug-seeking behavior and in a specific proportion in repeated drug use, the reinforcing/rewarding attributes of these subjective effects are difficult to define in experimental animals. This led to...
Addiction Biology
September 2008
Jenny L Wiley, Rhys L Evans, Darren B Grainger et al.
Lifelong substance abuse is often initiated during adolescence; yet, most pre-clinical research in this area has been conducted in adult animals. Substantial evidence exists that the brain development that continues throughout adolescence may result in pharmacological responses that differ in a crucial manner from those of adults. The goal of this study was to evaluate age differences in motor...
Psychological Medicine
September 1, 2008
G. Bedi, J. Redman
68 citations
BackgroundAlthough there have been several reports linking ecstasy use with lowered cognitive function, much previous research suffers from substantial methodological limitations. The present study aimed to examine associations between ecstasy use and higher-level cognitive functions, using a larger sample size than most previous research and better controlling for a range of potential...