Psychopathology
2008
Barnaby Nelson, Louis Sass
24 citations
While considerable research attention has been devoted to the causal relationship between substance use and psychosis, the phenomenology of the association between the two has largely been ignored. This is a significant shortcoming, because it blinds researchers to the possibility that there may be elements of the subjective experience of substance use and psychosis that contribute to their...
Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
December 21, 2007
Alex Straiker
Abstract: Exogenous cannabinoids are ∼60 molecules with a similar structural motif found in marijuana and hashish. Some of these are psychoactive – the chief being Δ 9 ‐tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 ‐THC) – and have been found to exert their psychoactive effects via receptors in the body. The human body makes endogenous cannabinoids that are structurally distinct from exogenous cannabinoids. This...
Pharmacological Research
November 2007
Marcello Solinas, Sevil Yasar, Steven R Goldberg
Cannabis is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the world and its main psychoactive ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), produces rewarding effects in humans and non-human primates. Over the last several decades, an endogenous system comprised of cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands for these receptors and enzymes responsible for the synthesis and degradation of these...
Journal of Neuroscience
October 24, 2007
Francis Rodriguez Bambico, Noam Katz, Guy Debonnel et al.
325 citations
Preclinical and clinical studies show that cannabis modulates mood and possesses antidepressant-like properties, mediated by the agonistic activity of cannabinoids on central CB1 receptors (CB1Rs). The action of CB1R agonists on the serotonin (5-HT) system, the major transmitter system involved in mood control and implicated in the mechanism of action of antidepressants, remains however poorly...
Canadian Medical Association Journal
October 8, 2007
Matthew Kopala
1 citation
Studies have suggested that as many as 1 in 4 cannabis users may be genetically at risk for developing schizophrenia or a related psychotic disorder. Now, a new study reveals all users are at risk.[1][1] Given recent United Nations' statistics citing Canada as the industrial world's leading
Psychopharmacology
October 2007
Rosa Hoshi, Kate Mullins, Catherine Boundy et al.
Despite years of research and much controversy surrounding the effects of ecstasy use, findings are equivocal. Attempting to reduce methodological problems, such as concurrent use of other recreational drugs, could lead to a clearer picture of the effects of ecstasy use on cognitive function. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of both prolonged abstention from ecstasy use and...
Journal of Neurophysiology
September 2007
Maeng-Hee Kang-Park, Wilkie A Wilson, Cynthia M Kuhn et al.
The impairment of learning and memory is one of the most powerful and least understood effects of marijuana although the hippocampal formation appears to be one CNS region mediating these effects. We have shown that systemic injection of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active component of marijuana, impairs spatial learning more efficaciously in adolescent rats, compared with adult rats,...
Molecular Neurobiology
August 2007
María Gómez-Ruiz, Mariluz Hernández, Rosario De Miguel et al.
About 40 years ago, cannabinoids were considered as the substances responsible for the psychoactive properties of marijuana and other derivatives of Cannabis sativa, whereas their medicinal use remained unexplored. However, with the discovery of the endocannabinoid system 20 years later, the compounds able to modify this system are being reconsidered for their therapeutic potential. Thus, the...
Psychopharmacology
August 2007
Gerry Jager, Maartje M. L. de Win, Hylke K E Vervaeke et al.
Heavy ecstasy use in humans has been associated with cognitive impairments and changes in cognitive brain function supposedly due to damage to the serotonin system. There is concern that even a single dose of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine may be neurotoxic, but very little is known about the consequences of a low dose of ecstasy for cognitive brain function. The objective of the study was...
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
July 10, 2007
Keith R. Laws, Joy Kokkalis
75 citations
Abstract A meta‐analysis was conducted to examine the impact of recreational ecstasy use on short‐term memory (STM), long‐term memory (LTM), verbal and visual memory. We located 26 studies containing memory data for ecstasy and non‐ecstasy users from which effect sizes could be derived. The analyses provided measures of STM and LTM in 610 and 439 ecstasy users and revealed moderate‐to‐large...