Introduction Current theories suggest that prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in visual awareness (Dehaene 2003). This hypothesis has been supported by a number of brain imaging studies (Rees 2002). However, critics have challenged that there has been a lack of neuropsychological demonstration of the essential role of PFC in visual awareness: PFC damage does not seem to result in...
PsychopharmacologyJune 2010Hugo A Tejeda, Vladimir I Chefer, Agustin Zapata et al.
Kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) agonists produce dysphoria and psychotomimesis in humans. KORs are enriched in the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions that regulate mood and cognitive function. Dysregulation of the dynorphin/KOR system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder. Prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex (PPI), a...
Mindfulness is a mental and physical health intervention that is growing in popularity, particularly in the treatment of depression. Vidyamala Burch and Colin Duff from Breathworks describe how mindfulness works and how it is helping people in North West England to manage chronic pain and other problems
Meditation as Medicine: A Critique Wakoh Shannon Hickey Twenty‐seven adults are arrayed at the front of a large, sloping lecture hall: some lying on their backs, some upright in free‐standing chairs, some in the tiers of seats bolted to the floor. Most appear to range in age from mid‐forties to mid‐fifties. The lights are dim, most eyes are closed, and except for occasional fidgeting, everyone...
The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) is a well-validated multidimensional questionnaire measuring dimensions of mindfulness on four scales: Observing, Describing, Act With Awareness, and Accept Without Judgment. Even though the KIMS has been used in several clinical studies no information is available about the psychometric properties in different clinical samples. The present...
Pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) hyperactivity differentiates treatment responders from non-responders to various pharmacological antidepressant interventions, including ketamine, an N -methyl- D -aspartate receptor antagonist. Evidence of pgACC hyperactivition during non-emotional working memory tasks in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) highlights the importance of this...
Magic Mushrooms and Cancer TherapyA study at New York University has found that the controlled use of psychedelic drugs can help doctors treat cancer anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder."I think it made me more aware of what was so important and what was making me either sad or depressed.I think it was revelatory, " said a participant of the study.The therapy aims to help patients enrich...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical & Research NewsFull AccessCannabis Use, Psychosis Symptoms Show Strong LinkMark MoranMark MoranSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:21 May 2010https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.45.10.psychnews_45_10_028AbstractMarijuana use among individuals with schizophrenia is associated with more severe positive psychotic symptoms...
Functional neuroimaging studies provide converging evidence for existence of intrinsic brain networks activated during resting states and deactivated with selective cognitive demands. Whether task-related deactivation of the default mode network signifies depressed activity relative to the remaining brain or simply lower activity relative to its resting state remains controversial. We employed...
The serotonergic (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) dysfunction found in depression may affect not only brain function (mood) but also cerebrovascular control. Similar, but possibly occult, disturbances may also be induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity (MDMA, or "ecstasy"). Acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) is widely used to identify vulnerability to depression, and we...