February 16, 2010
Margaret Stutley
Shamanism is one of the earliest and farthest-reaching magical and religious traditions, vestiges of which still underlie the major religious faiths of the modern world. The function of the shaman is to show his or her people the unseen powers behind the mere appearances of nature, as experienced through intuition, in trance states, or during ecstatic mystical visions. Shamans possess healing...
February 16, 2010
Margaret Stutley
Shamanism is one of the earliest and farthest-reaching magical and religious traditions, vestiges of which still underlie the major religious faiths of the modern world. The function of the shaman is to show his or her people the unseen powers behind the mere appearances of nature, as experienced through intuition, in trance states, or during ecstatic mystical visions. Shamans possess healing...
February 16, 2010
I. M. Lewis
First Published in 2004. States of spirit possession, in which believer's feel themselves to be 'possessed' by the deity and raised to a new plane of existence, are found in almost all known religions. From Dionysiac cults to Haitia voodoo, Christian and Sufi mysticism to shamanic ritual, the rapture and frenzy of ecstatic experience forms an iconic expression of faith in all its devastating...
Chemical Research in Toxicology
January 2010
Anne Felim, Guadalupe Herrera, Anne Neudörffer et al.
(+/-)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, also known as "ecstasy") is a chiral drug that is essentially metabolized in humans through O-demethylenation into 3,4-dihydroxymethamphetamine (HHMA). There has recently been a resurgence of interest in the possibility that MDMA metabolites, especially 5-(N-acetylcystein-S-yl)-N-methyl-alpha-methyldopamine (designated as 5-NAC-HHMA), might play a...
The´rapie
2010
Danièle Debruyne, Marie-Anne Courné, Reynald Le Boisselier et al.
Designer drugs are currently marketed as substitutes for stimulant drugs as cocaine, amphetamine, MDMA...Unlike compounds listed as narcotics, these new substances are deliberately synthesized to avoid anti-drug laws. Among them, mephedrone (4-methylmethcatinone) that belongs to cathinone family, has been recently introduced in France. Users report positive euphoric and entactogenic effects....
Psychosomatics
2010
Zachary Berrens, Jessica Lammers, Christopher G. White
Rhabdomyolysis involves the release of intracellular contents secondary to muscle cell injury; it generally presents with muscle pain and weakness. Illicit drugs, including phencyclidine, MDMA ("ecstasy"), and cocaine, are frequently documented as a cause of rhabdomyolysis. The authors review the literature on LSD-associated rhabdomyolysis. The authors provide a new case report of a previously...
Neurotoxicology and Teratology
2010
Devon L Graham, Nicole R Herring, Tori L. Schaefer et al.
13 citations
The use of the club drugs 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and 5-methoxy-n,n-diisopropyltryptamine (Foxy) is of growing concern, especially as many of the effects, particularly during development, are unknown. The effects of these drugs upon homeostasis may be important since both are known to stimulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The purpose of this experiment was to...
L'Encephale
December 1, 2009
Y Morvan, J Rouvier, J-P Olié et al.
Introduction: The use of illicit drugs by students and the possible psychological repercussions in this population of young adults is an important public health issue. While some data in the literature suggest a relationship between cannabis and the occurrence of mental health disorders, and in particular psychotic illnesses, epidemiologic surveys have shown that cannabis is the most consumed...
Central nervous system agents in medicinal chemistry
December 1, 2009
María Elena Ayala
Serotonin, a biogenic amine, is present in significant amounts in many structures of the CNS. It is involved in regulation of a wide variety of physiological functions, such as sensory and motor functions, memory, mood, and secretion of hormones including reproductive hormones. It has also been implicated in the etiology of a range of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and...
Epilepsy & Behavior
November 1, 2009
F. Picard, A. Craig
The anatomical correlate of epileptic seizures with ecstatic auras has not been established. We document precise descriptions of the ecstatic seizures experienced by five patients, all of whom reported intense feelings of well-being and a heightened self-awareness. We propose here that the descriptions by these patients, together with the neurophysiological and neuroradiological evidence,...