Chronic Stress2019Ginetta Collo, Laura Cavalleri, Emilio Merlo Pich
The mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression are only partially understood. Reactivation of neural plasticity in prefrontal cortex has been considered critical in mediating the effects of standard antidepressants, but in treatment-resistant depression patients with severe anhedonia, other components of the affected brain circuits, for...
Numerous antidepressants are available for the treatment of the major depressive disorder (MDD). Unfortunately, the disadvantages of these antidepressive medications, including inadequate treatment response, the therapeutic lag between drug administration and the onset of symptoms alleviation, and the safety consideration limit their clinical use and accelerate the exploration of advanced...
Researchers, program administrators, and practicing clinicians explain the most recent developments in using psychedelic substances to treat psychological, physiological, and social problems. More than a decade ago, the U.S. government lifted its ban on all testing of psychedelic substances. Winkelman and Sessa now provide updated scientific research and applications of these substances, now...
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Psychedelics are reawakening interest from psychiatry, cognitive neuroscience and the general public with impressive outcomes in small-scale clinical trials, intriguing human brain imaging work and high-impact journalism. RECENT FINDINGS: This brief opinion piece offers a perspective on how psychedelics work in the brain that may help contextualize these developments. It...
Psychedelic drugs, often referred to as hallucinogens, are quite distinct from other classes of psychotropic drugs. Although the subjective and behavioral effects they induce are quite dramatic, they possess little addictive potential when compared to nicotine, alcohol or opiates. Since the discovery of ketamine antidepressant effects, there has been growing interest for these molecules....
Repeated, recreational ketamine (KE) or methamphetamine (MA) administration seldom produce neurotoxicity, while combining MA and KE administration have been thought to render changes in neural plasticity and motivational behavior. In this study, we sought to assess whether pre-exposure to multiple MA injections and withdrawal may affect low-dose KE-produced rewarding effects, social interaction...
Donepezil is the first-line of treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD), which improves cognitive impairment effectively, but whether it has an impact on cognitive impairment in schizophrenia remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effects and mechanisms of donepezil on schizophrenia-like cognitive deficits induced by phencyclidine (PCP). The cognitive deficits model of schizophrenia was...
Focused attention meditation (FAM) practices are cognitive control exercises where meditators learn to maintain focus and attention in the face of distracting stimuli. Previous studies have shown that FAM is both activating and causing plastic changes to the mesolimbic dopamine system and some of its target structures, particularly the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and striatum....
Cannabis is the most consumed illicit drug worldwide. Its principal psychoactive component, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), affects multiple brain functions, including cognitive performance, by modulating cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors. These receptors are strongly enriched in presynaptic terminals, where they modulate neurotransmitter release. We analyzed, through a proteomic screening of...
In rodent models, chronic exposure to cannabis' psychoactive ingredient, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, during adolescence leads to abnormal behavior in adulthood. In female rats, this maladaptive behavior is characterized by endophenotypes for depressive-like and psychotic-like disorders as well as cognitive deficits. We recently reported that most depressive-like behaviors triggered by adolescent...