The DMT Gland : The Pineal, The Spirit Molecule, and Popular Culture Graham St John International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 7.2 , 2016, 153–174 ISSN 2041-9511 (print) ISSN 2041-952X (online) 10.1558/ijsnr.v7i2.31949 With clinical psychiatrist Rick Strassman’s DMT: The Spirit Molecule as a vehicle, the pineal gland has become a popularly enigmatic organ that quite literally excretes mystery. Strassman’s top selling book documented groundbreaking clinical trials with the powerful mind altering compound DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) conducted at the University of New Mexico in the early 1990s. Inflected with Buddhist metaphysics, the book proposed that DMT secreted from the pineal gland enables transit of the [...]
Lire la suitePrenatal THC exposure produces a hyperdopaminergic phenotype rescued by pregnenolone Roberto Frau, Vivien Miczán, Francesco Traccis, Sonia Aroni, Csaba I. Pongor, Pierluigi Saba, Valeria Serra, Claudia Sagheddu, Silvia Fanni, Mauro Congiu, Paola Devoto, Joseph F. Cheer, István Katona and Miriam Melis Nature Neuroscience, December 2019, VOL 22, 1975–1985 www.nature.com/natureneuroscience1975 Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved Doi : 10.1038/s41593-019-0512-2 The increased legal availability of cannabis has led to a common misconception that it is a safe natural remedy for, among others, pregnancy-related ailments such as morning sickness. Emerging clinical evidence, however, indicates that prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) predisposes offspring to various neuropsychiatric [...]
Lire la suiteCannabis Use in Adolescence : A Review of Neuroimaging Findings Yann Chye, Erynn Christensen & Murat Yücel Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 2019 Doi : 10.1080/15504263.2019.1636171 ABSTRACT Objective : Shifting policies and widespread acceptance of cannabis for medical and/or recreational purposes have fueled worries of increased cannabis initiation and use in adolescents. In particular, the adolescent period is thought to be associated with an increased susceptibility to the potential harms of repeated cannabis use, due to being a critical period for neuromaturational events in the brain. This review investigates the neuroimaging evidence of brain harms attributable to adolescent cannabis use. Methods : PubMed and Scopus searches were [...]
Lire la suiteCannabis use and later life outcomes David M. Fergusson & Joseph M. Boden Addiction, 2008, 103, 969–976 doi : 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02221.x ABSTRACT Aim : To examine the associations between the extent of cannabis use during adolescence and young adult-hood and later education, economic, employment, relationship satisfaction and life satisfaction outcomes. Design A longitudinal study of a New Zealand birth cohort studied to age 25 years. Measurements : Measures of : cannabis use at ages 14–25; university degree attainment to age 25; income at age 25; welfare dependence during the period 21–25 years; unemployment 21–25 years; relationship quality; life satisfaction. Also, measures of childhood socio-economic disadvantage, family adversity, [...]
Lire la suiteLa FDA accélère la recherche sur la psilocybine pour les troubles dépressifs majeurs Aurélien Bernard Newsweed, 28 novembre 2019 https://www.newsweed.fr/fda-accelere-recherche-psilocybine-depression/ La Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a catégorisé les champignons hallucinogènes en tant que « thérapie révolutionnaire » pour les troubles dépressifs majeurs (MDD), une démarche qui accélérera la recherche de nouveaux médicaments à partir de psilocybine. Cette classification a été créée en 2012 pour encadrer les recherches et le développement produit de médicaments à partir de susbtances ayant un potentiel fort par rapport aux options existantes et pour des patients atteints de maladie grave ou qui met leur vie en danger. La première recherche [...]
Lire la suiteAssociations of Parental Marijuana Use With Offspring Marijuana, Tobacco, and Alcohol Use and Opioid Misuse Bertha K. Madras, Beth Han, Wilson M. Compton, Christopher M. Jones, Elizabeth I. Lopez, Elinore F. McCance-Katz JAMA Network Open, 2019, 2, (11), e1916015. doi : 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.16015 Abstract IMPORTANCE : Marijuana use is increasing among adults and often co-occurs with other substance use; therefore, it is important to examine whether parental marijuana use is associated with elevated risk of substance use among offspring living in the same household. OBJECTIVE : To examine associations of parental marijuana use with offspring marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol use and opioid misuse. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS : [...]
Lire la suiteEndocannabinoid-mediated synaptic plasticity and substance use disorders E. Fernandez-Espejo, L. Nunez-Dominguez Neurologia, 2019 Copyright © 2019 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved. doi : 10.1016/j.nrl.2018.12.004 Abstract Drugs impact brain reward circuits, causing dependence and addiction, in a condition currently described as substance use disorders. Mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in these circuits are crucial in the development of addictive behaviour, and endocannabinoids, particularly anandamide and 2-arachidonyl-glycerol, participate in normal neuroplasticity. Substance use disorders are known to be associated with disruption of endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic plasticity, among other phenomena. Endocannabinoids mediate neuroplasticity in the short and the long term. In the short term, [...]
Lire la suiteMedical cannabis and mental health : A guided systematic review, Zach Walsh, Raul Gonzalez, Kim Crosby, Michelle S. Thiessen, Chris Carroll, Marcel O. Bonn-Miller Clinical Psychology Review, 2017, 51, 15-29. Doi : 10.1016/j.cpr.2016.10.002 a b s t r a c t This review considers the potential influences of the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes (CTP) on areas of interest to mental health professionals, with foci on adult psychopathology and assessment. We identified 31 articles relating to the use of CTP and mental health, and 29 review articles on cannabis use and mental health that did not focus on use for therapeutic purposes. Results reflect the [...]
Lire la suiteAcceptance of pharmaceutical cannabis substitution by cannabis using patients with schizophrenia Jan van Amsterdam, Jojanneke Vervloet, Gerdien de Weert, Victor J. A. Buwalda, Anna E. Goudriaan and Wim van den Brink Harm Reduction Journal, 2018, 15, 47, 1-4. Doi : 10.1186/s12954-018-0253-7 Abstract Background : Cannabis-smoking patients with a psychotic disorder have poorer disease outcomes than non-cannabis-smoking patients with poorest outcomes in patients smoking high-potency cannabis (HPC) containing high Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and low cannabidiol (CBD). Quitting cannabis smoking or substitution of HPC by cannabis variants containing less THC and/or more CBD may benefit these patients. The present study explores whether daily HPC-smoking patients with schizophrenia accept smoking [...]
Lire la suiteThe Role of Cannabis within an Emerging Perspective on Schizophrenia Jegason P. Diviant, Jacob M. Vigil, and Sarah S. Stith Medicines, 2018, 5, 86, 1-11. doi : 10.3390/medicines5030086 Abstract Background : Approximately 0.5% of the population is diagnosed with some form of schizophrenia, under the prevailing view that the pathology is best treated using pharmaceutical medications that act on monoamine receptors. Methods : We briefly review evidence on the impact of environmental forces, particularly the effect of autoimmune activity, in the expression of schizophrenic profiles and the role of Cannabis therapy for regulating immunological functioning. Results : A review of the literature shows that phytocannabinoid consumption may [...]
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