Functional Connectivity Measures After Psilocybin Inform a Novel Hypothesis of Early Psychosis Robin L. Carhart-Harris, Robert Leech, David Erritzoe, Tim M. Williams, James M. Stone, John Evans, David J. Sharp, Amanda Feilding, Richard G. Wise, and David J. Nutt Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2012, Volume 39, Issue 6, November 2013, Pages 1343–1351 doi : 10.1093/schbul/sbs117 Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic and a candidate drug model of psychosis. This study measured the effects of psilocybin on resting-state network and thalamo-cortical functional connectivity (FC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy volunteers received intravenous infusions of psilocybin and placebo in 2 task-free resting-state scans. Primary analyses focused on [...]
Lire la suiteNeural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybine Robin L. Carhart-Harris, David Erritzoe, Tim Williams, James M. Stone, Laurence J. Reed, Alessandro Colasanti, Robin J. Tyacke, Robert Leech, Andrea L. Malizia, Kevin Murphy, Peter Hobden, John Evans, Amanda Feilding, Richard G. Wise, and David J. Nutt PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2012, 109, (6), 2138-2143. doi:10.1073/pnas.1119598109 www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1119598109/-/DCSupplemental. Abstract Psychedelic drugs have a long history of use in healing ceremonies, but despite renewed interest in their therapeutic potential, we continue to know very little about howthey work in the brain. Here we used psilocybin, a classic [...]
Lire la suiteCB 2 Cannabinoid Receptors as a Therapeutic Target - What does the Future Hold ? Amey Dhopeshwarkar and Ken Mackie Molecular Pharmacology, 2014, 86, 430–437 http://dx.doi.org/10.1124/mol.114.094649 ABSTRACT The past decades have seen an exponential rise in our understanding of the endocannabinoid system, comprising CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), and the enzymes that synthesize and degrade endocannabinoids. The primary focus of this review is the CB2 receptor. CB2 receptors have been the subject of considerable attention, primarily due to their promising therapeutic potential for treating various pathologies while avoiding the adverse psychotropic effects that can accompany CB1 receptor–based therapies. With the appreciation that [...]
Lire la suiteBeta-caryophyllene is a dietary cannabinoid Jürg Gertsch, Marco Leonti, Stephan Raduner, Ildiko Racz, Jian-Zhong Chen, Xiang-Qun Xie, Karl-Heinz Altmann, Meliha Karsak and Andreas Zimmer PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA), 2008, 105, (26), 9099-9104. Doi : 10.1073/pnas.0803601105 Abstract The psychoactive cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa L. and the arachidonic acid-derived endocannabinoids are nonselective natural ligands for cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and CB2 receptors. Although the CB1 receptor is responsible for the psychomodulatory effects, activation of the CB2 receptor is a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of inflammation, pain, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis. Here, we report that the widespread plant volatile [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoid CB1 and CB2 Receptor Signaling and Bias Mikkel Soes Ibsen, Mark Connor, Michelle Glass Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2017, Volume 2.1, 48-60 https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2016.0037 Abstract An agonist that acts through a single receptor can activate numerous signaling pathways. Recent studies have suggested that different ligands can differentially activate these pathways by stabilizing a limited range of receptor conformations, which in turn preferentially drive different downstream signaling cascades. This concept, termed “biased signaling” represents an exciting therapeutic opportunity to target specific pathways that elicit only desired effects, while avoiding undesired effects mediated by different signaling cascades. The cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 each activate multiple pathways, [...]
Lire la suiteMedical Marijuana Use in Oncology : A Review Gianna Wilkie, Bachir Sakr, Tina Rizack JAMA Oncology, 2016, 2, (5), 670-675. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.0155 IMPORTANCE : Medicinal marijuana use is currently legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia. As more states approve marijuana use for medical indications, physicians will be asked by their patients for more information regarding the risks and benefits of use. This article reviews the history, adverse effects, and proposed mechanisms of action of marijuana and summarizes the available literature regarding symptom relief and therapeutic value in patients with cancer. OBSERVATIONS : Marijuana in oncologymay have potential for use as an antiemetic, for [...]
Lire la suiteAn Update on Non-CB1, Non-CB2 Cannabinoid Related G-Protein-Coupled Receptors Paula Morales and Patricia H. Reggio Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2017, Volume 2.1, 265-273 DOI: 10.1089/can.2017.0036 Abstract The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been shown to be of great importance in the regulation of numerous physiological and pathological processes. To date, two Class A G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been discovered and validated as the main therapeutic targets of this system: the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), which is the most abundant neuromodulatory receptor in the brain, and the cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2), predominantly found in the immune system among other organs and tissues. Endogenous cannabinoid receptor [...]
Lire la suiteUnifying Theories of Psychedelic Drug Effects Link R. Swanson Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2018, Volume 9, Article 172, 1-23 www.frontiersin.org (2 March 2018) doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00172 Abstract How do psychedelic drugs produce their characteristic range of acute effects in perception, emotion, cognition, and sense of self? How do these effects relate to the clinical efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapies? Efforts to understand psychedelic phenomena date back more than a century in Western science. In this article I review theories of psychedelic drug effects and highlight key concepts which have endured over the last 125 years of psychedelic science. First, I describe the subjective phenomenology of acute psychedelic effects using [...]
Lire la suiteEndocannabinoid Signaling and Synaptic Function Pablo E. Castillo, Thomas J. Younts, Andres E. Chavez, and Yuki Hashimotodani Neuron, Cell Press, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2012.09.020 Endocannabinoids are key modulators of synaptic function. By activating cannabinoid receptors expressed in the central nervous system, these lipid messengers can regulate several neural functions and behaviors. As experimental tools advance, the repertoire of known endocannabinoid-mediated effects at the synapse, and their underlying mechanism, continues to expand. Retrograde signaling is the principal mode by which endocannabinoids mediate short- and long-term forms of plasticity at both excitatory and inhibitory synapses. However, growing evidence suggests that endocannabinoids can also signal in a nonretrograde manner. [...]
Lire la suiteAssociations between Adolescent Cannabis Use and Neuropsychological Decline : A Longitudinal Co-Twin Control Study Madeline H. Meier, Avshalom Caspi, Andrea Danese, Helen L. Fisher, Renate Houts, Louise Arseneault, & Terrie E. Moffitt Addiction. 2018, 113, (2), 257-265. doi: 10.1111/add.13946. Abstract Aims : This study tested whether adolescents who used cannabis or met criteria for cannabis dependence showed neuropsychological impairment prior to cannabis initiation and neuropsychological decline from before to after cannabis initiation. Design : A longitudinal co-twin control study. Setting and Participants : Participants were 1,989 twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of twins born in England and Wales [...]
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