Cannabidiol provides long-lasting protection against the deleterious effects of inflammation in a viral model of multiple sclerosis : A role for A2A receptors M. Mecha, A. Feliú, P.M. Iñigo, L. Mestre, F.J. Carrillo-Salinas, C. Guaza Neurobiology of Disease, 2013, 59, 141–150 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2013.06.016 Inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) is a complex process that involves a multitude of mole-cules and effectors, and it requires the transmigration of blood leukocytes across the blood–brain barrier(BBB) and the activation of resident immune cells. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabinoid constituent of Cannabis sativa, has potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. Yet, how this compound modifies the deleterious effects of [...]
Lire la suiteImproved Social Interaction, Recognition and Working Memory with Cannabidiol Treatment in a Prenatal Infection (poly I:C) Rat Model Ashleigh L. Osborne, Nadia Solowij, Ilijana Babic, Xu-Feng Huang and Katrina Weston-Green Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017, 42, 1447–1457 0893-133X/17 www.neuropsychopharmacology.org doi:10.1038/npp.2017.40 Neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia are associated with cognitive impairment, including learning, memory and attention deficits. Antipsychotic drugs are limited in their efficacy to improve cognition; therefore, new therapeutic agents are required. Cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating component of cannabis, has anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and antipsychotic-like properties; however, its ability to improve the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia remains unclear. Using a prenatal infection model, we examined the effect of chronic CBD [...]
Lire la suiteNeural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuro-imagerie Robin L. Carhart-Harris, Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, Leor Roseman, Mendel Kaelen, Wouter Droog, Kevin Murphy, Enzo Tagliazucchi, Eduardo E. Schenberg, Timothy Nest, Csaba Orban, Robert Leech, Luke T. Williams, Tim M. Williams, Mark Bolstridge, Ben Sessa, John McGonigle, Martin I. Sereno, David Nichols, Peter J. Hellyer, Peter Hobden, John Evans, Krish D. Singh, Richard G. Wise, H. Valerie Curran, Amanda Feilding, and David J. Nutt PNAS (Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of the USA), 2016, 113, 17, 4853-4858 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1518377113 Abstract Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is the prototypical psychedelic drug, but its effects on the human [...]
Lire la suiteFor the First Time, Scientists Have Imaged the Brain on LSD The scientists hope their long-awaited study on LSD in humans will open the floodgates to further research into psychedelics. Victoria TURK, April 11, 2016 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bmvm3w/for-the-first-time-scientists-have-imaged-the-brain-on-lsd Researcher, drug policy reformer, and Countess of Wemyss Amanda Feilding made a promise to Albert Hofmann, the "father of LSD," after meeting him in the 90s: She would carry out scientific research with his "problem child" on human subjects by his 100th birthday in 2006. A study published on Monday makes good on that vow, albeit ten years late: For the first time, researchers have imaged the human brain [...]
Lire la suiteLSD Brings Your Brain to the Edge of Chaos This new LSD study is like an acid trip all on its own. This story was first published by Tonic, VICE's health site. You can now find the same great health content right here at vice.com. One Saturday in 1964, neurologist Oliver Sacks took a bit of amphetamines, LSD, a “touch” of cannabis, faced a white wall in his home, and said “I want to see indigo now—now!” “And then,” he wrote in the New Yorker in 2012, “as if thrown by a giant paintbrush, there appeared a huge, trembling, pear-shaped blob of the [...]
Lire la suiteMolecular Targets of the Phytocannabinoids-A Complex Picture Paula Morales, Dow P. Hurst, Patricia H. Reggio Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products, 2017 ; 103: 103–131. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-45541-9_4. 1 Introduction For centuries, hashish and marihuana, both derived from the Indian hemp Cannabis sativa L., have been used for their medicinal, as well as, their psychotropic effects. Phytocannabinoids are oxygen containing C21 aromatic hydrocarbons found in Cannabis sativa L. To date, over 120 phytocannabinoids have been isolated from Cannabis, including two compounds, (−)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and (−)-trans-Δ8-THC (Δ8-THC) that have been shown to bind to cannabinoid receptors and elicit the characteristic psychotropic effect associated with Cannabis [1]. [...]
Lire la suiteCannabidiol reduces seizures and associated behavioral comorbidities in a range of animal seizure and epilepsy models Pabitra Hriday Patra, Melissa Barker-Haliski, H. Steve White, Benjamin J. Whalley, Sarah Glyn, Haramrit Sandhu, Nicholas Jones, Michael Bazelot, Claire M. Williams, Alister James McNeish Epilepsia, 2018, 1–12. DOI: 10.1111/epi.14629 Summary Objective : Epilepsy is a progressive neurological disease characterized by recurrent seizures and behavioral comorbidities. We investigated the antiseizure effect of cannabidiol (CBD) in a battery of acute seizure models. Additionally, we defined the disease‐modifying potential of chronic oral administration of CBD on associated comorbidities in the reduced intensity status epilepticus–spontaneous recurrent seizures (RISE‐SRS) model of temporal lobe [...]
Lire la suiteEffects of Schedule I drug laws on neuroscience research and treatment innovation. Nutt D.J., King L.A., Nichols D.E. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2013, 14, 577-585 DOI : 10.1038/nrn3530 Abstract Many psychoactive drugs are used recreationally, particularly by young people. This use and its perceived dangers have led to many different classes of drugs being banned under national laws and international conventions. Indeed, the possession of cannabis, 3,4‑methylenedioxy- N‑methyl-amphetamine (MDMA; also known as ecstasy) and psychedelics is stringently regulated. An important and unfortunate outcome of the controls placed on these and other psychoactive drugs is that they make research into their mechanisms of action and potential therapeutic [...]
Lire la suiteHow do hallucinogens work on the brain? Robin Carhart-Harris, Mendel Kaelen and David Nutt The Psychologist, 2014, 27, 9, 662-665 What do we know about how hallucinogens work on the brain to produce their characteristic subjective effects? This question can be approached from a number of different levels. At the lowest functionally relevant level, how do the hallucinogenic compounds themselves interact with a certain neurotransmitter receptor to alter neuronal activity? Then at the neuronal population level, how does a drug-induced change in neuronal firing interact with the integrated oscillatory activity of large populations of neurons? Finally, how does this all play out at [...]
Lire la suiteKetamine Promising in Cocaine Addiction Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW American Journal of Psychiatry, July 05, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18101123 A single ketamine infusion combined with mindfulness-based relapse prevention therapy (MBRP) improves abstinence and cuts cravings in cocaine-dependent adults, new research suggests. Results of a randomized control trial show that rates of abstinence were significiantly higher in patients who received ketamine plus MBRP compared to control patients. Moreover, those in the group that received ketamine were significantly less likely to experience relapse compared to control persons, and cravings were also significantly lower in the ketamine group throughout the trial. "In individuals receiving MBRP, a single ketamine infusion led to significantly greater [...]
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