Psychopharmacology
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3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or "ecstasy") is a popular drug of abuse known to result in depletions of the serotonin (5-HT) system. A number of studies have reported that ecstasy users differ from controls on a variety of measures of cognitive function. However, the literature is not consistent and many negative findings were also reported. One reason for such inconsistency might be interindividual variance in vulnerability to the deleterious effects of ecstasy due to a number of factors, both genetic and environmental. ⋯ The results are consistent with the hypothesis that cognitive impairment in ecstasy users may depend on genetic variation at the 5-HTTLPR.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Intramuscular aripiprazole for the treatment of acute agitation in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled comparison with intramuscular haloperidol.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the efficacy and safety of intramuscular (IM) aripiprazole and IM haloperidol for the treatment of acute agitation in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. ⋯ These results show that IM aripiprazole is an effective treatment, comparable to IM haloperidol, and well-tolerated for acute agitation in patients with schizophrenia.
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Converging evidences from animal and human studies suggest that addiction is associated with dopaminergic dysfunction in brain reward circuits. So far, it is unclear what aspects of addictive behaviors are related to a dopaminergic dysfunction. ⋯ Compared to placebo, the BCAA mixture increased prolactin levels and impaired IGT performance. BCAA administration interfered with a particular component process of decision-making related to attention to more recent events as compared to more distant events. There were no differences between placebo and BCAA conditions for other aspects of cognition. Our results suggest a direct link between a reduced dopaminergic activity and poor emotion-based decision-making characterized by shortsightedness, and thus difficulties resisting short-term reward, despite long-term negative consequences. These findings have implications for behavioral and pharmacological interventions targeting impaired emotion-based decision-making in addictive disorders.
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Clinical data support a correlation between smoking and the incidence and severity of some chronic pain conditions. However, the impact of nicotine on neuropathic pain has been largely ignored in the laboratory setting. ⋯ These findings demonstrate that chronic nicotine produces a stable, long-lasting, mechanical hypersensitivity that exacerbates mechanical sensitivity resulting from peripheral nerve injury. The mechanism of this may involve an increase in spinal neuronal activity and apoptosis.