Cannabis Use and Premorbid Functioning as Predictors of Poorer Neurocognition in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder.
Cannabis use and premorbid functioning as predictors of poorer neurocognition in schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Schizophr Res. 2012 Nov 21;
Ringen PA, Melle I, Berg AO, Agartz I, Spigset O, Simonsen C, Sundet K, Andreassen OA
BACKGROUND: Evidence of associations between neurocognitive function and cannabis use in schizophrenia is inconclusive. However, direct measures of cannabis intake and premorbid function are rarely explored in this context. We investigated the relation between cannabis use, determined by its presence in urine, and neurocognitive functioning in schizophrenia controlling for the potential bias of premorbid functioning. METHODS: Naturalistic study of 364 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder from catchment areas in Oslo, Norway. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between cannabis in urine and measures of neurocognitive functioning, with adjustment for confounders, including premorbid functioning. RESULTS: Cannabis was detected in the urine of 21 patients, who had significant dysfunction in several neurocognitive domains independent of a current diagnosis of cannabis abuse. However, level of premorbid functioning explained the associations for all measures. CONCLUSION: Differences in premorbid functioning may explain apparent differences in neurocognitive function between schizophrenia spectrum patients using cannabis or not. The findings suggest that illness-related traits present early in life can affect both later cannabis use and neurocognition, probably by complex mechanisms.
HubMed – addiction
Dopamine and Food Addiction: Lexicon Badly Needed.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Biol Psychiatry. 2012 Nov 21;
Salamone JD, Correa M
Over the last few years, the concept of food addiction has become a common feature in the scientific literature, as well as the popular press. Nevertheless, the use of the term addiction to describe pathological aspects of food intake in humans remains controversial, and even among those who affirm the validity of the concept, there is considerable disagreement about its utility for explaining the increasing prevalence of obesity throughout much of the world. An examination of the literature on food addiction indicates that mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine systems often are cited as mechanisms that contribute to the establishment of food addiction. However, in reviewing this literature, it is important to have a detailed consideration of the complex nature of dopaminergic involvement in motivational processes. For example, although it is often stated that mesolimbic dopamine mediates reward, there is no standard or consistent technical meaning of this term. Moreover, there is a persistent tendency to link dopamine transmission with pleasure or hedonia, as opposed to other aspects of motivation or learning. The present article provides a critical discussion of some aspects of the food addiction literature, viewed through the lens of recent findings and current theoretical views of dopaminergic involvement in food motivation. Furthermore, compulsive food intake and binge eating will be considered from an evolutionary perspective, in terms of the motivational subsystems that are involved in adaptive patterns of food consumption and seeking behaviors and a consideration of how these could be altered in pathological conditions.
HubMed – addiction
Screening hypersexuality in Parkinson’s disease in everyday practice.
Filed under: Addiction Rehab
Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2012 Nov 20;
Pereira B, Llorca PM, Durif F, Brousse G, Blanc O, Rieu I, Derost P, Ulla M, Debilly B, de Chazeron I
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop a short and reliable measure of hypersexuality that could be used in everyday practice in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). DESIGN: The original questionnaire containing twenty-five-items, the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST), was shortened and tested in a PD population. METHODS: Successive reductions were performed until a final set of items satisfied the model fit requirements. The testing phase consisted of administering the SAST questionnaire to 159 PD patients. It included i) acceptability, ii) dimensionality construct validity, and iii) a complete general correlation structure of data. Finally, criterion validity of the final version of the instrument was assessed. RESULTS: The initial questionnaire was reduced to five items (PD-SAST) with a cut-off score of 2. Psychometric analysis revealed three factors corresponding to “Preoccupation”, “Cannot stop” and “Relationship disturbance”. The discriminant validity of the PD-SAST was high (ROC area under the curve: 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: The PD-SAST performs well as a screening instrument. It has been found to be acceptable to patients and is ready for use. Moreover, it tests multidimensional aspects of hypersexuality.
HubMed – addiction
Drug Addiction – Short video on heroin addiction. Produced by Friedkin Digital for Wiley & Sons, Inc. Part of a companion series for a university level textbook, “Abnormal Psychology” 11th edition by authors Ann M. Kring, Sheri L. Johnson, Gerald C. Davison, & John M. Neale. Additional footage courtesy of Greg Scott Sawbuck Productions DePaul University …dedicated to the memory of his sister, Julie. © Copyright 2009
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