Entries categorized as Substance Abuse

Long-Time Cannabis Use Associated With Psychosis

On March 9, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Substance Abuse / No Comments

Young adults who have used cannabis or marijuana for a longer period of time appear more likely to have hallucinations or delusions or to meet criteria for psychosis, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Previous studies have identified an association between cannabis use and psychosis, according to background information in the article. However, concerns remain that this research has not adequately accounted for confounding variables. (read the full story)

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Increasing Neurogenesis Might Prevent Drug Addiction And Relapse

On March 2, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Neuroscience, Substance Abuse / No Comments

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center hope they have begun paving a new pathway in the fight against drug dependence. Their hypothesis – that increasing the normally occurring process of making nerve cells might prevent addiction – is based on a rodent study demonstrating that blocking new growth of specific brain nerve cells increases vulnerability for cocaine addiction and relapse. The study’s findings, available in the Journal of Neuroscience, are the first to directly link addiction with the process, called neurogenesis, in the region of the brain called the hippocampus. (read the full story)

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DSM-5 Proposed Revisions Include New Category Of Addiction And Related Disorders And New Category Of Behavioral Addictions Also Proposed

On February 12, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Substance Abuse / No Comments

The American Psychiatric Association’s proposed diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) will eliminate the current categories of substance abuse and dependence, replacing them with the new category “addiction and related disorders.” This will include “substance use disorders,” with each drug identified as a category such as “alcohol use disorder.” The DSM Substance-Related Disorders Work Group members also have recommended a new category of behavioral addictions, in which gambling will be the sole disorder. (continue reading)

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Neural Processing Differences In ADHD In Individuals With And Without Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

On February 10, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In ADHD / No Comments

The adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on behavioral, cognitive, and social development can lead to a range of symptoms referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Attention and cognition problems seen in individuals with a history of prenatal alcohol exposure often resemble those linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). An assessment of these disorders has found that while children with FASD may meet the behavioral criteria for ADHD, their attention difficulties differ in subtle but important respects. (continue reading)

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Deficits In Brain’s Reward System Observed In ADHD Patients

On February 6, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In ADHD, Brain Imaging / No Comments

A brain-imaging study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provides the first definitive evidence that patients suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have lower-than-normal levels of certain proteins essential for experiencing reward and motivation. “These deficits in the brain’s reward system may help explain clinical symptoms of ADHD, including inattention and reduced motivation, as well as the propensity for complications such as drug abuse and obesity among ADHD patients,” said lead author Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a long-time collaborator on neuroimaging research at Brookhaven Lab. (continue reading)

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Alcohol Use And Cognitive Decline Among The Elderly

On February 3, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Substance Abuse / No Comments

Studies of alcohol use and cognition among the elderly are rare and have mixed results. A study of drinking among the elderly in Brazil has found that heavy alcohol use is associated with more memory and cognitive problems than mild-to-moderate alcohol use, especially among women. Mild-to-moderate alcohol use was associated with lower cognitive disorder rates than no alcohol use, also among women. Results will be published in the April 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. (continue reading)

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Adolescents Perceptions Of Risk from Substance Use

On February 1, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Substance Abuse / No Comments

Adolescence is a period of significant developmental change when health patterns are being established. Decisions that youths make about tobacco, alcohol, and drug use can have both immediate and long-term health consequences for themselves, their families, and their communities. Adolescents’ attitudes about the risks associated with substance use are often closely related to their substance use, with an inverse association between drug use and risk perceptions (i.e., as the prevalence of risk perceptions decreases, the prevalence of drug use increases). As such, providing adolescents with credible, accurate, and age-appropriate information about the harm associated with substance use is a key component in prevention programming [1]. (continue reading)

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Words Used To Describe Patients With Substance-Use Can Alter Attitudes And Contribute To Stigma

On January 25, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Substance Abuse / No Comments

Changing the words used to describe someone struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction may significantly alter the attitudes of healthcare professionals, even those who specialize in addiction treatment. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have found that health professionals’ answers to survey questions about a hypothetical patient varied depending on whether he was described as a “substance abuser” or as “having a substance use disorder.” Their study will appear in the International Journal of Drug Policy and has been released online. (continue reading)

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Teen Methamphetamine Use And Cigarette Smoking At The Lowest Levels In NIDA’s 2009 Monitoring The Future Survey

On January 20, 2010 / By Chris Fisher / In Substance Abuse / No Comments

Methamphetamine use among teens appears to have dropped significantly in recent years according to NIDA’s annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey that was released at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. However, the survey also reported that declines in marijuana use have stalled and that prescription drug abuse remains high. The Monitoring the Future survey is a series of classroom surveys of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) – part of the National Institutes of Health. (continue reading)

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Recent Trends In Adolescent Behavioral Health In The United States

On December 15, 2009 / By Chris Fisher / In Public Health / No Comments

adoles_behavioral_health_smallAdolescence (12 to 17 years) is a critical and vulnerable stage of human development, during which males and females experience different biological, social, and cognitive changes. During this life stage, millions of adolescents experiment with substance use and engage in behaviors that can affect healthy neurological and psychological development.  Understanding the behavioral health differences between adolescent males and females can help to inform public health policy and build prevention and intervention programs that strategically target the different needs of adolescent males and females. (more…)

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Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index – An Excellent Free Psychological Screening Instrument For Sleep Disturbance

On October 4, 2009 / By Chris Fisher / In Psychological Assessment / No Comments

PSQIThe excellent response to BMED Report’s recent review of The Big Five Inventory came as a pleasant surprise. In light of the intense reader interest, other quality psychological assessment/screening instruments that are freely available will receive occasional reviews heretofore. Healthcare practitioners, like most everyone, look for ways to save money yet to maintain the highest quality service in today’s challenging marketplace. And the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) fills this role quite nicely. Check the end of this review for links to download the PSQI and its scoring program. (more…)

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What is Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation? (Part 2)

On September 30, 2009 / By Chris Fisher / In CES, Featured / No Comments

CES_brain_Pt2In Part 1 of this series, a basic introduction to Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES), also known as Cranial Electrical Stimulation and Cranial Electrostimulation, was given that included a technical overview, typical treatment protocols, and common side effects. Next, Part 2 details CES’ proposed mechanism of action and treatment effectiveness with depression, anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain, as well as a few closing thoughts. Readers can expect many more future posts on CES and its treatment of various ailments. I anticipate that the first will cover a well-designed CES for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) study. (more…)

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Science Daily Research News Update 9-20-09

On September 20, 2009 / By Chris Fisher / In News / No Comments

newspaper_generic Busy week for the Science Daily Research News Update series. This week brings to you new research on how yoga contributes to mindful eating and a thin waistline, poor attention and memory associated with binge drinking, how our immune system may actually protect cancer cells early on, a new keyboard that will help persons with Autism communicate, how positive parenting can impact families for many generations, fascinating research that further decodes complex brain function, and much, much more. (more…)

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An Overview Of Alpha-Theta Neurofeedback And Its Treatment Effectiveness For Substance Abuse

On September 18, 2009 / By Chris Fisher / In Neurofeedback / No Comments

pillsNeurofeedback, also known as EEG biofeedback, has been used successfully for the treatment of substance abuse for over 25 years. Built on the work of Kamiya and Green (Budzynski, 1999), Eugene Peniston published a series of papers using alpha-theta neurofeedback with a Veteran’s Administration (VA) population of Vietnam War veterans diagnosed with alcohol abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Peniston & Kulkosky, 1989; Peniston & Kulkosky, 1990; Peniston, Marrinan, Deming, & Kulkosky, 1993). These important ‘Peniston papers’ no doubt facilitated a wave of EEG practitioners who rely on alpha-theta neurofeedback, or its modified forms, to treat substance abuse (as well as PTSD) that continues to this day. (more…)

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September Is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month

On September 16, 2009 / By Chris Fisher / In News / No Comments

national_recovery_monthBetter late than never, but I just learned that September 2009 is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Recovery Month is an annual observance that takes place during the month of September. The Recovery Month observance highlights the societal benefits of substance abuse treatment, praises the contributions of treatment providers, and promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is possible. The observance also encourages citizens to take action to help expand and improve the availability of effective substance abuse treatment for those in need. Each year a new theme, or emphasis, is selected for the observance. (more…)

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