When Does Obsessive Daydreaming Become a Mental Illness?
People with maladaptive daydreaming disorder spend countless hours engrossed in vivid, complex daydreams—and many say they can’t stop, even though their elaborate fantasy life is destroying their reality. Andrea does it for three hours every day, rolling from side to side on her bed to music. It makes her feel “safe, warm, excited, happy, content […]
What can Instagram tell us about narcissists? A bit, actually.
Two different kinds of narcissists use Instagram. That’s the main takeaway from recent research out of the University of Swinburne. You might not be surprised to hear that given how popular selfies are right now, but this is one of the few studies to look for narcissism on a social media platform other than Facebook […]
4 things you can do to cheer up, according to neuroscience
For everyone, there are times when a dark cloud just seems to be following you around. You may not even even know why. While we don’t mean to minimize the value of medication for those who experience this on a daily basis, UCLA neuroscientist Alex Korb, author of The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse […]
Cannabidiol inhibits lung cancer cell invasion and metastasis via intercellular adhesion molecule-1
This originally appeared at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22198381/ By: Robert Ramer,* Katharina Bublitz,* Nadine Freimuth,* Jutta Merkord,* Helga Rohde,* Maria Haustein,* Philipp Borchert,* Ellen Schmuhl,* Michael Linnebacher,† and Burkhard Hinz*,1*Institute of Toxicology and Pharmacology and †Section of Molecular Oncology and Immunotherapy, Department of General Surgery, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany ABSTRACT Cannabinoids inhibit cancer cell invasion via increasing […]
The real reason marijuana is illegal in the United States
The originally appeared at https://www.salon.com/2015/07/02/the_real_reason_marijuana_is_illegal_in_the_united_states_partner/ It is hard to imagine a time when most pharmacies carried cannabis and farmers were required to grow hemp, much like they are given incentives to grow corn these days, but that is a significant part of the history of the U.S. From the 1600s to the late 1800s, hemp […]
Turning Over a New Leaf: Cannabinoid and Endocannabinoid Modulation of Immune Function
Abstract Cannabis is a complex substance that harbors terpenoid-like compounds referred to as phytocannabinoids. The major psychoactive phytocannabinoid found in cannabis Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produces the majority of its pharmacological effects through two cannabinoid receptors, termed CB1 and CB2. The discovery of these receptors as linked functionally to distinct biological effects of THC, and the subsequent […]
Is Marijuana Addictive? It Depends How You Define Addiction
This originally appeared at https://healthland.time.com/2010/10/19/is-marijuana-addictive-it-depends-how-you-define-addiction/ Does marijuana cause addiction? As Californians prepare to vote on Prop 19 — which would legalize recreational use of the drug, at least under state law — the question is more pertinent than ever. The answer, however, is less than clear: addiction experts tend to agree that pot is addictive, […]
The Influence of Recency of Use on fMRI Response During Spatial Working Memory in Adolescent Marijuana Users
This originally appeared at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21053763/ Abstract- Some neurocognitive recovery occurs within a month of abstinence from heavy marijuana use, yet functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revealed altered activation among recent and abstinent adult users. We compared fMRl response during a spatial working memory (SWM) task between adolescent marijuana users with brief and sustained durations […]
Neurocognitive consequences of marihuana—a comparison with pre-drug performance
This originally appeared at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15734274/ Abstract In determining the effects of regular marihuana use on neurocognition, abilities within specific relevant cognitive domains prior to regular drug use have not been available. The present study examined effects of current and past regular use of marihuana in subjects for whom predrug performance had been ascertained in a […]
8 Scientific Reasons You Should Never Smoke Weed /s
With 4/20 upon us, it’s time for us to finally admit it: Marijuana legalization would be the worst thing to happen to America. First off, it has turned places like Colorado and Washington state into total hellscapes. But even more than that, smoking marijuana will ruin you for the rest of your life. Just look […]
