Unconditioned and conditioned effects of intranasally administered insulin vs placebo in healthy men: a randomised controlled trial.

Aims/hypothesis: In humans, the intranasal route allows insulin to reach the brain while maintaining peripheral euglycaemia. Our aims were to examine acute (unconditioned) effects of central insulin on normal-range blood glucose and hormones in men, and to find out whether the effects of intranasal insulin can be learnt via classical conditioning.

Methods: In a randomised controlled trial, 32 healthy normal-weight men (mean age 24.

Pavlovian conditioning of nausea and vomiting.

Cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic drug treatment often experience side-effects, the most distressing being nausea and vomiting. Despite antiemetic drugs, 25-30% of the chemotherapy patients report these side-effects when being re-exposed to the stimuli that usually signal the chemotherapy session and its drug infusion. These symptoms are called anticipatory nausea and anticipatory vomiting.

Insulin and the CNS: effects on food intake, memory, and endocrine parameters and the role of intranasal insulin administration in humans.

Insulin is mainly known for its peripheral effects on the metabolism of glucose, fats, and proteins. However, insulin also exerts important actions within the brain, and functions as a neuropeptide. The brain can thus be regarded as both an insulin-sensitive and a glucose-sensitive organ.

Classical conditioning and conditionability of insulin and glucose effects in healthy humans.

We examined whether the effects of intravenously injected insulin and glucose (the physiological endogenous insulin production stimulus) could be classically conditioned in healthy humans. We expected a conditioned blood glucose decrease to a conditioned stimulus (CS) previously paired with insulin and an, albeit lower, blood glucose decrease to a CS paired with glucose injection. In addition, we analyzed glucoregulatory hormone and symptom conditionability.

Anticipatory nausea in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: classical conditioning etiology and therapeutical implications.

The delivery of cytotoxic drugs in cancer treatment is often accompanied by posttreatment side effects (e.g., nausea).