Subjective Effects of Ethanol, Morphine, Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol, and Ketamine Following a Pharmacological Challenge Are Related to Functional Brain Connectivity.

This analysis examines the neuronal foundation of drug-induced psychomimetic symptoms by relating the severity of these symptoms to changes in functional connectivity for a range of different psychoactive compounds with varying degrees of psychomimetic effects. The repeated measures design included 323 resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging time series and measures of subjective effects in 36 healthy male volunteers. Four different pharmacological challenges with ethanol, morphine, Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, and ketamine (12 subjects per drug) were applied.

A comparison of the central nervous system effects of alcohol at pseudo-steady state in Caucasian and expatriate Japanese healthy male volunteers.

In general, Japanese and Caucasians differ in their response to alcohol. To investigate these differences the alcohol clamping method can be used. This strictly controlled infusion regimen provides a reliable tool to study contrasts in central nervous system (CNS) effects and/or alcohol disposition.

Effects of morphine and alcohol on functional brain connectivity during "resting state": a placebo-controlled crossover study in healthy young men.

A major challenge in central nervous system (CNS) drug research is to develop a generally applicable methodology for repeated measurements of drug effects on the entire CNS, without task-related interactions and a priori models. For this reason, data-driven resting-state fMRI methods are promising for pharmacological research. This study aimed to investigate whether different psychoactive substances cause drug-specific effects in functional brain connectivity during resting-state.

Functional biomarkers for the acute effects of alcohol on the central nervous system in healthy volunteers.

The central nervous system (CNS) effects of acute alcohol administration have been frequently assessed. Such studies often use a wide range of methods to study each of these effects. Unfortunately, the sensitivity of these tests has not completely been ascertained.

Pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling reveals dissociable effects of morphine and alcohol on regional cerebral blood flow.

We have examined sensitivity and specificity of pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL) to detect global and regional changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in response to two different psychoactive drugs. We tested alcohol and morphine in a placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized study in 12 healthy young men. Drugs were administered intravenously.

Central nervous system effects of alcohol at a pseudo-steady-state concentration using alcohol clamping in healthy volunteers.

Aim: In determining the acute effects of alcohol, it is helpful if alcohol concentrations are maintained at stable levels, to facilitate the interpretation of the results. Recently, an alcohol clamping method was developed that resulted in stable alcohol concentrations for hours. The aim of this study was to test a range of central nervous system (CNS) effects under pseudo-steady-state conditions.

A comparative study of two methods for attaining constant alcohol levels.

Aims: Alcohol effects or drug-alcohol interactions are preferably studied at constant blood levels. To achieve pseudo-steady state levels, various methods are used, which usually produce adequate averages but variable individual concentration profiles. The aim was to compare two modes of alcohol administration: a 'two-step prekinetic procedure' and a 'clamping method'.