Aripiprazole versus haloperidol treatment in early-stage schizophrenia.

We conducted a secondary analysis of a completed study of the differential efficacy and side effects of aripiprazole versus haloperidol in early-stage schizophrenia (ESS), a subpopulation of patients which does not include first episode or chronic patients. A subpopulation of 360 individuals with ESS were identified from a randomized, multi-center, double-blind study of 1294 individuals with schizophrenia at different stages of illness who were randomized to treatment with aripiprazole (ESS = 237) or haloperidol (ESS = 123) for one year. The primary outcome measure was response rate based on a 50% reduction of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores.

Drug-induced long-QT syndrome: a case report.

An elderly psychiatric female patient with a long-lasting severe resistant depression was referred for medical examination because of gastrointestinal complaints. The ECG revealed a strongly extended QT interval. No other cardiological abnormalities were observed.

Electrical and chemical stimulation of the basolateral complex of the amygdala reinstates cocaine-seeking behavior in the rat.

Rationale: The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLC) is part of a neural circuit that is activated in humans during cocaine craving elicited by exposure to drug-related environmental cues. In animals, the BLC is necessary for cocaine-seeking behavior elicited by cocaine-associated cues. It has not been determined whether BLC activation is sufficient to reinstate cocaine seeking.

Dopamine D3 receptor antagonism inhibits cocaine-seeking and cocaine-enhanced brain reward in rats.

dopamine D3 receptor is preferentially localized to the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and has been hypothesized to play a role in cocaine addiction. To study the involvement of the D3 receptor in brain mechanisms and behaviors commonly assumed to be involved in the addicting properties of cocaine, the potent and selective D3 receptor antagonist trans-N-[4-[2-(6-cyano-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolin-2-yl)ethyl] cyclohexyl]-4-quinolininecarboxamide (SB-277011-A) was administered to laboratory rats, and the following measures were assessed: (1) cocaine-enhanced electrical brain-stimulation reward, (2) cocaine-induced conditioned place preference, and (3) cocaine-triggered reinstatement of cocaine seeking behavior. Systemic injections of SB-277011-A were found to (1) block enhancement of electrical brain stimulation reward by cocaine, (2) dose-dependently attenuate cocaine-induced conditioned place preference, and (3) dose-dependently attenuate cocaine-triggered reinstatement of cocaine seeking behavior.

Relapse to cocaine-seeking after hippocampal theta burst stimulation.

Treatment efforts for cocaine addiction are hampered by high relapse rates. To map brain areas underlying relapse, we used electrical brain stimulation and intracranial injection of pharmacological compounds after extinction of cocaine self-administration behavior in rats. Electrical stimulation of the hippocampus containing glutamatergic fibers, but not the medial forebrain bundle containing dopaminergic fibers, elicited cocaine-seeking behavior dependent on glutamate in the ventral tegmental area.

Cannabinoid transmission and reward-related events.

The reward/reinforcement circuitry of the mammalian brain consists of synaptically interconnected neurons associated with the medial forebrain bundle, linking the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, and ventral pallidum. Electrical stimulation of this circuit supports intense self-stimulation in animals and, in humans, produces intense pleasure or euphoria. This circuit is strongly implicated in the neural substrates of drug addiction and in such addiction-related phenomena as withdrawal dysphoria and craving.

Conditioned place preference induced by delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol: comparison with cocaine, morphine, and food reward.

The rewarding property of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive constituent of marijuana and hashish, was studied using the conditioned place preference paradigm, and compared to that of cocaine, morphine, and food reward. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that 2.0 and 4.