Religious Radicalization and Lone-Actor Terrorism: A Matter for Psychiatry?

This article discusses the place of the psychiatric field in the ongoing phenomenon of religious radicalization. First, the article provides an overview of the existing literature on lone-actor terrorists and the link with mental illness. Current research is focusing increasingly on lone-actor terrorists.

[Markers and references of psychological trauma].

Whether it is an isolated and violent occurrence or repetitive and invasive, the event at the source of a psychological trauma suddenly breaks into the psychological balance of a person or a group. It can take several different forms but always causes significant emotional shock. Untreated, it can hinder over the long term the development of the people concerned.

Electrophysiological characterization of harmane-induced activation of mesolimbic dopamine neurons.

It has been suggested that the beta-carbolines harmane and norharmane may be involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease, psychosis and addiction, but the mechanisms of these possible effects remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the effects of the two compounds were examined by using in vivo extracellular recordings of ventral tegmental dopamine neurons. The effects of harmane (2mg/kg) and norharmane (2mg/kg), were compared to those of nicotine (11microg/kg), of cotinine (0.

Chronic intermittent nicotine treatment dose-dependently alters serotonergic neurons response to citalopram in the rat.

Acetylcholine nicotinic systems and serotonergic systems are known to interact. In rodents, acute and chronic nicotine treatments have consequences on several aspects of the activity of dorsal raphe serotonin (DRN 5-HT) neurons. One hypothesis is that states of functioning of DRN 5-HT neurons (firing rate and sensitivity) vary as a function of nicotine dose and mode of administration during chronic nicotine treatment.

Effects of tobacco and cigarette smoke extracts on serotonergic raphe neurons in the rat.

Tobacco components other than nicotine might participate in the behavioural effects of smoking. In this study, in-vivo recordings of serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons were performed in the anesthetized rat, whereas tobacco extracts, cigarette smoke extracts, nicotine, nornicotine or anabasine were intravenously injected. All substances inhibited the neurons, and all inhibitions were completely blocked by the nicotine receptor antagonist mecamylamine.

Alterations of lipid metabolism and gene expression in rat adipocytes during chronic olanzapine treatment.

Although antipsychotics are established drugs in schizophrenia treatment, they are admittedly known to induce side effects favoring the onset of obesity and worsening its complications. Despite potential involvement of histamine receptor antagonism, or of other neurotransmitter systems, the mechanism by which antipsychotic drugs increase body weight is not elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether chronic antipsychotic treatments can directly alter the regulation of two main functions of white adipose tissue: lipolysis and glucose utilization.

A model for antipsychotic-induced obesity in the male rat.

Introduction: Weight gain is a common and severe side effect of antipsychotic drugs. A usual tool to study the side effects of psychotropic drugs is animal models. However, attempts to create an animal model of antipsychotic-induced weight gain were not successful so far.

Long term treatment with olanzapine mixed with the food in male rats induces body fat deposition with no increase in body weight and no thermogenic alteration.

Body weight gain is a worrying side effect of many new antipsychotic drugs. The mechanisms by which antipsychotic drugs increase weight in humans are not known. Attempts to model the metabolic effects of antipsychotic drugs in the animal have not been successful.

Harmane inhibits serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons in the rat.

Rationale: Harmane and norharmane (two beta-carbolines) are tobacco components or products. The effects of harmane and norharmane on serotonergic raphe neurons remain unknown. Harmane and norharmane are inhibitors of the monoamine oxidases A (MAO-A) and B (MAO-B), respectively.

Effects of chronic neuroleptic treatments on nutrient selection, body weight, and body composition in the male rat under dietary self-selection.

New antipsychotic drugs often increase weight and produce metabolic disturbances in treated patients. However, the mechanisms by which neuroleptics induce these undesirable side effects in humans are not known. Studies have shown that antipsychotics can increase body weight in female but not in male rats.

[Clinical follow-up -- EEG -- serum determinations: therapeutic experience with clozapine].

The effects of clozapine were studied during 5 years at the Villejuif psychiatric hospital in outside and inside patients. Among the results obtained in 114 cases treated, we report here the results obtained in a group of 18 patients in which the longitudinal therapeutic data given by EEG recordings were confronted with those obtained for the plasma levels of the drug and it demethyl metabolite. This study shows on one side that EEG abnormal activities are frequent and need to be taken in account.

[Determination of serum methadone with an immunologic kit and comparison with a liquid chromatography method].

Therapeutic monitoring of patients participating in methadone maintenance programmes requires the qualitative or quantitative determination of methadone in urine before and during treatment. Generally immunoassay techniques are used for this determination, but more and more often measurement of plasma or serum levels are required by the physician. The possibility of adapting a commercially available FPIA kit (TDX ABBOTT) for urinary assays to the serum determinations was investigated.