Detection of acute 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) effects across protocols using automated natural language processing.

The detection of changes in mental states such as those caused by psychoactive drugs relies on clinical assessments that are inherently subjective. Automated speech analysis may represent a novel method to detect objective markers, which could help improve the characterization of these mental states. In this study, we employed computer-extracted speech features from multiple domains (acoustic, semantic, and psycholinguistic) to assess mental states after controlled administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and intranasal oxytocin.

Cognitive function in aging cocaine smokers.

Background: Little is known about the functional status of older drug users, who may pose challenges to public health systems in coming years. Here, we assessed cognitive function in aging cocaine smokers compared to demographically matched controls.

Methods: A total of 22 non-treatment-seeking aging (50-60 years old) cocaine smokers (⩾twice/week; ⩾15 years of weekly use) and 19 controls completed a comprehensive cognitive battery.

Stress responding in cannabis smokers as a function of trauma exposure, sex, and relapse in the human laboratory.

Background: Stress responding is linked to drug use, but little is known about stress responses in cannabis smokers. We investigated acute stress responding in cannabis smokers as a function of trauma exposure and sex, and relationships between stress responses and cannabis relapse.

Methods: 125 healthy, non-treatment-seeking daily cannabis smokers (23F, 102 M) completed the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), a standardized laboratory stressor; subsets also completed a trauma questionnaire (n = 106) and a laboratory cannabis relapse measure (n = 54).

Prediction of psychosis across protocols and risk cohorts using automated language analysis.

Language and speech are the primary source of data for psychiatrists to diagnose and treat mental disorders. In psychosis, the very structure of language can be disturbed, including semantic coherence (e.g.