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EL Theunissen

2 papers in the library · 49 citations · publishing 2015-2016

Papers

Neurocognitive performance following acute mephedrone administration, with and without alcohol

Journal of Psychopharmacology August 25, 2016 EB de Sousa Fernandes Perna, Esther Papaseit, Clara Pérez‐mañá et al. 26 citations

Mephedrone, a recreational drug similar to MDMA, impairs short-term spatial memory one hour after intake but improves critical tracking performance four hours later. When combined with alcohol, mephedrone reduces reaction time compared to alcohol alone, but does not counteract alcohol's impairing effects on divided attention or spatial memory. Alcohol alone impairs both short- and long-term spatial memory and divided attention. The findings suggest mephedrone enhances psychomotor performance while harming memory, and its stimulatory effects are insufficient to offset alcohol-induced deficits on most cognitive tasks.

Psychedelic symptoms of cannabis and cocaine use as a function of trait impulsivity

Journal of Psychopharmacology January 8, 2015 JHP van Wel, DB Spronk, Kim P. C. Kuypers et al. 23 citations

Regular drug users with normal or high trait impulsivity levels showed largely similar subjective responses to cocaine, cannabis, and placebo. Cannabis increased dissociation, psychedelic symptoms, fatigue, confusion, depression, and anxiety while decreasing arousal, positive mood, vigor, friendliness, and elation. Cocaine increased dissociation, psychedelic symptoms, vigor, friendliness, elation, positive mood, anxiety, and arousal while decreasing fatigue. Only a few subjective measures differed by impulsivity level; psychedelic symptoms were most intense in high-impulsivity subjects. Trait impulsivity correlated negatively with vigor (r = -.197) and positively with loss of thought control (r = .237) during cannabis intoxication, but a broad association between trait impulsivity and psychedelic drug experience was absent.