Psy. 121.3 Lecture Wednesday March 27 2024
Alternative Medicines and Therapies
First, let us see if common drugs—caffeine and nicotine—were first used as medicines.
In this context, let us not separate out religious ritual from medical therapy; that is a new developmment in
our technological age.
From: https://sprudge.com/a-brief-history-of-coffee-as-medicine-233651.html
Early coffee usage was tied to religion. The Oromo people of Ethiopia use coffee in religious ceremonies
and as medicine; the Kaldi-and-goat story describes a monk drinking coffee to stay awake for prayers; and
Sufi mystics also used it to energize themselves for evening prayers.
In the early 1600s, coffee was announced as curing alcoholism in England, in addition to all sorts of ailments
like preventing and curing gout and scurvy, headaches and stomach aches, and miscarriages. “It is observed
that in Turkey, where this is generally drunk, that they are not troubled with the Stone, Gout, Dropsie, or
Scurvey, and that their Skins are exceeding clear and white,” proclaims Pasqua Rosée, who opened the first
coffee shop in London, in a 1652 handbill advertisement.
Next, let’s look at the use of tobacco as medicine:
From: https://www.utep.edu/herbal-safety/herbal-facts/herbal%20facts%20sheet/tobacco.html
The tobacco plant has been an important part of magical and religious rituals by Native American peoples
for many centuries before the arrival of the Europeans.
• Products made from the leaves were applied externally as poultices for boils or skin infections and
sores, as well as for bruises and sprains.
• Teas made from tobacco leaves were used against intestinal worms, as a laxative, to induce vomiting
(emetic), as an expectorant, for fainting and dizziness, as well as for headaches.
• Tobacco leaves are applied to cuts as an antiseptic and to stop bleeding.
• Ground tobacco leaves were also used as “snuff” (inhaled through the nose) for medicinal and
ritualistic purposes.
• Tobacco smoked is sometimes blown into the ear to treat earaches.
So much for history; can we use nicotine as a therapeutic agent today?
https://www.cato.org/blog/nicotine-e-cigarettes-might-do-more-save-lives-people-schizophrenia
Singer (2023) reported that Recent studies suggest that nicotine normalizes cognitive deficits, called
“hypofrontality,” in people with schizophrenia. There is evidence that nicotine improves short‐term memory
in schizophrenic patients. Nicotine’s beneficial effects on schizophrenia have led many researchers to
suspect that people with this disease are self‐medicating.From the chapter Consciousness: Dangers of Drugs, Table 5.2
Drug
Overdose
Depressants
Alcohol
X
Benzodiazepines/
X
Barbituates
Toxic Inhalants
X
Stimulants
Amphetamines
X
MDMA (Ectasy)
X
Nicotine
X
Cocaine
X
Narcotics (opium, heroin, X
mrophine, methadone,
codeine)
Hallucinogens (LSD,
X
mescaline, psilocybin,
PCP, ketamine)
Marijuana
Physical DependencePsychological Dependence
X
XX
X
XX
XX
?
X
X
X
X
X
X
?
?
?
Now, let’s move out of the ‘safe’ zone, and look at the medicinal use of marijuana
From: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312634/
Information needed for the midterm exam will bold-faced.
THC is known to be the major psychoactive component of cannabis mediated by activation of the CB1
receptors in the central nervous system; however, this very mechanism limits its use due to untoward adverse
effects. It is now accepted that other phytocannabinoids with weak or no psychoactivity have promise
as therapeutic agents in humans. The cannabinoid that has sparked the most interest as a
nonpsychoactive component is CBD.31 Unlike THC, CBD elicits its pharmacological effects without
exerting any significant intrinsic activity on CB1 and CB2 receptors. Several activities give CBD a high
potential for therapeutic use, including antiepileptic, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, anti-inflammatory, and
neuroprotective effects. CBD in combination with THC has received regulatory approvals in several
European countries and is under study in registered trials with the FDA. And, some states have passed
legislation to allow for the use of majority CBD preparations of cannabis for certain pathological conditions,
despite lack of standardization of CBD content and optimal route of administration for effect.32 Specific
applications of CBD have recently emerged in pain (chronic and neuropathic), diabetes, cancer, and
neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington’s disease. Animal studies indicate that a high dose of
CBD inhibits the effects of lower doses of THC. Moreover, clinical studies suggest that oral or oromucosal
CBD may prolong and/or intensify the effects of THC. Finally, preliminary clinical trials suggest that high-
dose oral CBD (150–600 mg per day) may exert a therapeutic effect for epilepsy, insomnia, and social
anxiety disorder. Nonetheless, such doses of CBD have also been shown to cause sedation.33The Three Pillars of Addiction Psychotherapy
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/demystifying-addiction/202401/the-3-pillars-of-addiction-
psychotherapy
The three pillars are motivational assessment and enhancement, recovery skills and action-oriented
approaches,
Motivational Assessment
The first—and arguably, most important—place to start with someone wanting to address their substance use
has to do with motivation. People come to addiction therapy for all kinds of reasons. Maybe their substance
use is impacting their relationship and their spouse or partner is concerned. Or perhaps they got in trouble at
work and need to make a change in order to hold onto their job. Whatever the situation, it is a guarantee that
the person in front of you is ambivalent: on the one hand, they know what they're doing isn't working. And
yet, on the other hand, they really enjoy drinking or getting high and would love to keep doing so if at all
possible.
Recovery Skills and Action-Oriented Approaches
The next pillar of addiction psychotherapy is recovery skills training and so-called "relapse prevention"
approaches. Here, we are looking for ways to help each individual take specific actions and make changes to
their substance use. Leaning on models like cognitive behavioral therapy, contingency management, or
behavioral activation can be helpful.
As you may have guessed, aerobic exercise is a singularly successful action-oriented approach.
Aerobic exercise is defined as exercise that increases heart rate and oxygen intake for a sustained period.
The central question is: "Does aerobic exercise cause psychological well-being?", or is there a latent
variable, a hidden factor that gives this improved psychological state?
Herring et al. (2012) reported that people assigned to the aerobic exercise condition in an experiment
experienced a significant reduction in depressive symptoms. Other meta-analyses have come to similar
conclusions. Aerobic even shows positive physical and mental health benefits for individuals with
schizophrenia (Gorczynski & Faulkner, 2011).
Mindfulness Meditation and Neuroscience
from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3916
Mindfulness practice enhances attention. The anterior cingulate cortex is the region associated with
attention in which changes in activity and/or structure in response to mindfulness meditation are most
consistently reported.
Mindfulness practice improves emotion regulation and reduces stress. Fronto-limbic
networksinvolved in these processes show various patterns of engagement by mindfulness
meditation.
Meditation practice has the potential to affect self-referential processing and improve present-
moment awareness. The default mode networks — including the midline prefrontal cortex and
posterior cingulate cortex, which support self-awareness — could be altered following mindfulness
training.
How can we practice mindfulness meditation in the age of social media? Wellness apps have arrived!
https://www.aurahealth.io/ or google 'Mindshift CBT App'.