Psychedelic-assisted research for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction : a scoping review

This master thesis is written as a scoping review article supplemented with a “kappe” for more extensive information, detailed explanations, and supplementary data for the article. Introduction: Psychedelic-assisted treatments are receiving renewed interest for treating a range of different mental health disorders. Among these are addiction disorders, which have limited treatment options for people who experience little effect of conventional treatments. Due to the relatively new application, this review will scope the field of relevant studies utilizing the psychedelic substances LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine for treating addiction disorders, to map the current research situation and inform strategies for future research, using safety guidelines, standards, and strategies proposed in reviews of previously conducted psychedelic research. Method: Systematic literature searches in four databases (Ovid Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science) were performed, in addition to handpicked searches through citation tracking, additional bibliographies and online searches. All results were uploaded to EndNote 20 for screening of titles, abstracts, and lastly in full text to assess eligibility according to the eligibility criteria. The included studies were limited to those utilizing the selected psychedelic substances treating addiction disorders in a therapeutic or clinical context with a behavioral outcome or therapeutic gain. A pilot tested data charting tool was used to extract relevant data, which were presented in relevant tables. Results: Nineteen studies were identified within the limitations set for this review, one investigating LSD, one MDMA, one psilocybin, and 16 ketamine. There are noteworthy methodological differences, and the majority of studies do not provide sufficient data and materials to adequately evaluate and replicate the trials. Study and participant characteristics vary greatly, as does the different combinations of interventions and psychedelic substances applied in the studies. Overall, abstinence rates and changes in craving are significant in most studies, especially in the controlled studies. Conclusion: This review highlighted the current research status investigating psychedelic-assisted addiction treatments, identifying most research investigating ketamine. Overall, the included studies showed promising outcomes, but there are noteworthy methodological differences between the studies, and limitations that can be addressed using safety guidelines, standards, and strategies presented in this review.Denne masteroppgaven er skrevet som en scoping review artikkel med en tilhørende «kappe» for mer omfattende informasjon, detaljerte forklaringer og data som supplement for artikkelen. Introduksjon: Det har blitt økt interesse for bruk av psykedelika i behandling av en rekke ulike psykiske lidelser. Blant disse er avhengighet til alkohol eller andre narkotiske stoffer, som har begrenset med behandlingstilbud for de som opplever liten effekt av konvensjonelle behandlingsalternativer. Denne scoping review artikkelen vil kartlegge den nåværende forskningsstatusen og identifisere relevante studier som bruker de psykedeliske stoffene LSD, psilocybin, MDMA og ketamin i behandling av avhengighet til alkohol eller narkotiske stoffer. Disse vil brukes til å fremlegge strategier for fremtidig forskning basert på retningslinjer for sikkerhet, standarder og strategier som er utarbeidet etter evaluering av tidligere forskning med psykedelika. Metode: Det ble utført systematiske litteratursøk i fire databaser (Ovid Medline, Embase, Scopus og Web of Science) i tillegg til søk i ekstra bibliografier, siteringssøk og online søk. Alle resultater ble lastet opp til EndNote for gjennomgang av titler, abstrakter og avslutningsvis studier i full-tekst for å vurdere valgbarhet basert på inklusjons- og eksklusjonskriteriene. De inkluderte studiene var begrenset til de som anvendte de utvalgte psykedeliske stoffene for å behandle en avhengighet til alkohol eller narkotiske stoffer, i en terapeutisk eller klinisk setting med et adferdsrelatert studieutfall eller terapeutisk gevinst. Det ble brukt et pilot-testet skjema for ekstraksjon og kartlegging av data, som ble organisert og presentert i relevante tabeller. Resultater: Det ble identifisert 19 studier innenfor avgrensningene til denne artikkelen, en med LSD, MDMA og psilocybin, og 16 med ketamin. Det er bemerkelsesverdige metodologiske forskjeller mellom de inkluderte studiene, i tillegg til at de fleste ikke har publisert tilstrekkelig med data og materiale for å kunne evaluere eller replikere studiene. Det er stor variasjon i egenskapene til studiene og deltakerne, samt variasjon i kombinasjoner av intervensjoner og psykedeliske stoffer som er brukt i de ulike studiene. Studieutfall for avholdenhet og endringer i rus-begjær er signifikant i de fleste studiene, spesielt de kontrollerte. Konklusjon: Denne scoping review artikkelen har fremhevet den nåværende forskningsstatusen for psykedelika-assistert behandling av avhengighet. Det ble identifisert mest forskning med ketamin. De inkluderte studiene presenterte lovende resultater og positive utfall, på tross av metodologiske forskjeller mellom studier. Slike forskjeller og andre begrensninger kan minimeres ved bruk av retningslinjene, standardene og strategiene presenter i denne scoping review artikkelen.M-FO

Frustrated quantum Ising spins simulated by spinless bosons in a tilted lattice: from a quantum liquid to antiferromagnetic order

We study spinless bosons in a decorated square lattice with a near-diagonal tilt. The resonant subspace of the tilted Mott insulator is described by an effective Hamiltonian of frustrated quantum Ising spins on a non-bipartite lattice. This generalizes an earlier proposal for the unfrustrated quantum Ising model in one dimension which was realized in a recent experiment on ultracold $^{87}$Rb atoms in an optical lattice. Very close to diagonal tilt, we find a quantum liquid state which is continuously connected to the paramagnet. Frustration can be reduced by increasing the tilt angle away from the diagonal, and the system undergoes a transition to an antiferromagnetically ordered state. Using quantum Monte Carlo simulations and exact diagonalization, we find that for realistic system sizes the antiferromagnetic order appears to be quasi-one-dimensional; however, in the thermodynamic limit the order is two-dimensional.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figure

Correlated Phases of Bosons in Tilted Frustrated Lattices

We study the "tilting" of Mott insulators of bosons into metastable states. These are described by Hamiltonians acting on resonant subspaces, and have rich possibilities for correlated phases with non-trivial entanglement of pseudospin degrees of freedom encoded in the boson density. We extend a previous study [S. Sachdev, K. Sengupta, and S. M. Girvin, Phys. Rev. B 66, 075128 (2002)] of cubic lattices to a variety of lattices and tilt directions in 2 dimensions: square, decorated square, triangular, and kagome. For certain configurations three-body interactions are necessary to ensure that the energy of the effective resonant subspace is bounded from below. We find quantum phases with Ising density wave order, with superfluidity transverse to the tilt direction, and a quantum liquid state with no broken symmetry. The existence of the quantum liquids state is shown by an exact solution for a particular correlated boson model. We also find cases for which the resonant subspace is described by effective quantum dimer models.Physic

Comparison of Otolith Microstructure of Herring Larvae and Sibling Adults Reared Under Identical Early Life Conditions

Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is a euryhaline species, occupying fully marine habitats (35 psu) in the North Atlantic, as well as brackish waters (<20 psu) such as in the adjacent Baltic Sea. We co-reared Atlantic purebreds and Atlantic/Baltic F1 hybrids in two salinity regimes (16 and 35 psu) in a common garden experiment for 3 years until their first maturity. This setup enabled for the first time a direct comparison between adults and their larval siblings at respective salinity regimes in terms of larval growth indicated by otolith microstructure. We validated that otolith microstructure analysis of adult otoliths is reflecting the experienced otolith growth during the larval stage. No major selection in terms of otolith growth had taken place during the juvenile stage, except for one experimental group. Surviving adult Atlantic purebreds reared at 16 psu had higher otolith growth compared to their larval stages. The validation that otolith microstructure analyses of adult herring can reliably be extracted and used to examine larval growth even after several years adds strong support for further use of such analyses. Among the parental generation, Baltic herring had a faster initial otolith growth than Atlantic herring. The growth of their laboratory-reared F1 progeny was intermediate compared to their parents. In general, larval growth of both Atlantic purebreds and Atlantic/Baltic hybrids reared in 16 psu was significantly larger than for those herring reared at 35 psu. There was no significant difference in larval growth between Atlantic purebreds and Atlantic/Baltic hybrids reared at 35 psu, but hybrid larval growth was significantly higher compared to larval growth of Atlantic purebreds at 16 psu. This was not reflected at the adult stage where purebreds were ultimately larger than hybrids (Berg et al., 2018). This indicates the influence and importance of environmental and genetic factors throughout the life of Atlantic herring, along with genetic contributions to phenotypic variability.publishedVersio

Hvorfor mangfold? En studie av ulike forståelser og praktiseringer av mangfold

-Med rapportens tittel Hvorfor mangfold? ønsker vi å sette fokus på hvordan bedrifter forstår og definerer mangfold i arbeidslivet, og hvordan de på ulike måter integrerer mangfoldstankegangen i sin organisasjon. Vi har valgt å se nærmere på bedriftene Posten, Telenor, Statoil, DalPro og Stormberg. Datamaterialet baserer seg hovedsakelig på en gjennomgang av bedriftenes offentlige dokumenter, samt intervjuer med ledere og HR-ansvarlige. Bedriftene representerer stor variasjon, både når det kommer til bransje, størrelse, og ikke minst deres forståelse og praktisering av mangfoldsledelse

Thin film solar cells based on the ternary compound Cu2SnS3

Alongside with Cu2ZnSnS4 and SnS, the p-type semiconductor Cu2SnS3 also consists of only Earth abundant and low-cost elements and shows comparable opto-electronic properties, with respect to Cu2ZnSnS4 and SnS, making it a promising candidate for photovoltaic applications of the future. In this work, the ternary compound has been produced via the annealing of an electrodeposited precursor in a sulfur and tin sulfide environment. The obtained absorber layer has been structurally investigated by X-ray diffraction and results indicate the crystal structure to be monoclinic. Its optical properties have been measured via photoluminescence, where an asymmetric peak at 0.95 eV has been found. The evaluation of the photoluminescence spectrum indicates a band gap of 0.93 eV which agrees well with the results from the external quantum efficiency. Furthermore, this semiconductor layer has been processed into a photovoltaic device with a power conversion efficiency of 0.54%, a short circuit current of 17.1 mA/cm2, an open circuit voltage of 104 mV hampered by a small shunt resistance, a fill factor of 30.4%, and a maximal external quantum efficiency of just less than 60%. In addition, the potential of this Cu2SnS3 absorber layer for photovoltaic applications is discussed

Estimation of synaptic conductances in presence of nonlinear effects caused by subthreshold ionic currents

Subthreshold fluctuations in neuronal membrane potential traces contain nonlinear components, and employing nonlinear models might improve the statistical inference. We propose a new strategy to estimate synaptic conductances, which has been tested using in silico data and applied to in vivo recordings. The model is constructed to capture the nonlinearities caused by subthreshold activated currents, and the estimation procedure can discern between excitatory and inhibitory conductances using only one membrane potential trace. More precisely, we perform second order approximations of biophysical models to capture the subthreshold nonlinearities, resulting in quadratic integrate-and-fire models, and apply approximate maximum likelihood estimation where we only suppose that conductances are stationary in a 50–100 ms time window. The results show an improvement compared to existent procedures for the models tested here.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version