Modern Clinical Research on LSD

All modern clinical studies using the classic hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in healthy subjects or patients in the last 25 years are reviewed herein. There were five recent studies in healthy participants and one in patients. In a controlled setting, LSD acutely induced bliss, audiovisual synesthesia, altered meaning of perceptions, derealization, depersonalization, and mystical experiences. These subjective effects of LSD were mediated by the 5-HT2A receptor. LSD increased feelings of closeness to others, openness, trust, and suggestibility. LSD impaired the recognition of sad and fearful faces, reduced left amygdala reactivity to fearful faces, and enhanced emotional empathy. LSD increased the emotional response to music and the meaning of music. LSD acutely produced deficits in sensorimotor gating, similar to observations in schizophrenia. LSD had weak autonomic stimulant effects and elevated plasma cortisol, prolactin, and oxytocin levels. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance studies showed that LSD acutely reduced the integrity of functional brain networks and increased connectivity between networks that normally are more dissociated. LSD increased functional thalamocortical connectivity and functional connectivity of the primary visual cortex with other brain areas. The latter effect was correlated with subjective hallucinations. LSD acutely induced global increases in brain entropy that were associated with greater trait openness 14 days later. In patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening disease, anxiety was reduced for 2 months after two doses of LSD. In medical settings, no complications of LSD administration were observed. These data should contribute to further investigations of the therapeutic potential of LSD in psychiatry

A review of the benefits and drawbacks to virtual field guides in today’s Geoscience higher education environment

Virtual Field Guides are a way for educators to tackle the growing issue of funding pressures in areas of higher education, such as geography. Virtual Field Guides are however underutilised and can offer students a different way of learning. Virtual Field Guides have many benefits to students, such as being more inclusive, building student skills and confidence in a controlled environment pre fieldtrip and can increase engagement in the topic studied. There are also benefits to the educator, such as reduced cost, more efficient students on fieldwork tasks and the ability to tailor and update their field guides to suit their needs. However there are drawbacks in the challenge of creation and their outcome as educational standalone tools. This paper reviews the literature around the benefits and draw backs to the creation and incorporation of virtual field guides in geoscience education. © 2017, The Author(s)

A novel role of plasma membrane calcium atpase 4 as a negative-regulator of vegf-induced angiogenesis

Published versio

Calcium channels and pumps: importance during lactation as potential targets for breast cancer

The enrichment of milk with calcium is critical for the survival of mammals after birth. The process of transfer of calcium ions from the maternal blood supply into milk occurs through mammary alveolar epithelial cells. Recent research has provided deep mechanistic insight into these processes with candidates for the critical pathways involved in calcium transport identified. These proteins include the store-operated Ca entry component Orai1 (basolateral Ca influx), the secretory pathway Ca-ATPase isoform 2 (SPCA2, secretion of Ca), and the plasma membrane Ca-ATPase isoform 2 (PMCA2, apical membrane Ca efflux). Increased expression of Orai1, SPCA2, and PMCA2 has also been identified in breast cancer cells; however, the remodeling of these targets often demonstrates selectivity for specific clinical and/or molecular subtypes. Silencing of these targets has identified roles for these proteins in the proliferation and/or migration of some breast cancer cell lines