Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2024 Nov 7:1461672241276562. doi: 10.1177/01461672241276562. Online ahead of print. Inoculating Against Moral Disengagement Creates Ethical Adherence for Narcissism. Jones DN(1), Beekun R(1), Schermer JA(2), MacDonald KB(2), Compton J(3). Author information: (1)University of Nevada, Reno, USA. (2)Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. (3)Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA. Increasing honesty is critical in modern society. Moral Disengagement Tactics (MDTs) enable individuals to engage in unethical behavior while avoiding self-criticism, making MDTs a form of self-persuasion. One way to prevent persuasion is inoculation. Across three experiments (N = 972), two preregistered, we randomly assigned individuals to a code of ethics versus inoculation to MDTs condition. Study 1 (n = 443) found that those high in narcissism reported increased ethical intentions in the inoculation condition. Study 2 (n = 224) replicated and extended this effect, finding that individuals high in narcissism were more likely to behave honestly in the inoculation condition. Study 3 (n = 305) was a longitudinal study finding that inoculating those high in narcissism led to fewer lies over the past week's inoculation. None of these interaction patterns emerged for Machiavellianism or psychopathy. Thus, inoculation to MDTs appears effective in reducing dishonesty among those high in narcissism. DOI: 10.1177/01461672241276562 PMID: 39508175 Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. 2. Behav Sleep Med. 2024 Nov 7:1-15. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2024.2423296. Online ahead of print. Social Pain Minimization Mediates Discrimination's Effect on Sleep Health. Kunstman JW(1), Kinkel-Ram SS(2), Benbow KL(1), Hunger JM(2), Smith AR(1), Troop-Gordon W(1), Nadorff MR(3), Maddox KB(4). Author information: (1)Department of Psychological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, USA. (2)Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, USA. (3)Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, USA. (4)Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, USA. OBJECTIVE: Discrimination disrupts sleep and contributes to race-based health inequities for Black Americans, but less is known about the psychological mechanisms underlying this relation. The current work tests whether emotion invalidation, termed Social Pain Minimization (SPM), mediates discrimination's negative effects on sleep quality. We focus on the experiences of Black Americans because of racism's disproportionate effect on the health outcomes of Black individuals in the U.S. METHODS: Four studies with cross-sectional (Studies 1a-1b) and cross-lagged panel designs (Studies 2-3; Ntotal = 1,176) were used. Discrimination and SPM were assessed with established measures and self-reported sleep quality was assessed with three different operationalizations including the short form Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep-Related Impairment (SRI) subscale and composites of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). RESULTS: Cross-sectional (Studies 1a-1b) and longitudinal mediation analyses (Studies 2-3) indicated discrimination's negative effect on sleep quality partially operated through SPM (Study 1a, 95% CI = [-.24, -.016]); Study 1b, 95% CI = [-.22, -.03]; Study 2, 95% CI = [-.268, -.007]]; Study 3, 95% CI = [-0.043, -.002]). CONCLUSION: Beyond its direct negative effect on sleep, discrimination also operates through SPM to reduce sleep quality. Emotion invalidation stemming from discrimination damages sleep. DOI: 10.1080/15402002.2024.2423296 PMID: 39508139 3. Mater Horiz. 2024 Nov 7. doi: 10.1039/d4mh01137f. Online ahead of print. Two birds with one stone: natural polyphenols boosted periodontitis treatment of chlorhexidine via reducing toxicity and regulating microenvironments. Sun Z(1), Wang T(2), Chen E(1), Xu L(1), Ding Y(1), Gu Z(2), Xiao S(1). Author information: (1)Department of Periodontics, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P. R. China. yiding2000@126.com. (2)College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, P. R. China. guzhipeng2019@scu.edu.cn. Chlorhexidine (CHX) is considered the gold standard for controlling periodontal plaque and has been extensively used as a topical agent in treating periodontitis. Nevertheless, the practical clinical application of CHX is still constrained by the inherent limitations of its properties, including toxicity, inadequate biofilm scavenging capacity, and single biological effect. In this study, polyphenolic epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has been employed to integrate with CHX to form an EGCG-CHX nanoplatform via a facile one-pot method. Due to the dynamic bonding between EGCG and CHX, the EGCG-CHX nanoparticles (NPs) show reduced toxicity and excellent response release behavior. Moreover, a series of in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that the EGCG-CHX NPs significantly enhanced the antibiofilm, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and autophagic flux activation effects of CHX, ultimately achieving an improved therapeutic effect on periodontitis. This study successfully developed a strategy boosting the efficiency of CHX for periodontitis treatment. DOI: 10.1039/d4mh01137f PMID: 39508113 4. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2024 Nov 7. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319460. Online ahead of print. Cure of Congenital Purpura Fulminans via Expression of Engineered Protein C Through Neonatal Genome Editing in Mice. Togashi T(1)(2), Baatartsogt N(2), Nagao Y(3), Kashiwakura Y(2)(4), Hayakawa M(2)(4), Hiramoto T(2), Fujiwara T(5)(6), Morishita E(1), Nureki O(7), Ohmori T(2)(4). Author information: (1)Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Division of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Japan (T.T., E.M.). (2)Department of Biochemistry, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Tochigi, Japan (T.T., N.B., Y.K., M.H., T.H., T.O.). (3)Center for Experimental Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan. (Y.N.). (4)Center for Gene Therapy Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan. (Y.K., M.H., T.O.). (5)Division of Cell and Molecular Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan (T.F.). (6)Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Japan (T.F.). (7)Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan (O.N.). BACKGROUND: PC (protein C) is a plasma anticoagulant encoded by PROC; mutation in both PROC alleles results in neonatal purpura fulminans-a fatal systemic thrombotic disorder. In the present study, we aimed to develop a genome editing treatment to cure congenital PC deficiency. METHODS: We generated an engineered APC (activated PC) to insert a furin-cleaving peptide sequence between light and heavy chains. The engineered PC was expressed in the liver of mice using an adeno-associated virus vector or CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat-associated 9)-mediated genome editing using an adeno-associated virus vector in vivo. RESULTS: The engineered PC could be released in its activated form and significantly prolonged the plasma coagulation time independent of the cofactor activity of PS (protein S) in vitro. The adeno-associated virus vector-mediated expression of the engineered PC, but not wild-type PC, prolonged coagulation time owing to the inhibition of activated coagulation FV (factor V) in a dose-dependent manner and abolished pathological thrombus formation in vivo in C57BL/6J mice. The insertion of EGFP sequence conjugated with self-cleaving peptide sequence at Alb locus via neonatal in vivo genome editing using adeno-associated virus vector resulted in the expression of EGFP in 7% of liver cells, mainly via homology-directed repair, in mice. Finally, we succeeded in improving the survival of PC-deficient mice by expressing the engineered PC via neonatal genome editing in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the expression of engineered PC via neonatal genome editing is a potential cure for severe congenital PC deficiency. DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319460 PMID: 39508105 5. US Cardiol. 2024 Oct 14;18:e17. doi: 10.15420/usc.2023.21. eCollection 2024. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy as a Form of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: Diagnosis, Drugs, and Procedures. Banthiya S(1), Check L(2), Atkins J(2). Author information: (1)Department of Internal Medicine, Ascension Providence Hospital/Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Southfield, MI. (2)Department of Cardiology, Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a complex and heterogeneous cardiac disorder characterized by cardiac hypertrophy disproportionate to loading stimuli (e.g. hypertension or aortic stenosis). Diagnosing HCM requires a thorough examination of clinical symptoms, with echocardiography as the key initial imaging tool. Multimodality imaging further supports diagnosis, helps assess left ventricular outflow obstruction, and aids in risk stratification for sudden cardiac death. The cornerstone of HCM management remains pharmacological therapy with β-blockers and calcium channel blockers serving as first-line agents to alleviate symptoms and reduce left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. More recently, cardiac myosin inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment paradigm for obstructive HCM. Procedural interventions such as septal reduction therapy are reserved for refractory cases. Genetic testing and risk stratification for sudden cardiac death play a critical role in treatment decisions, guiding further testing in first-degree relatives and ICD implantation in high-risk individuals. Exercise recommendations have evolved based on recent data, challenging traditional restrictions and emphasizing individualized plans. Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Radcliffe Group Ltd. DOI: 10.15420/usc.2023.21 PMCID: PMC11539043 PMID: 39508003 Conflict of interest statement: Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.