Authors’ Response.
Authors’ response.
Addiction. 2013 Jun; 108(6): 1169-71
Minozzi S, Amato L, Davoli M
Mental health of Latin Americans in Canada: A literature review.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2013 Jun 25;
Ginieniewicz J, McKenzie K
Latin Americans represent one of the fastest-growing immigrant populations in Canada. But very little is known about their mental health.This paper reviews the literature on the mental health of Latin American immigrants to Canada. The paper also identifies potential areas to expand the research agenda.Twenty-five papers were identified by a comprehensive electronic search undertaken in medical- and humanities-related databases.s are reported in three sections: (1) the rates of mental illness; (2) the risk factors that affect mental health; and (3) the access and barriers to care and services. Findings indicate that despite the diversity of immigration from Latin America to Canada, much of the information on mental health focuses on Central American refugees. The most frequently examined risk factor is displacement as a consequence of political persecution and torture in the home country. Access to mental health services in this population seems to be limited by cultural differences and language barriers.New research on this topic should reflect the growing diversity and heterogeneity of the Latin American population in Canada. HubMed – addiction
?-endorphin via the delta opioid receptor is a major factor in the incubation of cocaine craving.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2013 Jun 26;
Dikshtein Y, Barnea R, Kronfeld N, Lax E, Roth-Deri I, Friedman A, Gispan I, Elharrar E, Levy S, Ben-Tzion M, Yadid G
Cue-induced cocaine craving intensifies, or “incubates”, during the first few weeks of abstinence and persists over extended periods of time. One important factor implicated in cocaine addiction is the endogenous opioid ?-endorphin. In the present study, we examined the possible involvement of ?-endorphin in the incubation of cocaine craving. Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine (0.75?mg/kg, 10 days, 6?h/day), followed by either a 1-day or 30-days period of forced abstinence. Subsequent testing for cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior (without cocaine reinforcement) was performed. Rats exposed to the drug-associated cue on day 1 of forced abstinence demonstrated minimal cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior, concurrently with a significant increase in ?-endorphin release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Conversely, exposure to the cue on day 30 increased cocaine seeking, while ?-endorphin levels remained unchanged. Intra-NAc infusion of an anti-?-endorphin antibody (4??g) on day 1 increased cue-induced cocaine seeking, whereas infusion of a synthetic ?-endorphin peptide (100?ng) on day 30 significantly decreased cue response. Both intra-NAc infusions of the ? opioid receptor antagonist naltrindole (1??g) on day 1, and naltrindole together with ? endorphin on day 30, increased cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior. Intra-NAc infusion of the ? opioid receptor antagonist CTAP (30?ng and 3??g) had no behavioral effect. Altogether, these results demonstrate a novel role for ?-endorphin and the ? opioid receptor in the development of the incubation of cocaine craving.Neuropsychopharmacology accepted article preview online, 26 June 2013; doi:10.1038/npp.2013.155. HubMed – addiction