*In honor of the exceptional freethinker, Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy, hacked to death for speaking freely, 26 February 2015.






Part II of American Exceptionalism continues with Carl Sandburg’s Chicago Race Riots, July, 1919 …

“We have seen it happen so often whenever we read newspaper(s) … of a public hanging or burning in Texas or a Mississippi town we get ready to extend greetings to people from the immediate vicinity of the scene of the lynching.
  “If it is Arkansas or Georgia ... there will be large representations from those states … at the Illinois Central Station.”

Sandburg knew America. I like the line “American Exceptionalism” being used on a lefty, which Sandburg was; not really much the haters can say about that as the “City of Broad Shoulders” saves him from being branded anything like “socialist” – which I’m sure he was. At most the right just ignores Sandburg’s left much the same as they love Jack London for his dog stories, but one almost never hears about The Iron Heel, London’s 1908 story of oligarchic tyranny.

Sandburg suggested three factors, “in any American city where the racial situation is critical.” His wisdom is still wise; he noted the factors were housing, politics and war psychology, and the organization of labor, and those are still true – 100 years later.

The black soldiers who had returned from Europe after WWI had a new sense of pride, had been treated well “over there,” and had been trained in firearms; of course, some stayed armed when they got home.

A brief background of the times would include the race riots across America in 1919 as well as the efforts of prominent African-Americans who tried to get an anti-lynching law passed, to no avail, until 1964, when (finally) President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, giving some teeth to a citizen’s right to live. Some names you may know (or might want to) who grew up in these times, include: Jack Johnson (1878-1946), Paul Robeson (1898-1976), Josephine Baker (1906-75), Billie Holiday (1915-59), Jimi Hendrix (1942-70), and Muhammad Ali (1942, age 73).

Billie Holliday recorded Strange Fruit, a song about lynching, in 1939; it’s a strange song about a strange America, one that didn’t see itself in the other. Carl Sandburg had that talent, the ability to see the other, and maybe that’s the elusive American Exceptionalism people keep talking about: maybe our exceptionalism is in how we treat others – and that history is our heritage.

William Abens, author

“The so-called race riots in Chicago during the last week of July, 1919, started on a Sunday at a bathing beach. A colored boy swam across an imaginary segregation line. White boys threw rocks at him and knocked him off a raft. He was drowned. Colored people rushed to a policeman and asked for the arrest of the boys throwing stones. The policeman refused … more rocks were thrown, on both sides. The policeman held on to his refusal to make arrests. Fighting then began that spread to all borders of the Black Belt. The score at the end of 3 days was 20 negroes dead, 14 white men dead, and a number of houses burned. The riots furnished an excuse for every element of Gangland to go to it and test their prowess by the ancient ordeals of the jungle.”

Thus Carl Sandburg begins his eighty-odd page book The Chicago Race Riots, July, 1919 (Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1919). While the first few pages deal with the riot itself, the bulk of the book traces the roots of race relations across America in the summer of 1919, centering on Chicago.

The three-time Pulitzer Prize winner gives three factors in the Chicago race riots of 1919:

1.   The Black Belt population of 50,000 more than doubled in Chicago during the war (World War I that is) and no new houses or tenements were built.

2.  The Black Belt connects directly with a city administration … and a mayor whose opponents failed to defeat him with the covert circulation of the epithet “nigger lover” … to such a community the doughboys came back from France.

3.     The third factor was that union members black and white by the thousands … were shaking hands as “brothers” and could not be counted on for any share in the mob shouts and ravages.

Sandburg wrote of a different America than most knew; for example, one of the more disturbing chapters in Chicago Race Riots, July, 1919, is chapter VII, called After Each Lynching:

“Chicago is a receiving station that connects directly with every town or city where the people conduct a lynching. Every time a lynching takes place in a community down south you can depend of it that colored people from that community will arrive in Chicago inside of two weeks says the secretary … of the Chicago Urban League … on Wabash Ave.”

Let’s pause and pick up (at the train station) tomorrow with Part II of Carl Sandburg and American Exceptionalism.

William Abens, author

AF1 (first in a regular series)





The Human Condition, p228
The University of Chicago Press (1958)


Beginnings

Let’s start with three sentences (headers added), a footnote and comment.

Making in the Modern Age:
“Only the modern age’s conviction that man can know only what he makes, that his allegedly higher capacities depend upon making and that he therefore is primarily homo faber and not an animal rationale, brought forth the much older implications of violence inherent in all interpretations of the realm of human affairs as a sphere of making." 

Revolution in the Modern Age:    
“This has been particularly striking in the series of revolutions, characteristic of the modern age, all of which – with the exception of the American Revolution – show the same combination of the old Roman enthusiasm for the foundation of a new body politic with the glorification of violence as the only means for 'making' it."

Violent Midwife:
“Marx’s dictum that 'violence is the midwife of every old society pregnant with a new one,' that is, of all change in history and politics, (footnote #70) only sums up the conviction of the whole modern age and draws the consequences of its innermost belief that history is 'made' by men as nature is 'made' by God.”

Footnote for Any Age:
"70. The quote is from Capital (Modern Library ed.), p. 824. Other passages in Marx show that he does not restrict his remark to the manifestation of social or economic forces. For example, ‘In actual history it is notorious that conquest, enslavement, robbery, murder, briefly violence, play the great part’ (ibid., 785).”

Shivitti.


Today’s (1964) video: Hannah Arendt “Zur Person” Full Interview (with English subtitles)

*Next Ew Publishing: Black history American exceptionalism and Carl Sandburg’s Chicago of 1919, a William Abens special this Friday 27 February.    

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

The Cannabis Papers: A citizen’s guide to cannabinoids (2011)
By Publius


George Washington’s Cannabinoids

George Washington was born 22 February 1732; he grew his first cannabinoids, fields of hemp, at the age of 33 in the year 1765 – eleven years prior to the American Revolution.

Washington first grew pot in 1765 for the King (there was a hemp bounty) and harvested 5,000 pounds … of fiber; he also collected and processed 152 bushels of cannabis seeds his first year. He noted all of this 250 years ago in his farm notes; Publius discusses George’s hemp in The Cannabis Papers, essay #11, Washington’s hemp seed love.

Washington’s 283rd birthday and 34 years of growing cannabinoids are celebrated with four 2015 research articles from the National Institutes of Health (PubMed). Today’s cannabinoid update highlights: epilepsy and FAAH cannabinoid competition, pharmacoresistant epilepsy in children and CS treatments, our medical community in need of cannabinoid science, and further evidence of CS neuroplasticity (this time it’s the hippocampus).

Happy Birthday George!
And thanks for We the People ~ We Shall Dream Again!

I. Epilepsy, Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH) and Cannabinoid Competition
“Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) occur naturally in marijuana (Cannabis) and may be formulated, individually or in combination in pharmaceuticals such as Marinol or Sativex. … Recent reports suggest that CBD and THC elevate the levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) when administered to humans, suggesting that phytocannabinoids target cellular proteins involved in endocannabinoid clearance. Fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) are intracellular proteins that mediate AEA transport to its catabolic enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). … Competition for FABPs may in part or wholly explain the increased circulating levels of endocannabinoids reported after consumption of cannabinoids. These data shed light on the mechanism of action of CBD in modulating the endocannabinoid tone in vivo and may explain, in part, its reported efficacy towards epilepsy and other neurological disorders.”
Fatty Acid Binding Proteins (FABPs) are Intracellular Carriers for Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD).
Elmes MW, Kaczocha M, Berger WT, Leung K, Ralph BP, Wang L, Sweeney JM, Miyauchi JT, Tsirka SE, Ojima I, Deutsch DG.
J Biol Chem. 2015 Feb 9. pii: jbc.M114.618447. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25666611 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Free Article
Related citations

II. Pharmacoresistant Epilepsy in Children and Cannabinoids
“Medications are often first-line treatment for epilepsy in children. A detailed review of antiepileptic drugs and their application in various epilepsy syndromes is provided in the article "Antiepileptic Drugs-A Review" by Sankaraneni and Lachhwani (this issue). Here, we will focus on nonmedicinal approaches-some fairly longstanding and described since Biblical times such as the ketogenic diet while others are relatively new such as neurostimulation. Yet, others such as cannabinoids have been utilized for centuries for their medicinal properties, but we are just learning the scientific basis behind their efficacy. Families are often interested in nonmedicinal avenues of treatment, and knowledge of these options can empower a pediatrician to help families make choices that have scientific validity.”
Options for pharmacoresistant epilepsy in children: when medications don't work.
Sharp GB, Samanta D, Willis E.
Pediatr Ann. 2015 Feb 1;44(2):e43-8. doi: 10.3928/00904481-20150203-11.
PMID: 25658218 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations

III. Medical Community Needs Cannabinoid Research
“There is growing interest in the therapeutic potential of marijuana (cannabis) and cannabinoid-based chemicals within the medical community and, particularly, for neurological conditions. This interest is driven both by changes in the legal status of cannabis in many areas and increasing research into the roles of endocannabinoids within the central nervous system and their potential as symptomatic and/or neuroprotective therapies. … Despite the widespread publicity about the medical benefits of cannabinoids, further preclinical and clinical research is needed to better characterize the pharmacological, physiological, and therapeutic effects of this class of drugs in movement disorders.”
The therapeutic potential of cannabinoids for movement disorders.
Kluger B, Triolo P, Jones W, Jankovic J.
Mov Disord. 2015 Feb 4. doi: 10.1002/mds.26142. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25649017 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

IV. Further Evidence of Neuroplastic Role of Cannabinoids (Hippocampus)
“Endocannabinoid receptors CB1R and CB2R are present in the CNS and modulate synaptic activity. … Results show that long-term hippocampal slice cultures respond to both CB1R activation and inactivation by changing neuronal protein expression patterns. In the present study, we demonstrate that CB1R agonist ACEA promotes alterations in the neuronal cytoskeleton as well as changes in CB1R expression in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures, and that CB1R antagonist AM251 promotes neuronal death and astroglial reaction.”
Further Evidence for the Neuroplastic Role of Cannabinoids: A Study in Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Cultures.
Caltana LR, Heimrich B, Brusco A.
J Mol Neurosci. 2015 Feb 3. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25645684 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

Today’s video: The surprising story of medical marijuana and pediatric epilepsy | Josh Stanley | TEDxBoulder

Next Ew Publishing: The beginnings of a Hannah Arendt series on Tuesday, 24 February, with The Human Condition, Arendt Footnotes and The American Revolution ~ monthly on the Bryan William Brickner Blog.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Honoring We the People

We the People is a higher thought and one’s serotonin system is part of all thoughts – high or otherwise. Today’s serotonin (5-HT) focus is homeostasis, with particular attention on the central nervous system. From the National Institutes of Health (PubMed), our We the People line-up includes four 2015 serotonin articles regarding: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 5-HT3 receptors and OCD, prefrontal cortex (brain) and 5-HT2A receptors, and genetic research on suicide and the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT, SERT).

We the People All!

I. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and the Serotonin System (SSRIs)
“This narrative review gathers together a range of international experts to critically appraise the existing trial-based evidence relating to the efficacy and tolerability of pharmacotherapy for obsessive compulsive disorder in adults. … Robust data supports the effectiveness of treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and clomipramine in the short-term and the longer-term treatment and for relapse prevention. Owing to better tolerability, SSRIs are acknowledged as the first-line pharmacological treatment of choice. For those patients for whom first line treatments have been ineffective, evidence supports the use of adjunctive antipsychotic medication, and some evidence supports the use of high-dose SSRIs.”
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Practical strategies for pharmacological and somatic treatment in adults.
Fineberg NA, Reghunandanan S, Simpson HB, Phillips KA, Richter MA, Matthews K, Stein DJ, Sareen J, Brown A, Sookman D.
Psychiatry Res. 2015 Feb 10. pii: S0165-1781(14)00986-X. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.12.003. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25681005 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

II. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and the Serotonin System (5-HT3 Receptors)
“The purpose of this literature database search-based review was to critically consider and evaluate the findings of literature focusing on efficacy and safety of 5-HT3 antagonists in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), so as to test whether preclinical data match clinical therapeutic trials. … The PubMed database has been searched for papers on 5-HT3 antagonists and OCD in humans and for animal models of OCD and 5-HT3 receptors. … Of the clinically tested 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, ondansetron has been used to treat OCD in five therapeutic studies, whereas granisetron only in one recent trial. … Overall, results indicate some utility, but the available literature is too scanty to allow for valid conclusions to be drawn.”
Are 5-HT3 antagonists effective in obsessive-compulsive disorder? A systematic review of literature.
Serata D, Kotzalidis GD, Rapinesi C, Janiri D, Di Pietro S, Callovini G, Piacentino D, Gasperoni C, Brugnoli R, Ferri VR, Girardi N, Tatarelli R, Ferracuti S, Angeletti G, Girardi P, Del Casale A.
Hum Psychopharmacol. 2015 Feb 10. doi: 10.1002/hup.2461. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25676060 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

III. Prefrontal Cortex (Brain), Dopamine and Serotonin-2A (5-HT2A)
“Modulation of dopamine (DA) released by serotonin-2 (5-HT2) receptors has been implicated in the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs. The mesocortical DA system has been implicated particularly in the cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia. Agonism at 5-HT2A receptors in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is associated with increases in cortical DA release. Evidence indicates that 5-HT2A receptors in the cortex regulate mesocortical DA release through stimulation of a "long-loop" feedback system from the PFC to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and back. However, a causal role for VTA glutamate in the 5-HT2-induced increases in PFC DA has not been established. … These results demonstrate that stimulation of glutamate receptors in the VTA is necessary for 5-HT2 agonist-induced increases in cortical DA.”
Stimulation of glutamate receptors in the ventral tegmental area is necessary for serotonin-2 receptor-induced increases in mesocortical dopamine release.
Pehek EA, Hernan AE.
Neuroscience. 2015 Jan 28;290C:159-164. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.01.029. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25637799 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

IV. Major Depressive Disorder, Suicide and the Serotonin Transporter Gene (5-HTT, SERT)
“The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) genes are major candidate genes for modulating the suicidal behavior. We investigated the association between serotonin transporter polymorphisms and suicidal behavior in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). … Although not statistically significant, a trend was found such that the 10/10 and 10/12 alleles of 5-HTTVNTR were more common in suicidal subjects than in control subjects. … These results show the possibility that 10 allele of 5-HTTVNTR is related to suicidal behavior in the suicidal subjects with MDD and suggest that 12 allele of 5-HTTVNTR might be related to more lethality in the suicidal subjects with MDD.”
Possible Association between Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism and Suicide Behavior in Major Depressive Disorder.
Lee HY, Hong JP, Hwang JA, Lee HJ, Yoon HK, Lee BH, Kim YK.
Psychiatry Investig. 2015 Jan;12(1):136-41. doi: 10.4306/pi.2015.12.1.136. Epub 2015 Jan 12.
PMID: 25670956 [PubMed] Free PMC Article
Related citations

Today’s Video: Serotonin: Suicide, Aggression and Impulsivity (7 of 8) 

*Next Up: Tomorrow, Sunday 22 February, We the People, Publius and Homeostatic Cannabinoids.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

The Cannabis Papers: A citizen’s guide to cannabinoids (2011)
By Publius
 
A Super Bowl of Cannabinoids

In sports as in life, teamwork creates homeostasis. Sure there will be big plays and impressive moves in Sunday’s Super Bowl, yet all fans and players know it’s the little things that count – that create the conditions for that game-winning moment. It’s the same in our bodies as homeostatic processes – teamwork – function without notice or acclaim (even while we sleep). In celebration of game-winning moments, here are four new PubMed articles discussing our CS and homeostatic teamwork: management of neuroinflammatory (brain) disorders, CB1 anti-aversive panic properties, obesity and the therapeutic agents THCV and CBD, and cannabinoids as a tool in modern cancer pharmacotherapy.

Happy CS Super Bowl All!

I. Neuroinflammatory: Cannabinoids as Immunoregulatory and Immunomodulatory
“A growing body of evidence suggests that Cannabis sativa-derived phytocannabinoids, as well as synthetic cannabinoids, are endowed with significant immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory properties, both in peripheral tissues and in the CNS, through the activation of cannabinoid receptors. In this review, the immunomodulatory effects of cannabinoid signaling on the most relevant brain immune cells will be discussed. In addition, the impact of cannabinoid regulation on the overall integration of the manifold brain immune responses will also be highlighted, along with the implication of these compounds as potential agents for the management of neuroinflammatory disorders.”
Cannabinoid Signaling and Neuroinflammatory Diseases: A Melting pot for the Regulation of Brain Immune Responses.
Chiurchiù V, Leuti A, Maccarrone M.
J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2015 Jan 20. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25601726 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

II. Brain: Panic, Dorsolateral Periaqueductal Grey and CS CB1 Receptors
“Since the cannabinoid CB1 receptor modulates various types of aversive responses, this study tested the hypothesis that enhancement of endocannabinoid signalling in the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey inhibits panic-like reactions in rats. … The present results confirm the anti-aversive property of direct CB1 receptor activation in the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey.”
Role of endocannabinoid signalling in the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey in the modulation of distinct panic-like responses.
Batista LA, Bastos JR, Moreira FA.
J Psychopharmacol. 2015 Jan 19. pii: 0269881114566259. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25601395 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

III. Obesity: Liver Metabolism, Hepatosteatosis and the Cannabinoids THCV and CBD
“Obesity and associated metabolic syndrome have quickly become a pandemic and a major detriment to human health globally. The presence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD; hepatosteatosis) in obesity has been linked to the worsening of the metabolic syndrome, including the development of insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. Currently, there are few options to treat NAFLD, including life style changes and insulin sensitizers. Recent evidence suggests that the cannabinoids Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) and cannabidiol (CBD) improve insulin sensitivity; we aimed at studying their effects on lipid levels. … Our results suggest that THCV and CBD might be used as new therapeutic agents for the pharmacological treatment of obesity- and metabolic syndrome-related NAFLD/hepatosteatosis.”
Two non-psychoactive cannabinoids reduce intra-cellular lipid levels and inhibit hepatosteatosis.
Silvestri C, Paris D, Martella A, Melck D, Guadagnino I, Cawthorne M, Motta A, Marzo VD.
J Hepatol. 2015 Jan 13. pii: S0168-8278(15)00003-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2015.01.001. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25595882 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

IV. Cancer: Cannabinoids and Antimetastatic and Antiangiogenesis
“Regarding the underlying antimetastatic mechanism, several studies revealed cannabinoids to alter the gene expression of cancer cells toward a less-aggressive phenotype and to modulate their secretomic profile. Cannabinoids likewise modulate the release of factors from tumor cells that subsequently suppress the chemoattraction of vessel cells thereby conferring antiangiogenesis. … In addition, beneficial interactions of cannabinoids with currently used chemotherapeutics as well as the influence of cannabinoids on tumor-immune surveillance are addressed. Collectively, the currently available data suggest cannabinoids as a potential tool in modern cancer pharmacotherapy.”
New insights into antimetastatic and antiangiogenic effects of cannabinoids.
Ramer R, Hinz B.
Int Rev Cell Mol Biol. 2015;314:43-116. doi: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2014.10.005. Epub 2014 Dec 18.
PMID: 25619715 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Super Touching Serotonin Edition

Fans and athletes alike produce serotonin (5HT) for game day; 80-90% of it is made by our stomach’s enterochromaffin cells (the rest is made in our brains) and then transported and distributed throughout our bodies.

Touch, or “good hands,” is a Super Bowl fundamental, as any big play – made or broken – is sparked by a finger’s give-and-take. Today’s serotonin system focus is on touch, in particular, serotonergic and dopaminergic activity. From the National Institutes of Health (PubMed), our Super Bowl line-up includes three 2015 articles and one from the archives (2005). The serotonin touch-tales include: brain trauma (blast) and the serotonin N-acetyltransferase gene (Aanat), food metabolism (tryptophan) and the kynurenine pathway, ADHD changes with age, and, the one from the archives, touch/massage therapy decreases cortisol and increases dopamine and serotonin.

Have a Serotonergic Super Bowl All!

I. Blast-related Brain Injury and the Serotonin N-Acetyltransferase Gene (Aanat)
“Long-term molecular changes in the brain resulting from blast exposure may be mediated by epigenetic changes like DNA methylation that regulate gene expression. … Functional validation via gene expression analysis of 30 differentially methylated neuronal and glial genes showed a 1.2 fold change in gene expression of the serotonin N-acetyltransferase gene (Aanat) in blast animals (p < .05). These data provide the first genome-based evidence for changes in DNA methylation induced in response to multiple blast overpressure exposures. In particular, increased methylation and decreased gene expression were observed in the Aanat gene, which is involved in converting serotonin to the circadian hormone melatonin and is implicated in sleep disturbance and depression associated with TBI.”
Neuronal DNA Methylation Profiling of Blast-related Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Haghighi F, Ge Y, Chen S, Xin Y, Umali MU, De Gasperi R, Gama Sosa MA, Ahlers ST, Elder GA.
J Neurotrauma. 2015 Jan 16. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25594545 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

II. Kynurenine Pathway (Food/Tryptophan Metabolism) and Serotonin Circuits
“The kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism is involved in the pathogenesis of several brain diseases, but its physiological functions remain unclear. We report that kynurenic acid, a metabolite in this pathway, functions as a regulator of food-dependent behavioral plasticity in C. elegans. The experience of fasting in C. elegans alters a variety of behaviors, including feeding rate, when food is encountered post-fast. Levels of neurally produced kynurenic acid are depleted by fasting, leading to activation of NMDA-receptor-expressing interneurons and initiation of a neuropeptide-y-like signaling axis that promotes elevated feeding through enhanced serotonin release when animals re-encounter food. Upon reseeding, kynurenic acid levels are eventually replenished, ending the elevated feeding period. Because tryptophan is an essential amino acid, these findings suggest that a physiological role of kynurenic acid is in directly linking metabolism to activity of NMDA and serotonergic circuits, which regulate a broad range of behaviors and physiologies.”
Kynurenic Acid Is a Nutritional Cue that Enables Behavioral Plasticity.
Lemieux GA, Cunningham KA, Lin L, Mayer F, Werb Z, Ashrafi K.
Cell. 2015 Jan 15;160(1-2):119-31. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.12.028.
PMID: 25594177 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations

III. Age, ADHD and Dopaminergic and Serotonergic Genes
“Elucidating genetic mechanisms involved in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been challenging. Relatively unexplored is the fact that genetic mechanisms can differ with age. The current study explored the association between dopaminergic and serotonergic genes, ADHD symptoms, and neurocognitive functioning in relation to age. … Our results are preliminary, but may point to differential genotype-phenotype associations at different ages. This can be seen as a proof of concept for the importance of age in dopaminergic and serotonergic genetic association analyses. Our findings are consistent with the idea that genetic and neurocognitive mechanisms underlying ADHD may change throughout life.”
The role of age in association analyses of ADHD and related neurocognitive functioning: A proof of concept for dopaminergic and serotonergic genes.
Thissen AJ, Bralten J, Rommelse NN, Arias-Vasquez A, Greven CU, Heslenfeld D, Luman M, Oosterlaan J, Hoekstra PJ, Hartman C, Franke B, Buitelaar JK.
Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2015 Jan 14. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32290. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 25586935 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations

IV. Massage (Touch) Decreases Cortisol and Increases Dopamine and Serotonin
“In this article the positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry are reviewed including decreased levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. The research reviewed includes studies on depression (including sex abuse and eating disorder studies), pain syndrome studies, research on auto-immune conditions (including asthma and chronic fatigue), immune studies (including HIV and breast cancer), and studies on the reduction of stress on the job, the stress of aging, and pregnancy stress. … These studies combined suggest the stress-alleviating effects (decreased cortisol) and the activating effects (increased serotonin and dopamine) of massage therapy on a variety of medical conditions and stressful experiences.”
Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy.
Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Diego M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C.
Int J Neurosci. 2005 Oct;115(10):1397-413.
PMID: 16162447 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related citations

Video: The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans, Daniel Amen, TEDxOrangeCoast

*Tomorrow: New Homeostasis with Publius’ Super Bowl of Cannabinoid Science.
~
Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

In memory and honor of the Liberation of Auschwitz, 27 January 1945

Our reviewed author, Yehiel De-Nur, wrote more than 20 books, many using the identity KZ for Ka-Tzetnik 135633, the concentration camp number branded on his arm.

The picture shows De-Nur testifying in Israel at the trial of Adolf Eichmann; the year is 1961 – sixteen years after Auschwitz and fifteen years before his LSD-serotonin therapy and healing. In the photo, the guard is showing De-Nur prisoner garb that would have reminded him of Auschwitz; if it looks like he’s about to gag, you’re correct; in a few moments he basically loses it and can’t continue with his testimony.

De-Nur “lived” through two years at Auschwitz; he was sent to his death, to be gassed and burned, and found a way to survive. His survival came with a burden: he worked in the crematorium and gave witness to the ashed dead of Auschwitz.

In 1976, with his sleep marred by three decades of Auschwitz nightmares, De-Nur left Israel and went to the Netherlands, Leiden University, in search of relief; he had heard stories of other concentration camp survivors using a new therapy at Leiden, a treatment involving LSD and his serotonin system.

SHIVITTI (the reminder of the presence of God): A Vision by Ka-Tzetnik 135633 is an LSD-serotonin therapy story. KZ (De-Nur) went to the Netherlands after 30 years of Auschwitz nightmares; locked away in his mind, in five LSD-serotonin therapy sessions, he was enabled to heal via his own body and its serotonin system.

The doctor who helped De-Nur, Jan C. Bastiaans, professor of psychiatry at Leiden University, treated over 300 people with LSD-serotonin therapy. Two resources from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies give background and political context to his work: The LSD Therapy Career of Jan Bastiaans, M.D. (1998) and The Bastiaans Method of Drug-Therapy (1999).

Of course, this is very political. LSD, since 1970 in the US, has been a Schedule I drug: this means no medical value and high abuse. De-Nur’s book shows medical value (an N of 1) and he has only five sessions and stops; he then returns to Israel, waits ten years, then uses the tape recordings from the 1976 sessions to write his book. Hakibbutz Hameuchad published Shivitti: A Vision in Hebrew in 1987. Harper & Row published an English version in 1989; the book was published again in 1998 in the First Gateways Edition, the one used in the review.

We’ll stop for now and continue this journey next month with the addition of Hannah Arendt: specifically, her footnotes … from her book, The Human Condition.

A citizen ponders page turning and The State of the Union

Hmmm … The State of the Union, and there’s talk of page turning: turning what page? Must be the US Constitution, as they gather because it says so.

Yes, the Preamble is nice. States the goals and objectives, with John Bunyan-like capitalization. We the People, in Order to form a more perfect Union (sounds like marriage), establish Justice (nice), insure domestic Tranquility … Well, that’s a 2016 political, being domestic and all; let’s turn the page and see what it says about representing We the People in Congress …

Hmmm … something underlined: “The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand.”

Well, that explains it, this must be the page they’re turning to; the founder Madison’s way, the way of Enumerated Representation, is America’s constitutional blueprint. Looks like we are to build America a new home, founded on the ratio “thirty Thousand,” a House where We the People are legally counted and represented.

How’s this story end? Let’s turn to the last page …

Well, what do we have here? A quote from Ben Franklin and – oh, an index line showing “Women, see Persons” – that’s good to know.

What’s Ben up to? When asked what kind of government they had “wrought,” he provided an eternal answer: “ … a Republic, if you can keep it.”

Hmmm … yes, a Republic, one built on small districts and represented in a large House, like Madison and the founders intended; sounds like a home for We the People (all Persons, Women included) is an American birthright.

Thanks for the page turning all ~ and thanks for the US Republic.

Today's video: Our American Republic, Episode 5: Republic

Next up: Tomorrow, in honor and memory of the Holocaust and the Liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945, Ew Publishing will announce the release of a new booklet, Shivitti: A Review of Ka-Tzetnik 135633’s Vision, a prisoner’s story of LSD-serotonin therapy and healing from Auschwitz nightmares.    

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

The Cannabis Papers: A citizen’s guide to cannabinoids (2011)
By Publius

2014 Cannabinoid Champions ~ Bivalency and Heteronomy


Publius’ 2014 cannabinoid science champions, Bivalency (it doubles) and Heteronomy (not autonomous), are spotlighted for their contributions to future knowledge. Both are CS homeostatic processes within the human body that work without notice or acclaim. Forward looking to 2015 and beyond, bivalency and heteronomy are cannabinoid science players with a high-knowledge upside. For now, here are four 2014 PubMed articles discussing: heteromerization and CB2, unexpected (intrinsic) bivalent CS properties, and two on Orexin, involved in arousal, wakefulness and appetite, and CB1 heterodimers and heteromeric signaling complexes.

I. Heteromerization of GPR55 and CB2 to form Unique Signaling Units
“Heteromerization of GPCRs is key to the integration of extracellular signals and the subsequent cell response via several mechanisms including heteromer-selective ligand binding, trafficking and/or downstream signalling. As the lysophosphatidylinositol GPCR 55 (GPR55) has been shown to affect the function of the cannabinoid receptor subtype 2 (CB2 receptor) in human neutrophils, we investigated the possible heteromerization of CB2 receptors with GPR55. … Heteromers, unique signalling units, form in HEK293 cells expressing GPR55 and CB2 receptors.”
Heteromerization of GPR55 and cannabinoid CB2 receptors modulates signalling.
Balenga NA, Martínez-Pinilla E, Kargl J, Schröder R, Peinhaupt M, Platzer W, Bálint Z, Zamarbide M, Dopeso-Reyes IG, Ricobaraza A, Pérez-Ortiz JM, Kostenis E, Waldhoer M, Heinemann A, Franco R.
Br J Pharmacol. 2014 Dec;171(23):5387-406. doi: 10.1111/bph.12850. Epub 2014 Sep 5.
PMID: 25048571 [PubMed - in process]
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II. Bivalent Cannabinoid Receptor Ligands and Unexpected Intrinsic Properties
“The design of bivalent ligands targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) often leads to the development of new, highly selective and potent compounds. To date, no bivalent ligands for the human cannabinoid receptor type 2 (hCB₂R) of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) are described. Therefore, two sets of homobivalent ligands containing as parent structure the hCB2R selective agonist 13a and coupled at different attachment positions were synthesized. Changes of the parent structure at these positions have a crucial effect on the potency and efficacy of the ligands. However, we discovered that bivalency has an influence on the effect at both cannabinoid receptors. Moreover, we found out that the spacer length and the attachment position altered the efficacy of the bivalent ligands at the receptors by turning agonists into antagonists and inverse agonists.”
Synthesis and biological evaluation of bivalent cannabinoid receptor ligands based on hCB₂R selective benzimidazoles reveal unexpected intrinsic properties.
Nimczick M, Pemp D, Darras FH, Chen X, Heilmann J, Decker M.
Bioorg Med Chem. 2014 Aug 1;22(15):3938-46. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2014.06.008. Epub 2014 Jun 13.
PMID: 24984935 [PubMed - in process]
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III. Orexin OX1 and Cannabinoid CB1 Heterodimers and Oligomers
“Cannabinoid CB1 and orexin OX1 receptors have been suggested to form heterodimers and oligomers. … Bivalent ligands targeting CB1-OX1 receptor dimers could be potentially useful as a tool for further exploring the roles of such heterodimers in vitro and in vivo.”
Toward the Development of Bivalent Ligand Probes of Cannabinoid CB1 and Orexin OX1 Receptor Heterodimers.
Perrey DA, Gilmour BP, Thomas BF, Zhang Y.
ACS Med Chem Lett. 2014 Mar 25;5(6):634-8. doi: 10.1021/ml4004759. eCollection 2014 Jun 12.
PMID: 24944734 [PubMed]
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IV. Heteromeric Complexes, Orexin OX1 and Cannabinoid CB1 Receptors
“Human OX1 orexin receptors have been shown to homodimerize and they have also been suggested to heterodimerize with CB1 cannabinoid receptors. The latter has been suggested to be important for orexin receptor responses and trafficking. … As orexin receptors efficiently signal via endocannabinoid production to CB1 receptors, dimerization could be an effective way of forming signal complexes with optimal cannabinoid concentrations available for cannabinoid receptors.”
Human orexin/hypocretin receptors form constitutive homo- and heteromeric complexes with each other and with human CB1 cannabinoid receptors.
Jäntti MH, Mandrika I, Kukkonen JP.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2014 Mar 7;445(2):486-90. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2014.02.026. Epub 2014 Feb 13.
PMID: 24530395 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Video: Cannabinoid System in Neuroprotection, Raphael Mechoulam PhD

Happy New Year and a Forward Looking 2015 ~ Thanks All!
Posted by Bryan W. Brickner