Biomedical subjects
M E Jarvik
Publications and source records attributed to M E Jarvik.
Biological influences on cigarette smoking.
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Tolerance to the effects of tobacco.
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Conditioned heroin responses as an indication of readdiction liability.
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Pharmacotherapy for the opioid addict: agonists or antagonists?
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Can cigarette size and nicotine content influence smoking and puffing rates?
The stimuli controlling the rate at which people smoke cigarettes have not been clearly defined. On the hypothesis that smoking is basically nicotine-seeking behavior, nicotine available to the subject was experimentally manipulated through controlling cigarette size and nicotine content. In Experiment I, subjects given their won cigarettes in whole, half, quarter, and eighth lengths, increased the number of cigarettes smoked and number of puffs to compensate for reductions in size. Satisfaction was directly related to cigarette length. In Experiment II, subjects given special cigarettes delivering 0.2 or 2.0 mg nicotine/cigarette smoked significantly more of the low than of the high nicotine cigarettes and took significantly more puffs. As in Experiment I, significantly more quarter length than full length cigarettes were smoked, but total number of puffs did not differ. These results support the hypothesis that nicotine controls smoking behavior.
Memory: modification of anisomycin-induced amnesia by stimulants and depressants.
Mice were trained in a passive (foot shock)avoidance task. When administered after training, the stimulants caffeine or nicotine blocked amnesia for the task that had been produced by injections of the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin given prior to training. With foot shock at a higher intensity, anisomycin did not produce amnesia by itself, but the administration of the depressants chloral hydrate or sodium phenobarbital after training did cause amnesia. Stimulants and depressants did not have an appreciable influence on the overall degree of protein synthesis inhibition produced by anisomycin. The results support the hypothesis that arousal after training is an important factor in the conversion of short-term to long-term memory.
Memory facilitating and anti-amnesic effects of corticosteroids.
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Effects of smoking on free recall and organization.
Habitual smokers smoked either nicotine-free cigarettes or cigarettes containing a known amount of nicotine and then engaged in a free-recall task. Nicotine subjects recalled significantly fewer words on a 75-item list during three successive trials of immediate recall than did nicotine-free subjects. Contrary to expectations, the superiority of the nonnicotine group persisted over two days. The two groups displayed comparable organizational activity (indexed by category clustering).
Craving in heroin addicts maintained on the opiate antagonist naltrexone.
The level of heroin craving was monitored in patiens receiving naltrexone on a regular basis. Meetings and interviews conducted twice weekly attested to a pattern of craving reduction in most but not all the addicts. It was also found that it usually took 3 to 5 weeks for this effect to occur. The possible relationship between drug craving and participation in the naltrexone program is discussed.
Self-administration of cigarettes with varying tobacco and nicotine content.
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Protein synthesis dependent gradient of ECS retrograde amnesia.
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The effect of stimulants, depressants, and protein synthesis- inhibition on retention.
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Biological factors underlying the smoking habit.
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Reactions to cigarettes as a function of nicotine and "tar".
Experiments carried out to examine the effects of nicotine and "tar" on the extent of and subjective reactions to cigarette smoking. It was confirmed that smokers rate commercial, low-nicotine cigarettes as less "strong" and less "satisfying" than their usual brands. Since such cigarettes deliver reduced amounts of tar as well as of nicotine, an experiment to distinguish between the two was carried out with special cigarettes. Ratings of "strength" were directly related to nicotine but were not affected by tar. The numbers of cigarettes smoked fell slightly as their estimated delivery of nicotine increased, but tar had no effect on this index. The urinary excretion of nicotine was correlated with the rated yields of nicotine for the different cigarettes, but there was also evidence that subjects tended to adjust their manner of smoking so as to titrate their doses of nicotine. The results are interpreted as indicating a role for nicotine, but not for tar, in the maintenance of cigarette smoking behavior, and as support for the view that less harmful cigarettes should have a high yield of nicotine relative to tar.
Naltrexone: physiological and psychological effects of single doses.
An ascending series of single doses of the narcotic antagonist naltrexone, ranging from 20 to 160 mg, was administered to 8 abstinent former addicts in order to assess agonistic activity and any toxic side effects. There was little alteration of normal body function. Significant, but small, changes in sublingual temperature (0.4 degrees F decrease), and diastolic blood pressure (1.7 mm Hg increase) were induced. Among the battery of tests assessing behavioral or mood-feeling variables, only 2 showed significant between-condition effects: facilitated performance on the Cross-out Test (attention and perception), and a dose-related decrease in Morphine-Benzedrine Group (MBG) scores of the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI) (mild euphoria). On the whole, subjects had few subjective reactions or unpleasant side effects. Naltrexone appears to be a safe, nontoxic medication in the dosage range examined.
Effects of ACTH peptide fragments on memory formation.
The effects of peptides derived from ACTH on the formation of long-term memory have been investigated in male mice. Post-training administration of ACTH 4-10-L-Phe-7 (ACTH-L) improved retention for both passive and active avoidance tasks. Administration of ACTH 4-10-D-Phe-7 (ACTH-D) impaired retention for both tasks. The optimum dose for ACTH-L was about 0.3 mg/kg; the optimum dose for ACTH-D was in the range of 1.0-3.0 mg/kg. Using the passive avoidance task, it was shown that either drug had to be administered within 60 min of training to be highly effective. Amnesia produced by anisomycin (Ani), an inhibitor of protein synthesis, was lessened by ACTH-L and increased by ACTH-D, ACTH-D opposed the memory facilitating effects of ACTH-L. Using intact mice, ACTH-L or ACTH-D did not significantly change the incorporation of valine into protein, nor did these peptides influence the inhibition of protein synthesis caused by anisomycin. The results show that ACTH may play a major role in memory processing, perhaps by facilitating essential protein synthesis at sites specific for the memory being established.
The effects of hallucinogens on blind monkeys.
Two blind monkeys were studied with an observational profile that was previously shown to distinguish the effects of hallucinogens from those of other classes of drugs. Lysergic acid diethylamide and dimethyltryptamine could be distinguished from saline, chlorpromazine, d-amphetamine sulfate, and bromo-lysergic acid diethylamide by the increased frequency of spasms, stereotypy, bump, and tracking. The hallucinogens also produced dramatic increases in exploration and related behaviors normally seen only in response to real visual or auditory stimuli. These behaviors are discussed in terms of their similarity to behaviors observed with sighted monkeys in light and dark environments.