Psychotropic effects of caffeine in man. IV. Quantitative and qualitative differences associated with habituation to coffee

Secondary prevention of drug dependence through the transcendental meditation program in metropolitan Philadelphia

Using mailed questionnaires, the Transcendental Meditation program was investigated as an approach to the secondary prevention of substance dependence. Significant differences were found between a random sample of meditators and matched control subjects in usage levels and percentage of users for almost all legal and illegal drugs. Meditators had used more prescribed psychoactive medications before learning meditation, but usage levels returned to normal soon after starting. Former users of alcohol, cigarettes, or illegal drugs achieved remarkable abstinence records. For most substances the amount of decrease was positively correlated with degree of participation in the program and the length of time meditating.

Evidence for withdrawal from caffeine by rats

Injections of caffeine produced avoidance of a novel flavor. Rats which had previously received injections of caffeine on each of twelve days avoided a novel solution which had been associated with the absence of caffeine. This and other controls suggest that physiological withdrqwal from caffeine is the mechanism for this avoidance.

Redefining addiction. I. Making addiction a scientifically and socially useful concept

Addiction is both a more complex-and a more common-phenomenon than either medical personnel or laymen have realized. It is impossible to link addiction as a medical syndrome to any one drug or family of drugs, or to trace it to a specific biological mechanism. As scientists have uncovered more data leading to these conclusions, they have turned away from employing the term "addiction." Yet many drug researchers and workers in the helping professions continue to make incorrect assumptions about both addiction and drug use. In this paper the author attempts to broaden the applicability of the addiction concept in order to give it meaning. With this broader approach, we find that many involvements that people become engaged in follow the pattern of addiction, while some involvements with supposedly addictive drugs do not follow this pattern. The addiction cycle is explored by means of the following psychological definition: An addiction is any compulsive activity or involvement which decreases a person's ability to deal with other aspects of his life to the point where that activity or involvement comprises the dominant source of emotional reinforcement and identity for the person.

Caffeine intoxication: a case of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia

Caffeinism is a syndrome resulting from the excessive ingestion of caffeine and characterized primarily by cardiovascular and central nervous system manifestations. A variety of tachyarrhythmias and extrasystoles are believed to reflect the toxic, cardiotonic effects of caffeine. A case of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT) related to caffeine abuse is PAT. The importance of considering this and other less frequent conditions as potential causes for this arrhythmia is stressed.

Effects of caffeine consumption on nicotine consumption

Coffee-drinking cigarette smokers take in more nicotine when they ingest almost no caffeine than when they ingest an amount of caffeine ranging from 75 mg to 300 mg. They do not take in relatively less nicotine as the dose of caffeine increases from 75 mg to 300 mg. It seems, then, that something due to caffeine deficit is responsible for the effect. Heavier users of caffeine show this effect less strongly than do lighter users of caffeine. These results are discussed in terms of the discriminability of caffeine and nicotine deficits and the possible influence of differential tolerance to caffeine. The importance of evaluating caffeine consumption when studying nicotine use and the importance of considering the chronic level and use of these drugs when studying their effects on behavior is indicated.

Possible psychiatric significance of excessive coffee consumption

We have seen several well-marked cases of coffee excess. … The sufferer is tremulous and loses his self-command; he is subject to fits of agitation and depression; he loses color and has a haggard appearance. The appetite falls off, and symptoms of gastric catarrh may be manifested. The heart also suffers; it palpitates or it intermits. As with other such agents, a renewed dose of the poison gives temporary relief, but at the cost of future misery.

A System of Medicine [ 1909] (1)