Schizophrenia is one of the most debilitating psychiatric disorders due to its medical, social, professional and relational disability. With the lack of any progress made in the pharmaceutic treatment of this disorder in the last twenty years, developing adjuvant therapies to help patients live a normal professional and social life comes with great importance. Our study was conducted on 88 participants, which were recruited during an acute episode of schizophrenia at the

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The present study was conducted to investigate protective effects of the aqueous extract of V. subterranea seeds landrace on amnesia induced by scopolamine in mice. V. subterranea aqueous extract (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg BW) was administered by gavage for nine consecutive days and memory impairment was induced by repeated intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine (1.5 mg/kg). The Y-maze (YM), Morris water maze (MWM), novel object recognition paradigm (NOR) and the T maze (TM) were used to assess learning, memory and retention. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and Acetylcholine esterase activity was also evaluated in the mice hippocampi homogenates. V. subterranea aqueous extract (400 mg/kg) significantly increased the percentage of spontaneous alternation in the YM task and decreased escape latency in the MWM. Moreover, this dose brought about a significantly improvement in the time spent in the preferred TM arm and discrimination index in the NOR tasks despite repeated scopolamine injection. Additionally, low acetylcholine esterase levels, reduced lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) but increased antioxidant enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase) activity was observed in hippocampi homogenate of mice pre-treated with the extract. A protective action against hippocampal cell damage was also evident. This finding suggests that the aqueous extract of V. subterranea seed landrace may improve learning and memory.

Although the therapeutic potential of virtual reality has been foreseen since over half a century ago, the lack of graphical processing power made it impossible to apply in medical therapeutic sciences until last decade; nowadays, the hardware required for virtual reality is even 100 times more affordable. A head-mounted display induces immersivity engulfing the subject’s eyesight perception in a stereoscopic manner. The same tool that may aid better self understanding and bonding can also trigger psychopathological mechanisms through which the user becomes alienated from the real world. As virtual reality became even more popular during SARS-COV2 pandemic, users worldwide have spent more time into a virtual world. Depersonalization/derealization syndrome can occur if virtual reality is abused. The greater the person’s involvement in virtual reality, the greater the chance of a lack of bodily self (depersonalization). Controllers that mimic hands could prevent the subject from acknowledging the real world as true – derealization. Virtual reality’s dissociative potential is related to individual psychological traits and prolonged exposure. Children are the most prone to develop behavioral changes. Adults may develop behavioral problems related to virtual reality gaming, gambling, pornography and also social networking through created avatars. Blue light wavelength could harm sleep architecture and circadian rhythm by disrupting melatonin, therefore making virtual reality exposure problematic after sunset. State of the art reveals that using virtual reality in a therapeutic manner, actually facilitates the fight against addictions with cue therapy intended to extinguish conditioned response. The exposure to a substance (nicotine, alcohol, or any other psychoactive recreational abuse potential substances) can trigger craving in a controlled environment, that is malleable in the hands of the therapist. Virtual reality can offer an exposure perspective that is both vivid enough to be a challenge, but also safe enough to ensure patient involvement and to amplify the therapeutic alliance.

Alcohol abuse is one of the most common causes of substance dependence, representing an area ofinterest in continuous development. In terms of treatment, Gabapentin (GBP) has shown in published studies that it is an important therapeutic agent, especially in the case of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. The main objective of this article is to carry out a detailed evaluation of studies on the effectiveness of Gabapentin in the treatment of numerous mental disorders and also substance use disorders. Although it belongs to the category of anticonvulsants, it has been shown that Gabapentin has many therapeutic properties due to its mechanism of action involving the Gabaergic system. Thus, a new therapeutic vision in the treatment of abstinence and withdrawal syndrome is outlined.