Date of Award

4-2009

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Lisa E. Baker

Second Advisor

Dr. Alan Poling

Third Advisor

Dr. Bradley Huitema

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

A recent increase in the recreational use of the plant Salvia divinorum and its derivative salvinorin A, an atypical naturally occurring kappa opioid receptor ag onist with hallucinogenic properties, by teens and young adults has contributed to a growing concern regarding the psychological effects of this drug. Salvia divinorum is presently a legal alternative to illegal hallucinogens and it is widely available over the Internet and in stores for a nominal cost making it a potential candidate as a drug of abuse. To date, no investigations have ex plored the effects of salvinorin A in memory assays. The novel object recognition task was employed to provide an index of salvinorin A's effects on working memory. No significant memory effects were determined during the intraperitoneal administration of salvinorin A (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg/kg) at 15 and 30 minutes post administration.

Included in

Psychology Commons

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