title: KB220Z™ a Pro-Dopamine Regulator Associated with the Protracted, Alleviation of Terrifying Lucid Dreams. Can We Infer Neuroplasticity-induced Changes in the Reward Circuit?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent reports by our laboratory have indicated that lucid dreams may be linked to psychiatric conditions, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other Reward Deficiency Syndrome-related diagnoses. In the latter case, it has been our observation that such lucid dreams can be unpleasant and frequently terrifying.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present four cases of a dramatic and persistent alleviation of terrifying, lucid dreams in patients diagnosed with ADHD/PTSD and/or opiate/opioid addiction. The amelioration of such dreams could well be permanent, since the patients had stopped taking the nutraceutical for between 10 to 12 months, without their recollection or recurrence. In the first case, the patient is a 47-year-old, married male who required continued Buprenorphine/ Naloxone (Suboxone) treatment. The second case involved a 32-year-old female with the sole diagnosis of ADHD. The third case involves a 38-year-old male who carried the diagnoses of Substance Use Dependence and ADHD. The fourth case involved a 50-year-old female with the diagnoses of Alcohol Abuse, ADHD and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In order to attempt to understand the possibility of neuroplasticity, we evaluated the effect of KB220Z in non-opioid-addicted rats utilizing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging methodology. While we cannot make a definitive claim because rat brain functional connectivity may not be exactly the same as humans, it does provide some interesting clues. We did find following seeding of the dorsal hippocampus, enhanced connectivity volume across several Regions of Interest (ROI), with the exception of the pre- frontal cortex. Interestingly, the latter region is only infrequently activated in lucid human dreaming, when the dreamer reports that he/she had the thought that they were dreaming during the lucid dream.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The four patients initially reported a gradual but, then, complete amelioration of their long-term, terrifying, lucid dreams, while taking KB220Z. The persistent amelioration of these dreams continued for up to 12 months, after a self-initiated, cessation of use of KB220Z. These particular cases raise the scientific possibility that KB200Z increases both dopamine stability as well as functional connectivity between networks of brain reward circuitry in both rodents and humans. The increase in connectivity volume in rodents suggest the induction of neuroplasticity changes, which may be analogous to those involved in human lucid dreaming as well as Rapid Eye Movement sleep. The possibility that the complex induces long-term, neuroplasticity changes must await more intensive investigations, involving large-population, double-blinded studies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Psychiatric Medicine, North Andover, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Febo
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Functional Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Neuromodulation Program, University of Minnesota Twin City Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Laboratory of Advanced Radiochemistry, University of Minnesota Twin City Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Rajendra D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Badgaiyan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genomics and Applied Gene Technology, Institute of Integrative Omics and Applied Biotechnology (IIOAB), Nonakuri, Purba Medinipur, India.
authors.forename: Debmalya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barh
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurology, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dushaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurology, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Eric R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Braverman
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurology, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Personalized Medicine, IGENE, LLC., Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Madigan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA; Centre for Genomics and Applied Gene Technology, Institute of Integrative Omics and Applied Biotechnology (IIOAB), Nonakuri, Purba Medinipur, India; Department of Clinical Neurology, PATH Foundation NY, New York, NY, USA; Department of Personalized Medicine, IGENE, LLC., Austin, TX, USA; Community Mental Health Institute, Center for Clinical & Translational Science, University of Vermont and Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA; Division of Addiction Services, Dominion Diagnostics, LLC., North Kingstown, RI, USA; Division of Neuroscience-Based Therapy, Summit Estate Recovery Center, Los Gatos, CA, USA; Department of Nutrigenomics, LaVita RDS, LLC, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Division of Neuroscience Research & Addiction Therapy, Shores Treatment & Recovery Center, Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA; Department of Education & Psychology, Eotvus Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blum
keywords: Connectivity volume; Dopamine; KB220z; Lucid dreams; Neuroplasticity