Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Saccade and cognitive function in chronic kava users.

Sheree Cairney1, Alan R Clough, Paul Maruff

  • 1Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. scairney@mhri.edu.au

Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
|February 18, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Association Between Mental Health of Patients with Work-Related Injury and Their Compensation Claim Status: Exploratory Findings from the IMPRovE Trial.

Journal of occupational rehabilitation·2026
Same author

Communities of Practice in Emergency Mental Health Care for Involuntary Patients in Common Law Countries: A Scoping Review of Evidence Gaps.

Open access emergency medicine : OAEM·2026
Same author

Regional Variation in Management Strategies for Occupational Low Back Pain in Australia.

Journal of occupational rehabilitation·2026
Same author

Factors Associated with Negative Experiences and Mental Ill Health During a Workers' Compensation Claim: A Mixed Methods Study.

Journal of occupational rehabilitation·2026
Same author

Authors' Reply to Abudayeh and Fishchenko: Comment on "Early High-Risk Opioid Prescribing and Persistent Opioid Use in Australian Workers with Workers' Compensation Claims for Back and Neck Musculoskeletal Disorders or Injuries: A Retrospective Cohort Study".

CNS drugs·2026
Same author

General Practitioner Service Use Before and After Long-Term Workplace Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Journal of occupational rehabilitation·2026
Same journal

Auditory event-related potentials and psychosis dimensions.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same journal

Cultural humility in the teaching and practice of clinical care.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same journal

Kappa opioid receptors mediate aversion-and it matters.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same journal

Splice isoforms of the histone variant macroH2A1 differentially regulate hippocampal gene expression and memory formation.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same journal

Chronic ethanol self-administration alters dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen of rhesus macaques in a sex-dependent manner.

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same journal

In memoriam-Shigeto Yamawaki, M.D., Ph.D. (1954-2026).

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
See all related articles

Heavy kava consumption did not impair cognitive or saccade function in Australian indigenous users. Long-term kava drinkers showed no brain dysfunction, despite some physical side effects.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Indigenous Health

Background:

  • Kava (Piper methysticum) is a traditional herbal medicine with anxiolytic and muscle relaxant properties.
  • Concerns exist regarding kava's potential neurotoxicity, with isolated reports of psychotic syndromes and movement disorders.
  • No conclusive evidence links kava use to cognitive impairment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of heavy, long-term kava consumption on cognitive and saccade function.
  • To assess potential neurocognitive differences between current, former, and non-kava users in an indigenous Australian population.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized cross-culturally validated saccade and cognitive tests.
  • Compared current heavy kava users, past heavy users (abstinent >6 months), and non-users.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Collected data from a population with exceptionally high kava consumption rates.

    • Main Results:

    • No significant impairment in cognitive or saccade function was observed in current or past heavy kava users.
    • Current and former users exhibited higher rates of kava dermopathy and lower body mass index.
    • Current users displayed elevated liver enzymes, while both groups had lowered blood lymphocytes.

    Conclusions:

    • Heavy and long-term kava use, even at high consumption levels, does not appear to cause brain dysfunction.
    • Observed physical effects like kava dermopathy and altered liver enzymes warrant attention, but do not indicate neurotoxicity.
    • Findings challenge concerns about kava's impact on cognitive processes and brain health.