Abstract
To date, a large and growing body of research has addressed the effect of various substances abuse from different medical, clinical and psychological perspectives. However, research on behavioral and cognitive effects of abusing particular psycho-stimulants including Khat, non-prescribed amphetamine, tobacco smoking and its rejuvenated method (waterpipe/shisha) on human subjects is not that extensive. This review aims at gathering recent scientific literature on addiction influence of selected psychoactive substances (namely Khat, tobacco and amphetamine) to human health. Considerable research studies have been done so far on prevalence of Khat chewing and effects of tobacco (mainly on cigars smoking) highlighting their addictive nature and associated health problems. On contrast, there is a substantial knowledge gap regarding the neurobehavioral effects of non-prescribed amphetamine drugs and amphetamine-type stimulant (Khat) on human neurobehavioral performance which in turn might shed the light on themes for future research trends. The literature reports that prevalence of these substances is alarmingly high among nations of Arab and African horn countries as a part of their cultural and habitual behavior. However due to the recent scattering of these nations worldwide, the issue of these substances becomes of global concern. The review attempts to extract lessons learned from previous studies and briefly summarized various aspects of the medical and psychological effects of using such stimulants on human health with much emphasis on cognitive and behavioral deficits. Chemistry, toxicity, general pharmacology of the reviewed psycho-stimulants together with the lessons learned and associated future research trends are also presented. [Rahim BEA, Yagoub U, Mahfouz MS, Solan YMH, Alsanosi R. Abuse of Selected Psychoactive Stimulants: Overview and Future Research Trends. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):2295-2308] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 339