The fungivore-deterrence hypothesis, that psilocybin evolved as a chemical defence against arthropod fungivores via 5-HT receptor agonism, has become the working consensus in fungal chemical ecology, despite resting on a phylogenomic pattern of horizontal gene transfer among saprotrophs and remarkably little direct experimental evidence. Recent biochemistry ...
This is a multi-site, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of the 5-HT2A receptor agonist psilocybin for smoking cessation. Four sites with experience in conducting psilocybin research will be involved in this trial: Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and New York University (NYU). The proposed study will treat ...
Maintaining effective blinding is a major methodological challenge in psychedelic research. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of blinding integrity in 120 healthy volunteers who received either psilocybin, MDMA, or methylphenidate (active placebo) in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Using a multi-level assessment incorporating forced...
This pilot study will examine the safety, tolerability, acceptability, and efficacy of combination psilocybin + psychotherapy to decrease PTSD symptoms. Participants will be randomized into two different treatment groups, allowing the investigators to directly compare PE augmented with psilocybin and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. The Primary objective i...
Introduction and Objective.Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a major clinical challenge affecting patients who fail to respond to at least two adequate antidepressant trials.The development of rapid-acting interventions targeting non-monoaminergic pathways has introduced new therapeutic possibilities.The aim of the review is to critically examine ...
Introduction and purpose: Depressive disorders, particularly major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD), remain major causes of disability worldwide. Conventional treatments are limited by delayed onset, incomplete response, relapse, and adverse effects. This review summarizes current evidence on the efficacy, safety, and durabi...
In the past year, the medical regulation of psilocybin-assisted therapy has expanded across additional international jurisdictions, requiring an update to the original medico-legal synthesis. Newly established or clarified regulatory pathways in New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and at the United States federal level reflect continued ev...
Background: Psilocybin, the main psychoactive compound found in Psilocybe mushrooms, has gained increasing attention due to its potential therapeutic effects in neuropsychiatric disorders [1]. Beyond its central effects, increasing evidence highlights the relevance of the gut-brain axis, suggesting that psychedelics may also influence intestinal microbiota c...
Background: Psilocybin, a key psychoactive compound found in Psilocybe mushrooms, has gained increasing attention due to its therapeutic potential in neuropsychiatric disorders [1]. However, comparative preclinical data between isolated psilocybin and whole mushroom extracts remain scarce, particularly regarding behavioural reinforcement and peripheral toxic...
Altered states of consciousness (ASC) represent a universal human capacity for accessing and transforming the subconscious mind, employed across cultures and millennia through diverse contemplative, somatic, pharmacological, ritual, and technological modalities. This comprehensive review synthesizes evidence from over 25 distinct disciplines spanning five cl...
Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent and disabling psychiatric condition associated with substantial clinical, social, and economic burden [1,2]. Despite the availability of conventional antidepressants, their limited effectiveness, delayed onset of action, and high relapse rates have renewed interest in innovative therapeutic ap...
Psilocybin is a psychoactive tryptamine produced by a phylogenetically discontinuous yet ecologically diverse subset of fungi. Despite decades of chemical, pharmacological, and ethnobiological research, the evolutionary forces driving the emergence and persistence of this compound remain insufficiently explained. Recent hypotheses proposing that psilocybin e...
Background: Although psychedelics have regained attention as potential treatment tools for various mental disorders, little research has examined their impact on temporal perception. Aims: This double-blinded placebo-controlled study aimed to investigate changes in temporal perception under psilocybin, both through performance during the Temporal Bisection T...
Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound responsible for the hallucinogenic effects of “magic mushrooms,” is synthesized by a biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) traditionally associated with Psilocybe species. However, psilocybin production has also been identified in multiple genera across the Strophariaceae, Hymenogastraceae, and Galeropsidaceae families. Here, ...
Objective: To compare acceptability and effectiveness of psilocybin, ketamine and commonly prescribed antidepressants in the management of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Methods: This is a systematic review with network meta-analysis. The survey was conducted between January and June 2023, employing MEDLINE, PsyINFO, Embase, Web of Science and ClinicalTria...
Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition leading to significant personal and societal burden. Standard treatments frequently demonstrate limited efficacy, leading to persistent symptoms and high dropout rates. Psilocybin has shown promise in treating depression, a condition that is often comorbid with PTSD. We aimed to ex...
Depression is a debilitating mental disorder affecting millions worldwide, yet current pharmacological treatments, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), often exhibit delayed onset and limited efficacy. The chronic social defeat (CSD) stress model in mice is a well-established preclinical paradigm for inducing depression-like behaviors and...
The study looks into whether administering psychedelic substances that stimulate the serotonin system influences pro-social behavior when compared to administering substances that stimulate the dopamine system in healthy individuals. Psychedelic substances have been shown to be powerful modulators of social perception and behavior during the acute experience...
Highly stressful events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-a significant public health concern which existing treatments (e.g., psychotherapy and traditional medications) have shown marginal efficacy for.Psychedelics-alternatively called hallucinogens-are psychoactive substances that cause perception, mood, and cognitive changes.Because they a...
