ABSTRACT Psychedelics such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) exert hallucinogenic effects through stimulation of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors (5-HT2ARs) in the cerebral cortex. In recent years, numerous reports have demonstrated that psychedelics are effective in treating various psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD), t...
Abstract Despite growing interest in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, research investigating the psychotherapeutic components is lacking. This leaves unanswered questions regarding the psychotherapy's necessity and form. This observational study addresses this gap by measuring the outcomes of a psilocybin truffle retreat, followed by the outcomes of two p...
Interest has grown in the effects of psilocybin on mental health, but little is known about its naturalistic use alongside alcohol and its relationship to depression and/or anxiety symptoms. Data from the nationally-representative 2024 National Survey Investigating Hallucinogenic Trends of participants who did ( n = 1234) or did not ( n = 1607) report past-y...
Up to 40% of individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) experience depression, which increases the risk of early relapse. Depression can cause relapse to occur 3 times faster in individuals with AUD who experience depressive symptoms at discharge. No treatments have been approved for individuals with both AUD and depression. Psilocybin, a psychedelic, shows...
Psilocybin has been shown to induce fast and sustained symptoms improvements across various psychiatric conditions, yet its long-term mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Initial evidence suggests that longitudinal functional and structural brain changes implicate fronto-striatal-thalamic (FST) circuitry, a broad system involved in goal-directed be...
Mental disorders represent a major global health problem, with depression being one of the most prevalent and disabling conditions worldwide. Growing evidence suggests that the serotonergic system, particularly the 5-HT2A receptor, plays an important role in modulating mood and cognitive processes, constituting a key pharmacological target for several psycho...
Psychedelic drugs are under active consideration for clinical use and have generated significant interest for their potential as anti-nociceptive treatments for chronic pain, and for addressing conditions like depression, frequently co-morbid with pain. This review primarily explores the utility of preclinical animal models in investigating the potential of ...
The past decade has seen a huge increase in clinical research with psychedelic drugs and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which have revealed great potential for treating mental health conditions. Given this progress in research, as well as the current unmet clinical need of millions of patients, in 2023, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administrat...
Psychedelic drugs such as LSD and psilocin were once relegated to the fringes of medical research because of their association with counterculture movements and a perceived concern about harm through recreational use, and their consequent legal prohibition in the early 1970s. However, these drugs are now experiencing a renaissance in the field of psychiatry ...
Currently, the most actively investigated rapidly acting antidepressants, anxiolytics and/or anti PTSD agents, include psychedelics e.g. psilocybin, LSD, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, ayahuasca; non-hallucinogenic entactogens, e.g. MDMA; psychoplastogens which rapidly promote neuroplasticity, e.g. ibogaine, ketamine and esketamine; and other atypicals e.g. dextrom...
Psychedelics have garnered great attention in recent years as treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression because of their ability to alter consciousness and afflicted cognitive processes with lasting effects. We aimed to characterise how psychedelics are currently being investigated to treat substance use disorders (SUD...
The purpose of this study is to understand whether people with Parkinson's Disease and depression have improvement in their symptoms after psilocybin therapy. This is a randomized controlled trial of oral psilocybin therapy for depression in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). The primary goal is to examine efficacy of psilocybin therapy in this patient po...
BackgroundPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder are often comorbid in humans. Psilocybin reportedly has beneficial therapeutic effects on depression, possibly by promoting neuroplasticity. PTSD is associated with the dysregulation of neuroplasticity in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We hypothesized that psil...
Through an open-label study involving a small group of UCSD physicians experiencing burnout, the investigators will evaluate the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effectiveness of PAT to reduce burnout symptoms. Physician burnout is a critical issue. Research shows that physician burnout is increasing, that physicians suffer higher rates of burnout than t...
A central challenge in neuroscience is understanding how the human brain is organised to support optimal functioning and adaptability. One approach to characterise complex brain dynamics is by artificially perturbing whole-brain models. Here, we asked whether whole-brain organisation under perturbation in major depressive disorder (MDD) changes after interve...
The acute subjective effects of serotonin (5-HT)2A receptor stimulation with psilocybin in humans are mostly positive. However, negative effects such as anxiety, paranoid thinking, or loss of trust towards other people are common effects, depending on the dose administered, the personality traits of the person consuming it (set), or the environment in which ...
The goal of this study is to learn how psilocybin delivered with mindfulness-based therapy may help symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is an assessor-blinded, randomized, controlled study in participants with PTSD. The study will investigate the changes in brain activity, connectivity, and microstructural neuroplasticity assessed using EE...
In the past decade, interest in studying psychedelic compounds as potential therapeutic agents has resurged. These studies carefully exclude individuals at risk for developing psychotic symptoms in response to psychedelic use. Given the potential for psychedelics to be established as treatments in psychiatry, it is important to more robustly understand their...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are prevalent and debilitating conditions. Over 50% of patients have inadequate response to first-line serotonergic antidepressants and are left with suboptimal treatment options. Rapid-acting and individually tailored treatments for MDD remain major unmet needs. This review discusses p...
To learn about the feasibility, safety, and effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy on depression and/or anxiety in participants who are being treated for advanced cancer. Primary Objective To examine the feasibility, safety, effect size estimates of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for participants with depression and/or anxiety who are being actively...
