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 ...
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...
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...
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...
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition in which prenatal stress and long-lasting disruptions of excitatory-inhibitory (E/I) balance have been implicated as key vulnerability factors. Although established pharmacological and behavioral treatments are effective for many individuals, they are not universally ...
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes persistent neurobehavioral deficits and increases the risk of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and cognitive dysfunction linked to disrupted neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation, and serotonergic (5-HT) signaling. No effective pharmacotherapies exist for chronic TBI. Psilocybin, a psychedelic 5-HT2A rece...
BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic cluster headache (CCH) suffer from poor sleep, which may impact their brain microstructure and parenchymal clearance of waste products. Psilocybin has shown promise for the treatment of CCH and has been linked to increased neuroplasticity with possible influences on brain microstructure. AIMS: To investigate the effects of p...
The serotonergic hallucinogen psilocybin has shown potential as a treatment for psychiatric conditions like alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression in clinical studies. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, are hypothesized to contribute to its lasting therapeutic benefits. In this exploratory study, we present the first methylome-wide analysis...
Psychological distress, such as anxiety and depression, is common among people with cancer and is often worsened by existential worries about mortality, loss of meaning, and decreased quality of life. Standard treatments, including medication and psychotherapy, often offer limited or short-term relief, highlighting the need for new, integrative psychosocial ...
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 ...
Psychedelic drugs are serotonergic hallucinogens that can be divided into two types: naturally occurring (psilocybin, psilocin, and N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and synthetic (LSD, MDMA, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine, and ketamine). Psychedelics generally work on 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors and might be useful in cognitive enhancement, brain connectivity, neu...
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent social-communication deficits, cognitive rigidity, and atypical sensory processing. Current pharmacological treatments, including risperidone and aripiprazole, provide only limited symptomatic relief and do not address the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Converging evidence implicates dysre...
Introduction. Limitations of conventional treatments for depression and anxiety, particularly in treatment-resistant cases, have driven interest in alternative therapeutic approaches. Psilocybin, a serotonergic agonist with demonstrated effects on neuroplasticity and large-scale brain networks, has emerged as a promising therapeutic option. Materials and met...
It is unclear how serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT2A Rs) in cortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons (L5 PyrNs) differentially contribute to psilocybin-induced hallucinations versus neuroplasticity. Here we show that psilocybin promotes synapse formation and maturation while accelerating the elimination of pre-existing synapses. Cell type-specific manipulation further...
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...
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the role that inducing neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to adapt and change) plays in the behavioral effects of psilocybin in people who have experienced a mild decline in emotional wellbeing. Researchers will compare different doses of psilocybin combined with midazolam or placebo to see what dose induce...
This study will examine whether combining a single dose of psilocybin with non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), a potential inducer of neuroplasticity and enhanced memory formation, will enhance the long-term beneficial behavioral effects of psilocybin when compared to sham taVNS or no VNS by allowing memory for insights gai...
Psilocybin is studied as innovative medication in anxiety, substance abuse and treatment-resistant depression. Animal studies show that psychedelics promote neuronal plasticity by strengthening synaptic responses and protein synthesis. However, the exact molecular and cellular changes induced by psilocybin in the human brain are not known. Here, we treated h...
