About 30-50% of patients with advanced illness experience depression, anxiety, or decreased sense of purpose and autonomy. Together, these are called psychological distress. Treatment options such as medication and therapy are available; however, they do not always work and can be time-consuming and expensive. We need treatments that work well, quickly, and ...
The goal of this multi-centre phase I/II open-label, single-arm study is to determine the safety, feasibility, therapeutic dose, and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin microdosing to treat psychological distress among patients with advanced illness. Forty patients will receive psilocybin drug product (1-3mg per day, Mon-Fri) for 4 weeks to be administered vi...
Psychedelic drugs show remarkable potential for treating psychiatric disorders, but the mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects remain relatively unknown. Here, we demonstrate that psilocybin can powerfully ameliorate deficits in cognitive flexibility, but this effect depends on the specific circuit-level cause of those deficits. Using optogenetic mo...
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic neuropsychiatric condition characterized by intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors that cause distress and functional impairment worldwide. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive behavioral therapy are first-line treatments, a considerable proportion of patients show an insufficien...
Psychedelic retail stores illegally selling psilocybin, DMT and related substances have proliferated in Canada, with close to 60 brick-and-mortar shops documented in 2023. This echoes the pre-legalization and regulation cannabis landscape. Public responses have remained inconsistent, oscillating between de facto tolerance and enforcement of the law, raising ...
The purpose of this study is to see if one or two doses of psilocybin is more effective in relieving depressive symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Researchers also want to know if a second dose of psilocybin is safe and well-tolerated. This study will see if psilocybin is effective, safe, and well-tolerated by tracking changes in...
This is an observational study which does NOT directly administer a psychedelic substance but rather recruits participants who are already participating in another clinical trial in which they may receive a serotonergic psychedelic. The goal of this observational study is to learn how the brain's information processing changes during and following administra...
The ongoing psychedelic renaissance has prompted a renewed search for novel drugs based on modifying existing psychedelic motifs. In this study, a synthesis of 4-bromo--dimethyltryptamine (4-Br-DMT) was achieved and used as a late-stage intermediate for analog development. Specifically, we were able to synthesize and access novel molecules by forming carbon-...
Classic serotonergic psychedelics such as psilocybin act as agonists at cortical serotonin (5-HT) 2A receptors (5-HT2AR), inducing psychedelic effects in humans and head-twitch responses (HTRs) in rodents. Another class of psychedelic drugs called entactogens, exemplified by MDMA, function primarily as monoamine releasers and typically evoke minimal HTR desp...
BackgroundExistential distress is commonly experienced by people with cancer, yet there are limited treatment options. The therapeutic potential for psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) utilising psilocybin for this cohort is underexplored, with emerging literature showing clinical improvements in wellbeing. In Australia there is limited knowledge on healthcar...
This study plans to learn more about the safety and tolerability of psychedelic administration (psilocybin) in healthy older adults ages 65-85. The purpose of this study is to learn whether psilocybin, a psychedelic compound, can be given safely to older adults. We want to understand how psilocybin affects the body and mind, including blood pressure, heart r...
The Psilocybe cubensis mushroom is recognized as the primary source of psilocybin in the Americas, occurring naturally across various regions. This fungus has a long history of use in Mesoamerican rituals due to its capacity to induce altered states of consciousness. The defining characteristic of Psilocybe mushrooms is their psilocybin content. Following in...
Pupil diameter is a non-invasive biomarker of brain state, correlating with arousal, attention, cognitive processing, and consciousness. However, existing pupillometry software often lacks scalability and robustness across diverse experimental conditions and species. We introduce Pupil-DLC, an open-source, offline, DeepLabCut-based pipeline for scalable, mar...
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...
There is growing interest in psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin, 3,4-metheylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) given emerging research on potential uses as treatments for a variety of health conditions. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted multiple “Breakthrough The...
Abstract Purpose Lifetime MDMA/ecstasy and psilocybin use have been associated with lower odds of psychological distress, suicidality, and depressive episodes, but these associations may vary by marginalized identity. Building on minorities' diminished psychedelic returns (MDPR) framework and extending Jones and Nock's race/ethnicity moderation work, this st...
This study is exploring how psilocybin (a psychedelic drug) may improve mood and wellbeing. Many people report feeling better after taking psilocybin, but it is not clear why. The CoPEWell study will test whether these improvements come from the psychedelic experience itself (the "trip") or from direct effects on the brain. To study this, up to 120 participa...
Abstract Psilocybin induces profound alterations in consciousness, yet prevailing neural models often describe a monolithic change in brain connectivity that may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of the psychedelic state. To test the hypothesis of a composite neural state, this study applied a data-driven framework, connectome independent component a...
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...
RationaleInterest in psychedelic drugs has increased rapidly because of their potential therapeutic role in psychiatric disorders. Impairments in the sociocognitive skills needed to build and maintain social relationships are prominent features of many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Emerging evidence suggests that compounds such as 3,4-methyle...
