Opioid-related overdose deaths have reached record high levels, and novel treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) are needed. The three United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for OUD function primarily at the mu-opioid receptor. While these remain the gold-standard treatment for OUD, they have shortcomings and treatment option...
This study will examine the synaptotrophic effects of psilocybin among medically healthy, detoxified OUD subjects. Eligible OUD participants will undergo pre- and post- psilocybin administration PET scans with the \[11C\]-UCB-J radiotracer while inpatient. Participants will undergo screening as outpatients at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit (CNRU). O...
Objective Despite many decades of experimental studies and clinical trials involving a variety of psychedelic agents, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of the effects of these substances on psychological experiences. As such, we designed and conducted a study to comprehensively characterise the effects of both psilocybin and 3,4-Methylenedioxymetha...
One of the most promising lines of investigation for the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the 1960s and 1970s was in the treatment of drug dependence. The investigators propose to examine psilocybin administration combined with a structured smoking cessation treatment program in nicotine dependent individuals in order to provide preliminary data on the ef...
There is growing interest in exploring the therapeutic potential and mechanisms of action of psilocybin on stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), addiction, and disordered eating. Despite promising progressions in preclini...
This study is being done to identify a dosing strategy that will allow IV psilocybin to be administered to sleeping participants without awakening them. The study commenced with 1 subject receiving 2 mg IV infusion of psilocybin over 2 minutes and 2 subjects receiving 2 mg IV infusion of psilocybin over 10 minutes. Subsequently, the pre-treatment of 0.2 mg o...
Background: Although historical writings, anthropological accounts, and experimental studies document associations between psilocybin use and religion, no prospective experimental study has investigated how the effects of psilocybin are experienced and interpreted by religious clergy. This exploratory study evaluated the overall safety and the acute and endu...
Depressive disorders continue to pose a major clinical challenge worldwide, particularly given the high prevalence and increasing number of treatment-resistant cases. Over the past decade, advances in research have elucidated the antidepressant potential of psilocybin and other 5-HT₂A receptor agonists in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and tre...
Abstract Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability that affects over 300 million people globally. Despite multiple antidepressant trials, approximately one-third of MDD patients remain symptomatic, progressing to treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This persistence possibly is due to the multifaceted etiology of TRD, encompassing bio...
We present divergent experiences of 2 patients who participated in a clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy for major depressive disorder. Both patients participated in an open trial involving 2 drug administration sessions separated by one month (10 and 25 mg, respectively) along with 12 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy...
Objective To evaluate psilocybin's efficacy in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms in cancer patients based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) followed PRISMA and Cochrane Handbook guidelines. PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library data up to July 2024 were analyzed. Two RCTs met the inclu...
Background: Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common cause of neurological symptoms including seizures and movement disorders. It can be debilitating, is associated with high health and social care costs, and can have a poor prognosis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has suggested FND is a multi-network disorder. Converging evidence su...
Depression affects over 185 million people worldwide, with approximately one-third classified as treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Current treatments, such as oral antidepressants, often take around 3 weeks to become effective, with no immediate anti-suicidal benefits. The field urgently needs innovative therapies that provide rapid relief. Psychedelics ...
Psilocybin is an active alkaloid found in magic mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis). It is classified as a Class I Psychoactive Substance due to its psychoactive properties. Recent research has suggested that psilocybin holds potential for treating major depressive disorder. The objective of this study was to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK)...
OBJECTIVE: Psychedelics are able to trigger highly intense and profound alterations in self-consciousness, perception, affective, and cognitive processes. Indeed, recent studies show that ketamine and psilocybin could be used as fast-acting antidepressants. However, the molecular and neurochemical mechanisms of these psychedelics and their actions at the lev...
The pressing need for effective fibromyalgia (FM) treatments, the known safety of psilocybin therapy, and the mechanistic plausibility for potential benefit provide a backdrop for investigating psilocybin therapy as a treatment for FM. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical benefit of oral psilocybin in concert with psychotherapy to ...
Summary Microdosing, the prolonged ingestion of psychedelics at sub-hallucinogenic doses, has gained popularity for its perceived cognitive and emotional benefits. Psychedelics have high affinity for 5-HT2B receptors, which cause heart disease with strong chronic activation. We investigated the effects of microdosed psychedelics on cardiovascular health in m...
ABSTRACT PsiConnect is a large-scale neuroimaging study designed to investigate the neural and subjective effects of psilocybin using multimodal neuroimaging. It combines functional, structural, and diffusion-weighted MRI with EEG to examine brain activity in 62 participants before and after a 19 mg dose of psilocybin. The design includes resting-state scans...
ABSTRACT Studies reporting novel therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs are rapidly emerging. However, the reproducibility and reliability of these findings could remain uncertain for years. Here, we implemented a multi-institutional collaborative approach to define the robust and replicable effects of the psychedelic drug psilocybin on mouse behavior. Fiv...
