Psychedelics are psychoactive substances that cause changes in perception, state of consciousness, mood and numerous cognitive processes. The best known are lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), psilocybin and mescaline. The main mechanism of action of psychedelics is agonism towards serotonin 5-HT2A receptors. In the middle of the ...
People living with cancer (PLWC) often face profound existential distress that is insufficiently addressed by conventional psychosocial supports. This qualitative study explored PLWC's attitudes, beliefs, and experiences regarding psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) as a novel approach to addressing psychosocial suffering, particularly existential distress. F...
Chronic stress exerts profound effects on mental health, contributing to disorders such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. This study examines the potential of psilocybin to alleviate behavioral despair and cognitive deficits in a rodent model of chronic stress, focusing on the interplay between the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis an...
Classic psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin are showing promising effects in treating certain psychiatric disorders. Despite their low toxicity and lack of an addictive potential, in some individuals, psychedelics can be associated with persisting psychological harms. Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) is one of those complications, a rare d...
Empathy plays a crucial role in interpersonal relationships and mental health. It is decreased in a variety of psychiatric disorders including major depression. Psilocybin, a promising candidate for treating depression, has been shown to acutely increase emotional empathy in healthy volunteers. However, no study has investigated this effect and its relevance...
This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial examines the association between treatment expectancies and the relative efficacy of psilocybin compared with escitalopram for major depressive disorder.
Methamphetamine (MA) dependence leads to severe physical and psychological issues. Current treatments, including psychosocial therapies and residential rehabilitation, face limitations such as high relapse rates, cost, and accessibility issues. As a result, there is an urgent need for novel approaches to treat MA dependence that are effective, affordable, an...
Serotonergic psychedelics induce their characteristic subjective effects via activation of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). This structurally diverse class of drugs includes ergolines (e.g., LSD), phenethylamines (e.g., mescaline), and tryptamines (e.g., psilocin), all of which have NPS analogues that have emerged on recreational drug markets. Importantl...
Abstract Background Traditionally associated with recreational and spiritual uses, psychedelics have gained attention in psychotherapy for their therapeutic potential. Functioning as potent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) agonists, these compounds have demonstrated the ability to enhance neural plasticity by activating serotoninergic and glutamatergic systems. Des...
ImportanceA clear and comprehensive understanding of risks associated with psychedelic-assisted therapy is necessary as investigators extend its application to new populations and indications.ObjectiveTo assess adverse events (AEs) associated with classic psychedelics, particularly serious AEs (SAEs) and nonserious AEs (NSAEs) requiring medical or psychiatri...
Understanding neuromodulatory effects of serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2A R) agonists with diverse pharmacological profiles is relevant to advancing psychedelic-related drug applications. We performed simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) and pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) in anesthetized nonhuman primates (NHP; N = 3) to examine p...
Motivation: Acute effects of psychedelic drugs are under-reported in neuroimaging studies, warranting further investigation of their immediate pharmacology to explore the potential to monitor treatment response with imaging. Goal(s): Our goal was to assess acute impacts of serotonergic (psychedelic and non-psychedelic) agonists on hemodynamics in non-human p...
Background: Psilocybin can produce long-term changes in personality, personal values, and behavior. Although psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) is being actively studied for various psychiatric conditions, its effects on personal values in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) remain unexplored. This study examined the effects of PAT on personal values in ...
Psychedelic substances are garnering renewed interest for their potential therapeutic applications, yet the mechanisms by which challenging experiences during psychedelic use contribute to positive outcomes remains poorly understood. Here we present a mixed-methods investigation into the strategies individuals employ to navigate difficult psychedelic experie...
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, drastically affect mental processing, cognitive functioning, and the mood state. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the Psilocybe cubensis extract on spatial memory and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). ...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric illness with high mortality rates and limited treatment outcomes. Psilocybin treatment (PT) has shown promise for various mental health indications and there is significant interest in exploring its potential for AN; however, studies to date are preliminary. Given the probable surge in psychedelic studies for AN, more i...
Psilocybin has been shown to induce fast and sustained improvements in mental well-being across various populations, 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 b...
Despite psychedelic microdosing being a growing practice, the research on the topic is still in its infancy. While several studies have described the characteristics, motivations and practices of microdosers, the differences between individuals that only microdose and those that use both micro and macrodoses of psychedelics remain unexplored. In an online su...
The fast-expanding use of psychedelic drugs for medical purposes necessitates a greater understanding of the drugs' potential adverse effects. Investigators conducted a systematic review of studies of psychedelic administration in clinical and research settings and a meta-analysis of data on adverse events. They conducted a comprehensive database search for ...
Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic with therapeutic potential for treating mental illnesses 1-4. At the cellular level, psychedelics induce structural neural plasticity 5,6, exemplified by the drug-evoked growth and remodeling of dendritic spines in cortical pyramidal cells 7-9. A key question is how these cellular modifications map onto cell type-spec...
