Can the revival of serotonergic psychedelic drugs as treatments for mental disorders help to characterize their risks and benefits?

The psychological processes of classic psychedelics in the treatment of depression: a systematic review protocol.

There is currently renewed interest in the use of psychedelic therapy in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including depression. The proposed systematic review will aim to identify, evaluate and summarise the psychological processes of change underlying psychedelic therapy for depression in the current literature and consider the implications these pro...

The Pharmacology and Clinical Applications of Psychedelic Medicines Within Midwifery Practice.

The research and use of psychedelic medicines to treat common mental health disorders has increased substantially in the past 2 decades. At the same time, knowledge is relatively uncommon among midwives regarding (1) the relative benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy, (2) best practices associated with the delivery of psychedelic-assisted therapy, and (3)...

Adverse effects of psychedelics: From anecdotes and misinformation to systematic science.

Despite an increasing body of research highlighting their efficacy to treat a broad range of medical conditions, psychedelic drugs remain a controversial issue among the public and politicians, tainted by previous stigmatisation and perceptions of risk and danger. This narrative review examines the evidence for potential harms of the classic psychedelics by ...

Crystallographic hallucinations.

In a detailed powder diffraction study of the structural forms of psilocybin, Sherwood [ C, 36-55] cast doubt that any other anhydrous polymorphs could exist.

Investigational drugs for assisting psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): emerging approaches and shifting paradigms in the era of psychedelic medicine.

Psychedelics as Novel Therapeutics in Alzheimer's Disease: Rationale and Potential Mechanisms.

Serotonin 2A receptor (5-HTR) agonist "classic psychedelics" are drawing increasing interest as potential mental health treatments. Recent work suggests psychedelics can exert persisting anxiolytic and antidepressant effects lasting up to several months after a single administration. Data indicate acute subjective drug effects as important psychological fact...

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Substance Use Disorders and Potential Mechanisms of Action.

Substance use disorders (SUD) represent a significant public health issue with a high need for novel and efficacious treatment options. In light of this high unmet need, recent results reporting beneficial outcomes of psychedelic-assisted therapy in SUD are particularly relevant. However, several questions remain with regard to this treatment approach. The c...

The Potential of Psychedelics for End of Life and Palliative Care.

End of life and palliative care has improved in recent decades but the psychopharmacological options available to clinicians and patients in these contexts remain limited. In particular, psychological factors such as depression, existential distress, and well-being remain challenging to address with current medications. Here, we review recent research on the...

Psychedelics and Anti-inflammatory Activity in Animal Models.

The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) 2A receptor is most well known as the common target for classic psychedelic compounds. Interestingly, the 5-HT receptor is the most widely expressed mammalian serotonin receptor and is found in nearly every examined tissue type including neural, endocrine, endothelial, immune, and muscle, suggesting it could be a nov...

Effects of Naturalistic Psychedelic Use on Depression, Anxiety, and Well-Being: Associations With Patterns of Use, Reported Harms, and Transformative Mental States.

Survey-based studies suggest naturalistic psychedelic use provides mental health benefits similar to those observed in clinical trials. The current study sought to confirm these findings in a large group of psychedelic users and to conduct a novel examination of associations between amount of psychedelic use and behavioral outcomes, as well as frequency of h...

Corrigendum: Psychedelic Mushrooms in the USA: Knowledge, Patterns of Use, and Association With Health Outcomes.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.780696.].

Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches as Default.

The acute subjective effects of psychedelics are responsive to users' expectations and surroundings (i.e., "set and setting"). Accordingly, a great deal of thought has gone into designing the psychosocial context of psychedelic administration in clinical settings. But what theoretical paradigms inform these considerations about set and setting? Here, we desc...

The Psychedelic Integration Scales: Tools for Measuring Psychedelic Integration Behaviors and Experiences.

In this study, we describe the development and initial validation of two psychometric scales for measuring psychedelic integration. Psychedelic integration refers to the post-acute period of time following psychedelic drug administration. We created the Integration Engagement Scale (IES) to capture positive behavioral engagement with integration and the Expe...

Editorial: Psychedelic sociality: Pharmacological and extrapharmacological perspectives.

Attitudes and Beliefs about the Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs among Psychologists in the United States.

Psychologists are a vital component of mental health treatment and their perceptions of psychedelic-assisted therapy are critical for future implementation. This cross-sectional quasi-experimental electronic survey study explored the attitudes about psychedelics used in treatment among 366 clinical psychologists in the United States. Participants expressed c...

Classic psychedelics, health behavior, and physical health.

Preliminary evidence suggests that classic psychedelics may be effective in the treatment of some psychiatric disorders, yet little remains known about their effects on health behavior and physical health. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations of lifetime classic psychedelic use and psychological insight during one's most insightful class...

The economics of psychedelic-assisted therapies: A research agenda.

After a long hiatus, psychiatry is undergoing a resurgence of interest in psychedelic drugs as therapy for a wide range of mental health disorders Accumulating clinical evidence suggests substantial potential for psychedelics used in a therapeutic context, as treatment for, among other disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and addicti...

Editorial: Old and new psychoactive substances: Pharmacology and potential applications.

Serotonergic psychedelics for depression: What do we know about neurobiological mechanisms of action?

Current treatment options for major depressive disorder (MDD) have limited efficacy and are associated with adverse effects. Recent studies investigating the antidepressant effect of serotonergic psychedelics-also known as classic psychedelics-have promising preliminary results with large effect sizes. In this context, we conducted a review of the putative n...