Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex and debilitating condition affecting approximately 280 million people worldwide. Its heterogeneous nature makes it difficult to establish clinical treatment guidelines that address individual differences in treatment response. As a result, many individuals experience treatment-resistant depression (TRD) failing to...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by compulsive eating restrictions and cognitive inflexibility, which is linked to dysregulation within the cortico-striatal-thalamo cortical (CSTC) circuitry. Dysfunction within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal striatum has been implicated in habitual decision making and impaired cognitiv...
Professor Gregor Hasler stands at the forefront of revolutionary psychedelic research and neuroplasticity studies, transforming our understanding of mental health treatment through groundbreaking scientific discoveries. As Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he directs the Molecular Psychiatry Lab, Hasler has pioneered resea...
Psychedelic substances have experienced a resurgence of clinical interest in recent years, particularly for their promising effects in the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. While evidence regarding their role in chronic pain management remains limited, emerging studies suggest potential therapeutic benefits. This case report ...
Introduction: Recently, there has been a significant increase in interest in the use of psychedelics for various psychiatric conditions. Psilocybin is receiving particular attention as a psychoactive substance with significant therapeutic potential. Recent research focuses on its possible benefits in the treatment of major depressive disorders (MDD) and anor...
Psychedelics are undergoing a clinical research renaissance, with compounds such as psilocybin advancing to Phase 3 trials for treatment-resistant depression and receiving fast-track or breakthrough designations from regulatory agencies. Despite this progress, the field lacks standardized terminology to guide clinical development, dosing, safety monitoring, ...
OBJECTIVE: Due to the boom in the use of certain psychedelics in different neuropsychiatric conditions, the objective was to synthesize the available information on the use of psilocybin (a psychedelic) in the population with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; a developmental neuropsychiatric condition). METHODS: Scoping review. Question framework: Population: p...
Background: Depressive disorders are a major global health challenge, with many individuals unresponsive to existing treatments. Novel psychedelic therapies show promise but require further research. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of psilocybin with psychotherapeutic support for treatment-resistant depressi...
Objectives: Given the increasing use of psilocybin-containing substances across a variety of use settings, understanding the potential risks is imperative for informing public health policy, health care providers, and consumers. Poison centers (PCs) receive calls following exposures to potential toxins to support the detection, prevention, and treatment of t...
Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has been shown in early trials to reduce the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of PAT as a third-line treatment for major depressive disorder compared to standard of care (SOC). We used an individual-level, probabilistic simulation model that portrays representative...
Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition for which there are few efficacious treatments. Psilocybin is being studied for use in treatment-resistant depression but has not yet been investigated in PTSD. Aims: The trial’s primary outcome was to investigate the safety and tolerability of single-dose psilocybin in participant...
Established by the 1971 United Nations (UN) Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the prohibition of the recreational use of psychedelics (lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], psilocybin, N, N -dimethyltryptamine [ N, N -DMT], and mescaline) has two premises. First, recreational use poses a serious threat to public health because psychedelics are highly liable...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Drug discrimination procedures have made important contributions to the pre-clinical investigation of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). One of the most important being to highlight the critical role of central 5-HT2A rece...
Psychedelic Minimalism: The Case Against Music in Psychedelic Therapy SettingsIn response to: Kaelen et al. (2018), “The Hidden Therapist: Evidence for a Central Role ofMusic in Psychedelic Therapy.”Introduction: Reframing the Role of SettingIn recent years, renewed attention has been given to the centrality of set and setting inpsychedelic-assisted therapy....
We quantify cellular- and circuit-resolution neural network dynamics following therapeutically relevant doses of the psychedelic psilocybin. Using chronically implanted Neuropixels probes, we recorded local field potentials (LFP) alongside action potentials from hundreds of neurons spanning infralimbic, prelimbic and cingulate subregions of the medial prefro...
Background: Cancer poses an existential threat for patients and caregivers. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a potential tool to meet these existential needs, yet little is known about how patients describe this element of their cancer journey, and how it might be affected by PAT, especially in the group therapy context. Purpose: To explore h...
Psilocybin, a serotonergic compound that produces psychedelic effects primarily through activation of the 5-HT2A receptor, has shown promise in treating neuropsychiatric conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the effects of chronic psilocybin administration on gut function, microbiota, and behavioural phenotypes remain understudi...
The stresses of the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the burden of psychiatric disorders within the pediatric population, revealing a pre-existing need for rapid-onset therapies that have since driven efforts to expand effective therapeutic interventions. In this narrative review, we utilized the Preferred Reporting Items for Syste...
Background: Current trauma treatment options often fail to meet patients' needs. Despite the availability of established interventions, many trauma treatments fail to adequately meet patients' needs. In parallel, there has been renewed scientific and public interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and related compounds, accompanied by increasing...
