BackgroundAs the field of psychedelic therapy grows, it is vital to consider who can safely engage with psilocybin therapy. In most modern clinical trials of psilocybin therapy, individuals with a family history of bipolar disorder (BD) have been excluded from participation because of their genetic predisposition for developing BD.ReviewCase studies and surv...
BACKGROUND: Although Basidiomycota produce pharmaceutically and ecologically relevant natural products, knowledge of how they coordinate their primary and secondary metabolism is virtually non-existent. Upon transition from vegetative mycelium to carpophore formation, mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe use L-tryptophan to supply the biosynthesis of the psyched...
Recent clinical breakthroughs hold great promise for the application of psilocybin in the treatments of psychological disorders, such as depression, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psilocybin is a psychedelic whose metabolite, psilocin, is a 5-HT2A receptor agonist. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms for the effects of psilocybin on the br...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) share overlapping neurobiological mechanisms particularly reward deficiency and stress-like anti-reward processes. And so, BPD may be reclassified as a "traumatic personality stress disorder" (TPSD) with ensuing common therapeutic strategies that may stabilize dopaminergic reward...
Magic mushrooms are fungi that produce psilocybin, a compound with breakthrough status for treatment of mental health disorders. Wood-degrading species of Psilocybe, such as P. subaeruginosa and relatives, have high concentrations of psilocybin but are discouraged for clinical production due to a temporary paralytic side effect known as Wood Lover’s Paralysi...
Psilocybe zapotecorum is a strongly blue-bruising psilocybin mushroom used by indigenous groups in southeastern Mexico and beyond. While this species has a rich history of ceremonial use, research into its chemistry and genetics have been limited. Herein, we detail mushroom morphology and report on cultivation parameters, chemical profile, and the full genom...
In this review, we discuss the possible utility of zebrafish in research on psilocybin, a psychedelic drug whose recreational use as well as possible clinical application are gaining increasing interest. First, we review behavioral tests with zebrafish, focussing on anxiety and social behavior, which have particular relevance in the context of psilocybin res...
Background Recent survey data indicate that some people report long-term improvement in color vision deficiency (CVD), also known as color blindness, following use of psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin. However, there are no objective data reported in the medical literature quantifying the degree or duration of CVD improveme...
Introduction There is a growing and renewed interest in the use of hallucinogenic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, especially since the FDA approval of ketamine treatment for resistant depression. The response to hallucinogenic psychedelic substances (ayahuasca, psilocybin, LSD, ketamine) in the treatment of depression and addictions calls fo...
Psilocybin and other serotonergic psychedelics have re-emerged as therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders, including addiction. Psilocybin induces long-lasting effects on behavior, likely due to its profound ability to alter consciousness and augment neural connectivity and plasticity. Impaired synaptic plasticity in obesity contributes to 'addictive-lik...
Psilocybe magic mushrooms are best known for their main natural product, psilocybin, and its dephosphorylated congener, the psychedelic metabolite psilocin. Beyond tryptamines, the secondary metabolome of these fungi is poorly understood. The genomes of five species (P. azurescens, P. cubensis, P. cyanescens, P. mexicana, and P. serbica) were browsed to unde...
With emerging information about the potential for morbidity and reduced life expectancy with long-term use of opioids, it is logical to evaluate nonopioid analgesic treatments to manage pain states. Combinations of drugs can provide additive and/or synergistic effects that can benefit the management of pain states. In this regard, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ...
Interest in the potential therapeutic efficacy of psilocybin and other psychedelic compounds has escalated significantly in recent years. To date, little is known regarding the biological activity of the psilocybin pathway intermediate, norbaeocystin, due to limitations around sourcing the phosphorylated tryptamine metabolite for in vivo testing. To address ...
Metabolic regulation strategies have been developed to redirect metabolic fluxes to production pathways. However, it is difficult to screen out target genes that, when repressed, improve yield without affecting cell growth. Here, we report a strategy using a quorum-sensing system to control small RNA transcription, allowing cell-density-dependent repression ...
Depression impacts the lives and daily activities of millions globally. Research into the neurobiology of lateral habenula circuitry and the use of psychedelics for treating depressive states has emerged in the last decade as new directions to devise interventional strategies and therapies. Several clinical trials using deep brain stimulation of the habenula...
In nature, there are >200 species of fungi with hallucinogenic properties. These fungi are classified as Psilocybe, Gymnopilus, and Panaeolus which contain active principles with hallucinogenic properties such as ibotenic acid, psilocybin, psilocin, or baeocystin. In Chile, fungi seizures are mainly of mature specimens or spores. However, clandestine laborat...
Heterologous expression of multi-gene biosynthetic pathways in eukaryotic hosts is limited by highly regulated individual monocistrons. Dissimilar to prokaryotes, each eukaryotic gene is strictly controlled by its own regulatory elements, such as promoter and terminator. Consequently, parallel transcription can occur only when a group of genes is synchronous...
The classic serotonergic hallucinogens, or psychedelics, have the ability to profoundly alter perception and behavior. These can include visual distortions, hallucinations, detachment from reality, and mystical experiences. Some psychedelics, like LSD, are able to produce these effects with remarkably low doses of drug. Others, like psilocybin, have recently...
