The Altered Xperience Project (AXP) is an ongoing research project that takes the form of an open citizen science initiative. Its main goal is to systematically collect and consolidate data on the subjective experiences induced by various consciousness-manipulating techniques (CMTs). These include both psychoactive substances as well as non-pharmacological m...
Recreational drug use is a significant public health concern in various countries. It is well understood that usage of psychedelics/hallucinogens, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ecstasy, phencyclidine (PCP), and psilocybin-containing mushrooms, has increased significantly over the last few decades, particularly in adolescents and young adults, yet...
In 1970, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration passed the Controlled Substances Act. This statute classified and banned a variety of drugs including psilocybin, the psychoactive component found in Psilocybe Cubensis (also known as "Magic Mushrooms"). Though psilocybin was known to possess many medical benefits and cause no serious side effects, t...
Major depressive disorder presents a substantial global health burden, and at least 30-40% of patients exhibit treatment resistance to antidepressants. Ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, is used as an anesthetic agent. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved esketamine (the S-enantiomer of ketamine) as a therapeutic agent for treatm...
Pharmacotherapy of depression is characterized by the delayed onset of action, chronic treatment requirements, and insufficient effectiveness. Ketamine, with its rapid action and long-lasting effects, represents a breakthrough in the modern pharmacotherapy of depression. The current review summarizes the latest findings on the mechanism of the antidepressant...
IntroductionMajor depressive disorder remains a prevalent world-wide health problem. Currently available antidepressant medications take weeks of dosing, do not produce antidepressant response in all patients, and have undesirable ancillary effects.Areas coveredThe present opinion piece focuses on the major inroads to the creation of new antidepressants. The...
Psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), and mescaline exhibit intense effects on the human brain and behaviour. In recent years, there has been a surge in studies investigating these drugs because clinical studies have shown that these once banned drugs are well tolerated and efficacious in medically supervised lo...
Rationale & objectives ± 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin are currently moving through the US Food and Drug Administration's phased drug development process for psychiatric treatment indications: posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, respectively. The current standard of care for these disorders involves treatment with psychiat...
Rapid-acting antidepressants disprove the dogma that antidepressants need several weeks to become clinically effective. Ketamine, the prototype of a rapid-acting antidepressant, is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blocking agent. A single i.v. application of ketamine induces rapid changes in glutamatergic neurotransmitter systems, leading to preferent...
Mounting evidence suggests safety and efficacy of psychedelic compounds as potential novel therapeutics in psychiatry. Ketamine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in a new class of antidepressants, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is undergoing phase III clinical trials for post-traumatic stress disorder. Psilocybin and lysergi...
Psychedelic drugs, often referred to as hallucinogens, are quite distinct from other classes of psychotropic drugs. Although the subjective and behavioral effects they induce are quite dramatic, they possess little addictive potential when compared to nicotine, alcohol or opiates. Since the discovery of ketamine antidepressant effects, there has been growing...
Conventional antidepressants (biogenic amine mechanisms) are not fully efficacious (e.g., symptoms remain after treatment, not all patients respond), produce effects only after weeks of daily dosing, and do not impact all disease symptoms. In contrast, a new class of antidepressants has been emerging since 2006 that has demonstrated rapid onset, large effect...
The Microscope is publishing monographs from McCrone Research Institute’s A Modern Compendium of Microcrystal Tests for Illicit Drugs and Diverted Pharmaceuticals (4th revision: September 13, 2021), which contains 19 different drugs and their microcrystal test reagents. This issue includes the final installment of monographs, with the following drugs/reagent...
Depression and anxiety are psychiatric diagnoses commonly associated with low quality of life and low percentage of responsiveness by patients treated with currently available drugs. Thus, research into alternative compounds to treat these disorders is essential to guarantee a patient's remission. The last decade has witnessed a revamped interest for the app...
ObjectivesClassic psychedelics (serotonin 2A receptor agonists) and dissociative hallucinogens (NMDA receptor antagonists), though differing in pharmacology, may share neuropsychological effects. These drugs, however, have undergone limited direct comparison. This report presents data from a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subjects study comparing th...
Background and objectives: Considering the increasing prevalence of depression, many studies are launched to investigate new antidepressant treatments. The present research has shown how psilocybin as an active compound of Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Singer extract (PCE) can change the parameters related to depression and anxiety in animal models. Both seroto...
BackgroundConventional antidepressants are thought to produce their impact on clinical symptoms by increasing the central availability of biogenic amine neurotransmitters (the monoamine hypothesis of depression). These drugs continue to be the primary medicines used in major depressive disorder. Although they have biological effects after acute dosing, full ...
RationaleBoth glutamate and serotonin (5-HT) play a key role in the pathophysiology of emotional biases. Recent studies indicate that the glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine and the 5-HT receptor agonist psilocybin are implicated in emotion processing. However, as yet, no study has systematically compared their contribution to ...
RationaleAlthough reports of dextromethorphan (DXM) abuse have increased recently, few studies have examined the effects of high doses of DXM.ObjectiveThis study in humans evaluated the effects of supratherapeutic doses of DXM and triazolam.MethodsSingle, acute oral doses of DXM (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 mg/70 kg), triazolam (0.25 and 0.5 m...
