Psychedelics are currently undergoing a scientific renaissance, with modern studies investigating therapeutic efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy in a range of psychiatric conditions. In particular, psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has been suggested to have positive effects on patients suffering from depression and psychiatric distress associated with...
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic mental disease that affects approximately 2% of the population. Obsessions and compulsions are troublesome for patients and may disturb their everyday activities. The pathogenesis of this disease is still not fully elucidated, but dysfunctions of serotonin-, dopamine- and glutamate-mediated neurotransmission t...
BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence for the therapeutic effects of the psychedelic drug psilocybin for major depression. However, due to the lack of safety data on combining psilocybin with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and concerns that there may be a negative interaction on effica...
BACKGROUND: The primary psychoactive drug in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, induces profound alterations in consciousness through the 5-HT2A receptor. This review consolidates current research findings to elucidate the pharmacology, safety profile, and clinical applications of psilocybin. AREAS OF UNCERTAINTY: Despite initial concerns that psilocybin could cau...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder inflicting high degrees of symptomatic and socioeconomic burdens. The development of PTSD results from a cascade of events with contributions from multiple processes and the underlying pathophysiology is complex, involving neurotransmitters, neurocircuitry, and neuroanatomical pathways. Present...
Psilocybe cubensis are a group of mushrooms containing psilocybin with a history of consumption dating back to ancient civilization. Researchers believe the ritual use of psilocybin dates back 3,000 years amongst the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America.1 Psilocybin is responsible for the effects associated with the consumption of “Magic Mushrooms...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can occur following exposure to a traumatic experience. An estimated 12 million U.S. adults are presently affected by this disorder. Current treatments include psychological therapies (e.g., exposure-based interventions) and pharmacological treatments (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake ...
Background: Psychedelic drugs have recently emerged as plausibly effective pharmacological agents for the management of depression, anxiety, and other neuropsychiatric conditions, including conditions that have not benefited from prior interventions. The latter half of the twentieth century marked a revolution in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and psy...
Background: Psychedelic drugs have recently emerged as plausibly effective pharmacological agents for the management of depression, anxiety, and other neuropsychiatric conditions, including conditions that have not benefited from prior interventions. The latter half of the twentieth century marked a revolution in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and psy...
Psilocybin is a classical psychedelic which has been utilised for healing purposes for millenia. However, with its classification as a Schedule I substance, research into this compound is scarce with few FDA-approved clinical studies. Despite this, profound findings into its antidepressant effects (largely through its action on 5-HT1a receptors) in mental il...
This study is an open-label, single-arm, within-subjects design in individuals with mild-moderate Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). All participants will receive a single dose of 25mg of psilocybin in a therapeutic setting. In order to investigate the effects of length of time on SSRI therapy, 30 participants with varying lengths of time on SSRI therapy will ...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex disorder expressed as a variety of neurobiological symptoms, including anxiety, re-experiencing, hyperarousal, and avoidance symptoms, along with comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, and increased risk for self-medicating substance abuse. Currently, there are only two approved medications in the United...
Background: Psilocybin is being studied for depression, but little is known about how it interacts with common antidepressants. Limited data suggest that psilocybin’s effects may be diminished by serotonergic antidepressants acutely and even after a medication washout period. Aims: To learn the extent to which antidepressants may diminish the effects of psil...
Psilocybin therapy is an emerging intervention for depression that may be at least as effective as standard first-line treatments i.e., Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). Here we assess neural responses to emotional faces (fear, happy, and neutral) using Blood Oxygen-Level Dependent (BOLD) functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in two gro...
Purpose of reviewThis review examines recent evidence that informs the treatment of anxiety-related disorders.Recent findingsIn addition to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and benzodiazepines, agomelatine has demonstrated efficacy in treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Other ...
Although early therapeutic research on psychedelics dates back to the 1940s, this field of investigation was met with many cultural and legal challenges in the 1970s. Over the past two decades, clinical trials using psychedelics have resumed. Therefore, the goal of this study was to (1) better characterize the recent uptrend in psychedelics in clinical trial...
A recent paper in Nature Medicine found that psilocybin therapy in patients with depression decreased brain network modularity (measured with task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging), an effect supposedly not found with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor S-citalopram. This decrease in network modularity also correlated with depression. Here, ...
In recent years, psychedelic substances with serotonergic mechanisms have accumulated substantial evidence that they may provide therapeutic benefits for people suffering with psychiatric symptoms. Psychiatric disorders targeted by these psychedelic-assisted therapies are managed with serotonergic drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as...
Opinion statementPreventing depression in cancer patients on long-term opioid therapy should begin with depression screening before opioid initiation and repeated screening during treatment. In weighing the high morbidity of depression and opioid use disorder in patients with chronic cancer pain against a dearth of evidence-based therapies studied in this po...
