BACKGROUND: Psilocybin is being investigated as a treatment for a myriad of disorders, including treatment-resistant depression. The main focus has been on positive effects, with little attention paid to negative outcomes, especially in clinical settings. Quantitative methodology limits further exploration of such events and can also miss improvements not ca...
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin is being investigated as a treatment for a myriad of disorders, including treatment-resistant depression. The main focus has been on positive effects, with little attention paid to negative outcomes, especially in clinical settings. Quantitative methodology limits further exploration of such events and can also miss improvements not ca...
The distinct subjective effects that define psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin or DOI as drug class are causally linked to activation of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2A R). However, some aspects of 5-HT2A R pharmacology remain elusive, such as what molecular drivers differentiate psychedelic from non-psychedelic 5-HT2A R agonists. We developed an ex vivo...
OBJECTIVES: Promising studies show that psilocybin-assisted therapy relieves existential distress in patients with serious illnesses, a difficult condition to treat with current treatment options. There is growing interest in this therapy in palliative care. Canada recently amended its laws to allow physicians to request psilocybin for end-of-life distress. ...
Recent years have seen a resurgence in randomized, placebo controlled trials (RCTs) utilizing non-classical psychedelics (e.g. 3,4-methyl enedioxy methamphetamine [MDMA]), and classical psychedelics (e.g. psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], and N,N-dimethyltryptamine [DMT/ayahuasca]) in conjunction with assisted therapy (AT) for psychiatric disorde...
Purpose: research of such items of illicit drug trafficking as plants and plant parts containing psychoactive substances. Methodology: study and analysis of judicial practice of higher courts and scientific research of natural science specialists; formal legal and technical legal methods. Conclusions: there is a lack of due attention to the problem of sellin...
This retrospective study presents the case of a young woman in her mid-twenties who suffered from insecurity and abandonment-related anxiety, which intensified after a breakup of her relationship. Her parents' alcoholism and schizophrenia, as well as emotional and physical violence, had been a part of her childhood, but they had appeared 'normal' to her. Her...
This retrospective study presents the case of a young woman in her mid-twenties who suffered from insecurity and abandonment-related anxiety, which intensified after a breakup of her relationship. Her parents' alcoholism and schizophrenia, as well as emotional and physical violence, had been a part of her childhood, but they had appeared 'normal' to her. Her...
Preparing participants for psychedelic experiences is crucial for ensuring these experiences are safe, and potentially, beneficial. However, there is currently no validated measure to assess the extent to which participants are well-prepared for such experiences. Our study aimed to address this gap by developing, validating, and testing the Psychedelic Prepa...
Preparing participants for psychedelic experiences is crucial for ensuring these experiences are safe, and potentially, beneficial. However, there is currently no validated measure to assess the extent to which participants are well-prepared for such experiences. Our study aimed to address this gap by developing, validating, and testing the Psychedelic Prepa...
This study is seeking to find the optimal microdose or low dose of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) that provides general enhancements to mood, memory, sleep, and other measures of general well-being without any hallucinogenic effects. Psilocybin is a natural psychoactive alkaloid component of more than 200 species of naturally growing mushrooms that can be foun...
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a serious mental disorder and ranks first among psychiatric disorders that dominate the global disease burden. Recently, it was found that psilocybin, active compound derived from psychotropic mushrooms, can relieve depression symptoms rapidly and sustained benefits for several months. Be...
Since the dawn of civilization, ancient cultures have utilized hallucinogens from plants and fungi in the context of religious and healing practices. Recently, their use has expanded to other cultures. Hallucinogens are natural or synthetic substances that alter the perception of reality at nontoxic doses, producing intense psychological and physiological ef...
The recent increase in clinical research on the potential therapeutic uses of classic psychedelics has prompted the need to revisit the assessment of the abuse potential of these drugs. The term "classic psychedelic" is used in this manuscript to describe serotonergic 5-HT2A agonists that alter perception, cognition, and mood (i.e., psychedelic effects) and ...
Clinical research into serotonergic psychedelics is expanding rapidly, showing promising efficacy across myriad disorders. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is a commonly used strategy to identify psychedelic-induced changes in neural pathways in clinical and healthy populations. Here we, a large group of psychedelic imaging resea...
Hallucinogenic fungi, mainly those from the Psilocybe genus, are being increasingly consumed even though there is no control on their culture conditions. Due to the therapeutic potential as antidepressants and anxiolytics of the alkaloids that they produce (psilocin and psilocybin), some form of control on their production would be highly recommended. Prior ...
Effects of serotonin 2A/1A receptor stimulation by psilocybin on mood and emotion processing in major depressive disorder: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the world's greatest contributor to the global burden of disease and MDD affects around 17% of the Swiss population (Tomonaga et al. 2013). It i...
The use of psilocybin as treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) has been examined as a promising alternative to traditional first-line options. We reviewed existing literature to provide a synthesis of the extant neuroimaging observations with psilocybin, and to identify putative therapeutic targets for target engagement studies with psilocybin, and p...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy research for depression and PTSD has been fast tracked in the United States with the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) granting breakthrough designations for MDMA (post-traumatic stress disorder) and psilocybin (major depressive disorder). The psychotherapeutic treatments accompanying these psychedelics have not been well-studi...
Introduction: Psychological support throughout psilocybin therapy is mandated by regulators as an essential part of ensuring participants' physical and psychological safety. There is an increased need for specially trained therapists who can provide high-quality care to participants in clinical studies. This paper describes the development and practical impl...
