Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are complex neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by deficits in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors. This viewpoint explores the potential mechanisms through which psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) may positively influe...
Background: There is ongoing research into the potential use of psychedelics and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) as alternatives to commonly used medications for treating major depressive and anxiety disorders. Aims: We aimed to assess the efficacy of psychedelics and MDMA in managing depressive and anxiety symptoms and evaluate their safety profil...
Background Hallucinogens attract research as alternatives to the commonly used medications to treat major depressive and anxiety disorders. Aims Assess hallucinogens’ efficacy for managing depressive and anxiety symptoms and evaluate their safety profiles. Method In five databases, we searched for randomized controlled trials of hallucinogens targeting depre...
Abstract Background The underlying neurobiology of the complex autism phenotype remains obscure, although accumulating evidence implicates the serotonin system and especially the 5HT 2A receptor. However, previous research has largely relied upon association or correlation studies to link differences in serotonin targets to autism. To directly establish that...
This retrospective case report explores the impact of psilocybin mushroom intake on the emergence of mental imagery in an autistic woman with aphantasia. Aphantasia refers to the inability to generate visual mental images, which can significantly affect individuals' experiences and cognitive processes. The case study focuses on a 34-year-old autistic woman w...
Clinical trials of pharmacological approaches targeting the core features of autism have failed. This is despite evidence from preclinical studies, genetics, post-mortem studies and correlational analyses linking peripheral and central markers of multiple candidate neurochemical systems to brain function in autism. Whilst this has in part been explained by t...
Welcome to the April edition of Going on Trial, a monthly newsletter covering clinical trials and drug development for autism and related conditions. In this issue, we're talking about a serotonin agonist's path to trial for autism, debate around a trial of psilocybin for fragile X syndrome and an analysis of placebo responses in a clinical trial of the vaso...
Going on Trial rounds up new developments in autism-related drug trials. This month we’re revisiting decade-old data from a trial of arbaclofen for fragile X syndrome and looking into a new implant-based approach to quelling seizures, among other treatment strategies.
Abstract Objective: Psychedelic-assisted therapies are emerging as safe and effective treatments for some psychological conditions including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. As ketamine therapy is already available in general medicine and 3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin are in late-stage...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Annual MeetingFull AccessDemystifying Psychedelic Treatments in Psychiatry: Is Ego Dissolution the Solution?Michael Avissar, M.D., Ph.D., Adrian Jacques Ambrose, M.D., M.P.H.Michael AvissarSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Ph.D., Adrian Jacques AmbroseSearch for more papers by this author, M....
ObjectivesThere is an increasing interest in combining psilocybin or methylenedioxymethamphetamine with psychological support in treating psychiatric disorders. Although there have been several recent systematic reviews, study and participant numbers have been limited, and the field is rapidly evolving with the publication of more studies. We therefore condu...
Recent clinical and preclinical evidence points towards empathogenic and prosocial effects elicited by psychedelic compounds, notably the serotonin 5-HT2A agonists lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and their derivatives. These findings suggest a therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds for some of the behaviour...
Synaptopathies (Fall, 2022) Synaptic neurotransmission lies at the heart of nervous system's functioning. Clearly then, alterations in synaptic signal transduction can lead to a variety of neural disorders. Perhaps the most widely known of these disorders include certain movement disorders and myasthenia gravis. More recent interest in synaptic dysfunction h...
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by core deficits in social interaction. The classic serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin has been suggested as a therapeutic agent that may ameliorate in the core symptomology of ASD. We found that the acute response to psilocybin was attenuated in the prenatal valproic acid exposure mouse model of ASD, and impo...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Journal DigestFull AccessJournal Digest: Home Environment; Postpartum Mental Illness; Placebo in Psychedelic Study; Single Gene Mutation; TopiramateNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:28 May 2020https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.6a34Nurturing Home Environme...
The exploration of possible therapeutic benefits of hallucinogenic substances has undergone a revitalization in the past decade. This literature review investigated the published literature regarding the psychotherapeutic uses of hallucinogens in psychiatric disorders. The results showed that a variety of substances have been evaluated in the treatment of ps...
In medicine we must always expect the unexpected. Medicine is replete with paradoxes, where poisons become cures. Snake venom is deadly but is being used to treat some cancers, (1) because it produces contortrostatin, a protein that paralyzes cancer cells and prevents them from migrating. Venoms from spiders are being investigated as a treatment to slow the ...
Though synesthesia research has seen a huge growth in recent decades, and tremendous progress has been made in terms of understanding the mechanism and cause of synesthesia, we are still left mostly in the dark when it comes to the mechanistic commonalities (if any) among developmental, acquired and drug-induced synesthesia. We know that many forms of synest...
