The purpose for this study is to observe the real world experience of participants who are receiving psilocybin in the context of (alcoholism) Alcohol Use Disorder without intervening in the model of care. The study team will engage directly with the participants to examine the outcomes in participants who have been deemed eligible and appropriate to receive...
Introduction In recent years, psychiatry has witnessed a renaissance in the investigation of psychedelic compounds, a broad class of psychoactive substances that induce altered states of consciousness, often characterized by changes in perception, mood, and cognition, which were largely shelved following regulatory crackdowns in the 1970s. The renewed intere...
Psychedelic Minimalism: The Case Against Music in Psychedelic Therapy SettingsIn response to: Kaelen et al. (2018), “The Hidden Therapist: Evidence for a Central Role ofMusic in Psychedelic Therapy.”Introduction: Reframing the Role of SettingIn recent years, renewed attention has been given to the centrality of set and setting inpsychedelic-assisted therapy....
Microdosing psychedelics, the regular use of low doses of LSD or psilocybin, have attracted growing public and scientific interest. This review synthesizes findings from 57 human studies on psychological and physiological outcomes in clinical and non-clinical populations. Reported benefits include improved mood, enhanced cognition, social functioning, and me...
This viewpoint reconceptualizes mysticism and fundamentalism as brain network disorders, with psychedelics like psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and N,N-dimethyltryptamine offering potential to modulate these states. By disrupting rigid neural patterns, psychedelics may foster cognitive flexibility, challenge inflexible belief systems, and offer thera...
Psychedelics, such as LSD and psilocybin, disrupt entrenched cognitive patterns by facilitating novel insights and new associations. This paper considers how AI can potentially mimic these psychedelic-induced cognitive disruptions to augment and enhance human creativity. Psychedelics likely enhance creativity by altering brain function, notably the activity ...
Psilocybin is a psychedelic serotonergic compound that is renowned for its potent psychoactive effects. Over the past 15 years, an increasing number of controlled clinical trials showed that it has a fast-acting and sustainable efficacy in treating various psychiatric disorders. Neuroimaging studies have been conducted with the objective of elucidating the n...
Psychedelic substances have recently emerged as a promising method for treating mental health conditions, despite a history of stigmatization and restriction in use. The present review synthesizes existing literature on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA in addressing specific mental health conditions like depression,...
Regulatory compliance is crucial in the clinical development of psychedelic substances, including psilocybin. This study aimed to examine the alignment of clinical trial protocols for psilocybin in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) with established regulatory requirements.A cross-sectional investigation...
Brain aging (BA) processes are complex, often affect multiple systems, and frequently lead to cognitive decline and increased susceptibility to insults. BA appears to be a primary risk for the development of many prominent neurodegenerative pathologies. The US Census Bureau predicts that the aging population (65+) will represent a greater proportion of the U...
Psychedelics have the potential to induce profound alterations in cognition, emotionality, and sensory perception. The quality and intensity of these subjective effects exhibit high intra- and inter-individual variability, which can potentially be accounted for by the variability in contexts in which psychedelics are used. Therefore, the aim of the present c...
Chronic stress exerts profound effects on mental health, contributing to disorders such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. This study examines the potential of psilocybin to alleviate behavioral despair and cognitive deficits in a rodent model of chronic stress, focusing on the interplay between the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis an...
Empathy plays a crucial role in interpersonal relationships and mental health. It is decreased in a variety of psychiatric disorders including major depression. Psilocybin, a promising candidate for treating depression, has been shown to acutely increase emotional empathy in healthy volunteers. However, no study has investigated this effect and its relevance...
Fibromyalgia (FM) is the prototypical nociplastic pain condition, characterized by widespread pain and issues with cognition, mood, and sleep. Currently, there are limited treatment options available that effectively treat FM symptoms. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) is an emerging combined drug-therapy intervention, but no studies to-date have investigate...
This meta-analysis investigates the effect of classic psychedelic drugs on empathy and focuses on cognitive and emotional empathy measured using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET). Empathy entails the ability to understand and share the feelings of another and is a significant component of social interaction. Several studies have examined the effects of psy...
Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic with demonstrated preliminary clinical efficacy in a range of psychiatric disorders. Evaluating the impact of psilocybin on cognitive function is essential to unravel its potential benefits and risks. In this systematic review, we assessed psilocybin's effect on cognitive function through a comprehensive search of electron...
There are profound methodological challenges facing microdosing research. One way we can address some of these methodological issues is by understanding how psilocybin microdosing fits in the broader existential context of people’s lives. We recruited participants who underwent psilocybin microdosing on their own and consented to being monitored for harm mit...
Background: How the human psyche interacts with the theme of death is fundamental to individual and societal life, profoundly influencing cognition, affect, and behavior. Death-related psychological phenomena, such as death anxiety and acceptance, have been shown in clinical studies to be influenced by psychedelic (LSD and psilocybin) interventions. However,...
Fruitful comparison of psychedelic, spiritual, and psychotic experiences requires a degree of phenomenological nuance. Some shared features of these phenomena, such as encounters and communications with supernatural entities, are obfuscated by scientific and clinical terminology. Other supposed distinctions are based on an atemporal view of dynamic experienc...
