Introduction: Aesthetic experiences under psychedelics are often described as vivid, emotionally powerful, and meaningful, yet they remain under-measured in psychometric research. This study aimed to refine and validate the Psychedelic Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire (PAEQ), a novel instrument designed to assess the aesthetic dimensions of acute psychedel...
The serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2C) is a G protein-coupled receptor implicated in multiple physiological and psychological processes and has been investigated as a therapeutic target for neuropsychiatric conditions such as obesity, drug abuse, and depression. With renewed interest in serotonergic psychedelics for treating depression, 5-HT2C may contribute to ...
Psychedelic-assisted therapies and ketamine are two modalities gaining attention in psychiatry for treating conditions such as depression, PTSD, and substance use disorders. However, perceptions of these treatments vary globally. This study explores the familiarity, attitudes, and perceptions of Jordanian physicians and medical students toward psychedelic su...
Introduction: Psychedelics, such as psilocybin, are increasingly recognized for their propensity to elicit powerful subjective experiences that carry personal meaning. While research has demonstrated the capacity for these compounds to promote psychological wellbeing, it has yet to be shown to what extent they modulate "meaning in life", a specific contribut...
Psychedelic drugs, known for their potent psychoactive effects, have gained attention for their potential therapeutic benefits in treating mental disorders.However, distressing experiences induced by psychedelics can lead to adverse long-term effects. To better assess these experiences, we aimed to provide a Norwegian translation and psychometric validation ...
Background/Objectives: Liver inflammatory diseases are a major global health burden and are often exacerbated by inflammation driven by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) through toll-like receptor 4 signaling. This study evaluates the anti-inflammatory effects of psilocybin and eugenol in an LPS-induced liver inflammation model in C57BL/6J mice. Methods: Mice were t...
Up to 40% of people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) experience depression. Depression is a risk factor for early relapse of AUD after withdrawal in a controlled environment. Promising data suggest the effectiveness of psilocybin, a psychedelic-type treatment, in depression and AUD. Following the acute effects of the psychedelic experience, which lasts approx...
RATIONALE: Psychedelic-assisted therapy is increasingly applied within mental health treatment. OBJECTIVES: This study focused on factors moderating changes in the acute and long-term effects of an individual psilocybin-assisted program on depression, anxiety, PTSD and personality structures by including demographic factors, subjective experience and degree ...
BackgroundThe Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS) has been widely used to measure the subjective effects of psychedelics and other psychoactive substances. Its advantages include a basis in phenomenological interviews and clinical studies, straightforward items, and broad coverage of psychedelic effects. Previous studies have attempted to resolve its factor stru...
BackgroundPeripheral levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are often used as a biomarker for the rapid plasticity-promoting effects of ketamine, psychedelics, and other psychoplastogens in humans. However, studies analyzing peripheral BDNF after psychoplastogen exposure show mixed results. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to test whether the rapi...
Abstract Psychedelic use has increased in the last decade. However, it is unclear whether the cultural background of the consumers exerts any influence. The aim of the present study was to determine the pattern of psychedelic use in Spain and Spanish-speaking populations in South America and compare these consumption patterns to understand the use of these s...
Psychedelic substances are garnering renewed interest for their potential therapeutic applications, yet the mechanisms by which challenging experiences during psychedelic use contribute to positive outcomes remains poorly understood. Here we present a mixed-methods investigation into the strategies individuals employ to navigate difficult psychedelic experie...
Current drug policy classifies psilocybin, a compound found in psychoactive mushrooms, as having high abuse potential while overlooking its therapeutic properties. We evaluated the risk of psilocybin mushrooms to Brazilian public health compared to other toxic agents and assessed the need for regulatory discussions. This retrospective cross-sectional study f...
BACKGROUND: Psychedelic substances reliably induce marked altered states of consciousness (ASC), which may be important for lasting effects and clinical outcomes of psychedelic intervention. Several instruments are available to measure the acute psychedelic experience, of which the Five Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness Questionnaire (5D-ASC) is co...
INTRODUCTION: This study explores how individuals self-treat psychiatric conditions with psychedelics outside medical guidance bridging the gap in understanding unregulated therapeutic use. AIMS: The primary objective was to extract specific factors underlying the effects of psychedelics, exploring their relationship with the need for medication, particularl...
Recent interest in the potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics has led to investigations into their influence on molecular signaling pathways within the brain. Integrated review and analysis of different studies in this field. A systematic search was conducted across international databases including Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed from ince...
Abstract The mechanisms by which Psilocybin Therapy (PT) improves depression remain an important object of study, with scientists actively exploring acute psychological experiences and neurobiological processes as candidates. In a phase 2, double-blind, randomized, active comparator controlled trial involving patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive...
BACKGROUND: Research with the Psychedelic Experience Questionnaire/Scale (PES) focuses on questions relating to mystical experience (Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ)). The psychometric potential of the non-MEQ items of the PES remains largely unexplored. AIMS: We investigated whether the PES also yields subscales besides the MEQ30 subscales. METHODS: ...
Mental health problems including depression, anxiety, suicide, and burnout are common among health care providers. Resilience and well-being are factors thought to protect against these incidents. Clinical trials and naturalistic studies of psychedelic compounds have shown decreases in depression, anxiety, and suicidality while suggesting improvements in wel...
Few epidemiological studies have focused on seasonal variation in the use of common psychedelics and party drugs among nightclub and festival attendees, typically those who attend electronic dance music (EDM) events. We sought to determine whether the use of different drug types varies seasonally within this population. Across 15 seasons from summer 2017 thr...
