Psychoactive mushrooms in the genus Psilocybe have immense cultural value and have been used for centuries in Mesoamerica. Despite a recent surge in interest in these mushrooms due to emerging evidence that psilocybin, the main psychoactive compound, is a promising therapeutic for a variety of mental illnesses, their phylogeny and taxonomy remain substantial...
Following decades of prohibition and widespread concern about their mind-altering properties, there is increasing public, scholarly, and clinical interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances. Serotonergic substances in particular (DMT, psilocybin, and LSD) are now being tested as treatments for such ailments as depression, anxiety, and sub...
A striking feature of psychedelics is their ability to increase attribution of truth and meaningfulness to specific contents and ideas experienced, which may persist long after psychedelic effects have subsided. We propose that processes underlying conferral of meaning and truth in psychedelic experiences may act as a double-edged sword: while these may driv...
Psychedelics have been already used by human societies for more than 3000 years, mostly in religious and healing context. The renewed interest in the potential application of psychedelic compounds as novel therapeutics has led to promising preliminary evidence of clinical benefit in some psychiatric disorders. Despite these promising results, the potential f...
Introduction There is a growing and renewed interest in the use of hallucinogenic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, especially since the FDA approval of ketamine treatment for resistant depression. The response to hallucinogenic psychedelic substances (ayahuasca, psilocybin, LSD, ketamine) in the treatment of depression and addictions calls fo...
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...
To date, the clinical and scientific literature has best documented the effects of classical psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), in typical quantities most often associated with macrodosing. More recently, however, microdosing with psychedelics has emerged as a social trend and nascent therapeutic...
ABSTRACT The "people of knowledge" of traditional Mazatec medicine have preserved until today the ritual use of psilocybin mushrooms as part of their health care systems. The renewed interest in the effect of psilocybin on human consciousness for both therapeutic and recreational purposes usually obviates the historical and cultural background of indigenous ...
Abstract We present the set and setting of the velada, the Mazatec ritual of divination and healing. We highlight the subjective experiences of individuals who consumed sacred mushrooms and interpret them from their cultural and community contexts, but also from findings derived from experimental and neuroscientific research. We understand that the experienc...
The acute subjective effects of psychedelics are responsive to users' expectations and surroundings (i.e., "set and setting"). Accordingly, a great deal of thought has gone into designing the psychosocial context of psychedelic administration in clinical settings. But what theoretical paradigms inform these considerations about set and setting? Here, we desc...
There is a serious need for novel therapies that treat individuals with depression, including major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD). An emerging body of research has demonstrated that psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin, combined with supportive psychotherapy, exert rapid and sustained antidepressant effects. The use of ps...
There is a growing body of research suggesting that palliative care patients coping with existential distress may benefit from psilocybin. However, there is a large gap regarding the perceptions of palliative care providers who may provide education, counseling services, recommendations, and/or prescriptions for psilocybin if it is decriminalized, commercial...
Emerging evidence from randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials suggests psychedelic compounds such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), when administered as an adjunct to psychotherapy, that is, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP), may be beneficial for treating substance use...
Abstract This article reports on the experiences of four healthy individuals who attended a legal psilocybin truffle retreat in the Netherlands. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach, using semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of participants' psilocybin experiences and their after-effects. The experiential themes that eme...
This review illustrates the relevance of shamanism and its evolution under effects of psilocybin as a framework for identifying evolved aspects of psychedelic set and setting. Effects of 5HT2 psychedelics on serotonin, stress adaptation, visual systems and personality illustrate adaptive mechanisms through which psychedelics could have enhanced hominin evolu...
Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) is a transtheoretical and transdiagnostic clinical approach to working with patients who are using or considering using psychedelics in any context. The ongoing discussion of psychedelics in academic research and mainstream media, coupled with recent law enforcement deprioritization of psychedelics and compas...
Since a 1957 exposé in Life Magazine, chemical compounds derived from Psilocybe mushrooms have been the focus of dozens of attempted and successful patents, most recently to treat depression. Regrettably, the Mazatec indigenous communities who stewarded these traditional medicines for millenia are not party to any of these patents, despite a number of intern...
ObjectiveResearch into psychedelic therapy models has shown promise for the treatment of specific psychiatric conditions. Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin have been correlated with therapeutic benefits and long-term improvements in positive mental outlook and attitudes. This article aims to provide an overview of the topic, highlight streng...
In recent years, the scientific study of meditation and psychedelic drugs has seen remarkable developments. The increased focus on meditation in cognitive neuroscience has led to a cross-cultural classification of standard meditation styles validated by functional and structural neuroanatomical data. Meanwhile, the renaissance of psychedelic research has she...
Mental disorders are rising while development of novel psychiatric medications is declining. This stall in innovation has also been linked with intense debates on the current diagnostics and explanations for mental disorders, together constituting a paradigmatic crisis. A radical innovation is psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP): professionally supervis...
