Psychedelics have been studied since the 1950s as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), with over a dozen clinical trials of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and several contemporary trials of psilocybin and ayahuasca for this indication. Herein, we characterize foundational studies from the 1950s to the present, with emphasis on key design ...
Background: Individuals with bipolar II disorder (BD-II) and depression face limited treatment options and are often excluded from psilocybin therapy trials due to theoretical concerns of precipitating mania or psychosis. Although psilocybin has demonstrated antidepressant effects when combined with psychotherapy, adverse event reporting is inconsistent, and...
Background: Individuals with bipolar II disorder (BD-II) and depression face limited treatment options and are often excluded from psilocybin therapy trials due to theoretical concerns of precipitating mania or psychosis. Although psilocybin has demonstrated antidepressant effects when combined with psychotherapy, adverse event reporting is inconsistent, and...
Recent research with classic psychedelics suggests significant therapeutic potential, particularly for neuropsychiatric disorders. A mediating influence behind symptom resolution is thought to be the personal insight - at times, bordering on the mystical - one acquires during the acute phase of a psychedelic session. Indeed, current clinical trials have foun...
Research on psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, LSD or DMT, is a burgeoning field, with an increasing number of studies showing their promise in treatment of mental disorders as well as examining their mechanism of action. Determining their effect on the brain is crucial from clinical standpoint, but also offers highly promising avenues of advancement in ...
IntroductionNatural hallucinogens derived from fungi and animals have been used for centuries in shamanic, ritualistic, and medicinal practices across diverse cultures. These compounds exhibit a widerange of structures and mechanisms of action, affecting various neurotransmitter systems pathways. Fungal hallucinogens, primarily indole alkaloids like psilocyb...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated trauma and stressor-related disorders are common and debilitating, presenting significant treatment challenges due to their complex interplay of biological, cognitive, affective, somatic and social factors. Current treatments, while advancing and effective, yield limited efficacy for many individuals, unde...
Depressive disorders continue to pose a major clinical challenge worldwide, particularly given the high prevalence and increasing number of treatment-resistant cases. Over the past decade, advances in research have elucidated the antidepressant potential of psilocybin and other 5-HT₂A receptor agonists in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and tre...
Background Cluster headache is an excruciating condition for which standard treatments are usually insufficient. Evidence has accumulated that serotonergic psychedelic indoleamines including psilocybin and LSD can be effective in preventing attacks. Methods In this case series, nine patients with episodic and chronic cluster headache that didn’t respond to c...
Psychotherapy in combination with pharmacological treatments is often used to treat affective symptoms in patients with cancer. However, the effectiveness of the most commonly used medications is limited by the risk of adverse effects. Two placebo-controlled trials have found that patients with cancer-related psychiatric distress experienced rapid and susta...
Importance: There is growing societal interest in and use of psilocybin. While psilocybin in Canada is illegal outside of clinical trials, there have been anecdotal reports of increasing access via unregulated online purchases and retail dispensaries. Objective: To describe access to and the characteristics of psilocybin dispensaries across Canada and the he...
This retrospective case study features a woman in her mid-50s who spent her childhood in a religious community plagued by sexual abuse of children. She was abused by her father for more than a decade. The church and her mother ignored her reports about it. In her early twenties, she enrolled herself in the Erhard Seminars Training program that destabilized h...
This retrospective case study features a woman in her mid-50s who spent her childhood in a religious community plagued by sexual abuse of children. She was abused by her father for more than a decade. The church and her mother ignored her reports about it. In her early twenties, she enrolled herself in the Erhard Seminars Training program that destabilized h...
Psilocybin shows significant therapeutic potential for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in addressing various psychiatric conditions. The biosynthetic approach promises rapid and efficient production of psilocybin. Understanding the enzymes that contribute to the biosynthesis of psilocybin can enhance its production process. In this study, we elucidate the ...
Long COVID lacks effective pharmaceutical treatment options. Psychedelic treatment for long COVID has received attention given anecdotal reports of neuropsychiatric symptom improvement. This study investigates the use of psilocybin for neuropsychiatric long COVID symptoms, examining online accounts of individuals with reported long COVID using psilocybin. We...
Background/Objectives: Suicide accounts for 1.4% of global deaths, and the slow-acting nature of traditional treatments for suicide risk underscores the need for alternatives. Psychedelic therapies may rapidly reduce suicide risk. This systematic review evaluates impact of psychedelic therapies on suicide-related outcomes. Methods: A systematic search of MED...
The ethical and technical challenges of recent research with psychedelics and the attempt to regulate them as a health technology open a new horizon for reflections on scientific development and questions about how we experience spiritual and non-ordinary experiences of consciousness and relate to nature. We understand that Psychology needs to resort to psyc...
BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 3.9% of the general population. While massed cognitive processing therapy (CPT) has demonstrated efficacy in treating chronic PTSD, a substantial proportion of patients still continue to meet PTSD criteria after treatment, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic approaches. Preliminary evidence sup...
Interest in the therapeutic effects of classical psychedelics has risen recently. However, little epidemiological knowledge exists about the use of classical psychedelics in Scandinavian countries. Additionally, there is a limited understanding of what factors drive self-reported improvement in wellbeing. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation...