OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this qualitative study was to delineate psychological mechanisms of change in the first randomized controlled trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). Theories regarding psychological processes involved in psychedelic therapy remain underdeveloped. METHOD: Participants (N = 13) mostly ident...
Purpose of reviewThis review article summarizes clinically and socially relevant developments over the past five years in the therapeutic use of the classical tryptamine psychedelic substance psilocybin, with respect to the common challenges faced by palliative care patients and their care teams. Psilocybin is available in whole fungal and isolated forms but...
ObjectiveThis systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of psilocybin on patients experiencing psychiatric symptoms, with a focus on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and safety.Method of researchFollowing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched the PubMed database and identified studie...
Psilocybin is an emerging potential therapy for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses. Microdosing has been shown to result in an overall improvement in patients with anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse. This meta-analysis explores and compiles prior research to make further inferences rega...
Research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances is expanding. A limitation within this field is the unpredictability of individual responses to psychedelics. Better understanding of factors predicting psychedelic experience is essential to clinical progress and wider harm reduction frameworks. Ketamine, MDMA, LSD and psilocybin were selected ...
This publication discusses two compounds belonging to the psychoactive substances group which are studied in the context of depression treatment-psilocybin and esketamine. The former is a naturally occurring psychedelic. The latter was invented in the laboratory exactly 60 years ago. Although the substances were controversial in the past, recent studies indi...
Introduction Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder associated with suffering and disability. The serotoninergic system is implicated in the neurobiological processes of OCD and serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are the first-line treatment. However, clinical improvement after starting SRIs can take long and patients may not fully r...
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...
Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is characterized by visual disturbances that resemble psychedelic intoxication and linger after use has ceased. The most common substances precipitating HPPD, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin, are posited to do so via damage to serotonergic neurons involved in vision. Mr. N is a 37-year-old wi...
The use of psilocybin as treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) has been examined as a promising alternative to traditional first-line options. We reviewed existing literature to provide a synthesis of the extant neuroimaging observations with psilocybin, and to identify putative therapeutic targets for target engagement studies with psilocybin, and p...
IntroductionTreatment outcomes for PTSD with current psychological therapies are poor, with very few patients achieving sustained symptom remission. A number of authors have identified physiological and immune disturbances in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) patients, but there is no unifying hypothesis that explains the myriad features of the disorder....
Rationale & objectives ± 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin are currently moving through the US Food and Drug Administration's phased drug development process for psychiatric treatment indications: posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, respectively. The current standard of care for these disorders involves treatment with psychiat...
Survey-based studies suggest naturalistic psychedelic use provides mental health benefits similar to those observed in clinical trials. The current study sought to confirm these findings in a large group of psychedelic users and to conduct a novel examination of associations between amount of psychedelic use and behavioral outcomes, as well as frequency of h...
Research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances is rapidly expanding. A major limitation within this field is the unpredictability of individual responses to psychedelic substances. A better understanding of factors that can predict psychedelic experience is essential to both clinical progress and wider harm reduction frameworks. Ketamine, MD...
Research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances is rapidly expanding. A major limitation within this field is the unpredictability of individual responses to psychedelic substances. A better understanding of factors that can predict psychedelic experience is essential to both clinical progress and wider harm reduction frameworks. Ketamine, MD...
BackgroundMedicine is currently experiencing a "psychedelic renaissance", said by many to have commenced in 2006. Since then, clinical trials have consistently demonstrated promising findings for psychedelic-assisted therapies in the treatment of various mental health conditions and addictions. While most of this work has been privately funded, governmental ...
There has recently been a renewal of interest in psychedelic research on the use of psilocybin in psychiatric treatment and, in particular, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Several state-of-the-art studies have provided new insight into the mechanisms of action of psilocybin and its therapeutic potential. Nevertheless, many questions rem...
BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that psilocybin has antidepressant effects. In the current study, we aim to explore the dose effects of psilocybin on primary (major depression patients) and secondary depression (depressed cancer patients).MethodsPublished studies concerning psilocybin for depression were retrieved. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines,...
Introduction Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often a chronic condition, despite the existence of evidence-based treatment options. Psychotherapy is the designated first line treatment for PTSD, although high rates of psychiatric and medical comorbidity are observed among patients who have undergone treatment. The psychoactive properties of psychedel...
