A Phase 2, Open-Label Study to explore the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of psilocybin-assisted therapy in women with sexual assault-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Psilocybin has been shown to induce fast and sustained symptoms improvements across various psychiatric conditions, yet its long-term mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Initial evidence suggests that longitudinal functional and structural brain changes implicate fronto-striatal-thalamic (FST) circuitry, a broad system involved in goal-directed be...
ImportancePsychedelic drugs possess acute psychoactive effects that can compromise blinding integrity in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Functional unblinding, when participants or raters correctly identify treatment allocation based on subjective effects, may bias outcomes through expectancy effects, challenging the validity of efficacy estimates and reg...
While the adoption of psilocybin-assisted therapy for existential distress offers promising support for patients with life-threatening illnesses, implementing this intervention into palliative care settings presents significant real-world challenges. To examine palliative care stakeholders' knowledge and attitudes regarding psilocybin-assisted therapy, and i...
Psilocybin is a serotonergic 5-HT2A R agonist that causes psychedelic and anxiolytic effects in human users. To delineate conservation of psilocybin pharmacology, we investigated behavioral effects of psilocybin in planarians ( Dugesia dorotocephala ), the simplest living animal with cephalization that also has a well defined serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [...
Mental disorders represent a major global health problem, with depression being one of the most prevalent and disabling conditions worldwide. Growing evidence suggests that the serotonergic system, particularly the 5-HT2A receptor, plays an important role in modulating mood and cognitive processes, constituting a key pharmacological target for several psycho...
This brief review highlights some of the structure-activity relationships of classic serotonergic psychedelics. In particular, we discuss structural features of three chemotypes: phenethylamines, ergolines and certain tryptamines, which possess psychedelic activity in humans. Where they are known, we point out the underlying molecular mechanisms utilized by ...
Psychedelic drugs are under active consideration for clinical use and have generated significant interest for their potential as anti-nociceptive treatments for chronic pain, and for addressing conditions like depression, frequently co-morbid with pain. This review primarily explores the utility of preclinical animal models in investigating the potential of ...
The past decade has seen a huge increase in clinical research with psychedelic drugs and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which have revealed great potential for treating mental health conditions. Given this progress in research, as well as the current unmet clinical need of millions of patients, in 2023, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administrat...
Currently, the most actively investigated rapidly acting antidepressants, anxiolytics and/or anti PTSD agents, include psychedelics e.g. psilocybin, LSD, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, ayahuasca; non-hallucinogenic entactogens, e.g. MDMA; psychoplastogens which rapidly promote neuroplasticity, e.g. ibogaine, ketamine and esketamine; and other atypicals e.g. dextrom...
Psychedelic drugs that activate 5-HT receptors have been long used for cultural, medicinal and recreational purposes. Interest in psychedelics for treating psychiatric disorders has resurged recently and is well documented; less well recognised are their anti-inflammatory properties. Growing evidence now demonstrates that psychedelics modulate immune respons...
Psychedelics have garnered great attention in recent years as treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression because of their ability to alter consciousness and afflicted cognitive processes with lasting effects. We aimed to characterise how psychedelics are currently being investigated to treat substance use disorders (SUD...
Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited intellectual disability and a leading monogenic cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As a synaptic disorder, FXS involves the loss of Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMRP), leading to abnormal dendrite development and immature dendritic spines. Serotonergic signaling, essential for neuronal d...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness with high rates of morbidity and stigma; however, successful remission is frequently limited by a paucity of accessible treatment options. In an era of growing interest in psychedelics as novel psychiatric treatment modalities, patients with BPD are often excluded from research due to perceive...
Based on its in vitro profile and preliminary evidence, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) may have psychoactive properties that are similar to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin, which are investigated for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive disorders. We compared acute effects of 2C-B (10, 20, and 30 m...
BackgroundAnorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder with high morbidity, mortality, and relapse rates, most commonly emerging during adolescence. Despite specialized psychological and nutritional treatments, outcomes remain suboptimal, with high rates of relapse and chronicity. Psilocybin has been investigated with preliminary efficacy in other ...
Natural hallucinogenic compounds have arisen independently across plants, fungi, and animals, evolving into a diverse chemical arsenal that includes phenethylamines, indolealkylamines, and terpenoid scaffolds. Beyond clinical and cultural frameworks, their ecological origins and evolutionary trajectories may help explain why such potent modulators of percept...
