This chapter reviews the effects of classic psychedelics on human oscillatory brain activity, as measured by resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Across moderate to high doses of LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and DMT, a consistent reduction in alpha power (8-13 Hz) emerges, particularly in occipital regions. Below 30 Hz,...
OBJECTIVE: Psychedelics are able to trigger highly intense and profound alterations in self-consciousness, perception, affective, and cognitive processes. Indeed, recent studies show that ketamine and psilocybin could be used as fast-acting antidepressants. However, the molecular and neurochemical mechanisms of these psychedelics and their actions at the lev...
OBJECTIVE: To compare changes in depression, anxiety, and suicidality symptoms after a single 25 mg oral dose of psilocybin between treatment-resistant depression participants not on antidepressants at screening to participants that discontinued antidepressant medications leading up to receiving psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP). METHODS: Participants ...
The stressors that frontline healthcare workers experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread burnout, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Based on research showing that psychedelic-assisted therapy led to improvement in symptoms of depression in various populations, investigators conducted a randomized clinical trial to evalu...
BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex condition marked by persistent distressing thoughts and repetitive behaviours. Despite its prevalence, the mechanisms behind OCD remain elusive, and current treatments are limited. This protocol outlines an investigative study for individuals with OCD, exploring the potential of psilocybin to impro...
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...
ABSTRACT There is growing interest to investigate classic psychedelics and ketamine as therapeutics for mental illnesses. Previous studies have demonstrated that one dose of psilocybin or ketamine leads to persisting neural and behavioral changes. The durability of these effects suggests that there are likely alterations in gene expression at the transcripti...
This scoping review examines the emerging evidence for psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAP) in treating trauma-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS), with specific implications for intimate partner violence (IPV)-related brain injury and PTSD. Guided by PRISMA-ScR methodology, ...
Chronic stress exerts profound effects on mental health, contributing to disorders such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. This study examines the potential of psilocybin to alleviate behavioral despair and cognitive deficits in a rodent model of chronic stress, focusing on the interplay between the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis an...
OBJECTIVE: Unipolar and bipolar depression severely impact millions of individuals worldwide, with a significant subset of cases remaining unresponsive to conventional treatments. Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy; however, the optimal psychotherapeutic approach remains undefined, ranging from unstructured models r...
This study aims to investigate the effects of oral psilocybin on OCD symptomatology and provide the first evidence of the neural mechanism that may mediate psilocybin's purported therapeutic effects on OCD. Aim 1: To investigate the effects of psilocybin on OCD symptomatology. OCD symptom severity will be assessed before treatment and 24 and 48 hours after t...
Abstract: Psilocybin mushrooms, also known as "magic mushrooms," have garnered significant attention for their psychoactive properties and potential therapeutic applications. This review explores the comprehensive morphology, pharmacognostic properties, and pharmacological activities of psilocybin-producing fungi. The unique morphological characteristics of ...
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: Psilocybin is being investigated as a treatment for a myriad of disorders, including treatment-resistant depression. The main focus has been on positive effects, with little attention paid to negative outcomes, especially in clinical settings. Quantitative methodology limits further exploration of such events and can also miss improvements not ca...
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin is being investigated as a treatment for a myriad of disorders, including treatment-resistant depression. The main focus has been on positive effects, with little attention paid to negative outcomes, especially in clinical settings. Quantitative methodology limits further exploration of such events and can also miss improvements not ca...
Executive function deficits, common in psychiatric disorders, hinder daily activities and may be linked to diminished neural plasticity, affecting treatment and training responsiveness. In this pioneering study, we evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin-assisted frontal-midline theta neurofeedback (NF), a neuromodulation technique l...
Different study designs of psychedelic trials may impact the blinding and expectance, leading to biased treatment effects. This study aimed to examine the association between antidepressant efficacy and study designs in psychedelic trials. Six databases were systematically searched. Eligible trials were required to investigate the efficacy of psychedelics (p...
The recent review of a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) highlighted epistemological and methodological challenges for evidence assessments. Similar challenges will also be faced in reviews of other compounds in early- and late-stage development, like psi...
The recent review of a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) highlighted epistemological and methodological challenges for evidence assessments. Similar challenges will also be faced in reviews of other compounds in early- and late-stage development, like psi...
