Depression is a complex and globally prevalent mental disorder, for which conventional antidepressant medications face limitations such as delayed onset and insufficient efficacy. Classic psychedelics, most notably psilocybin, have recently emerged as promising candidates for treatment of depression and demonstrated rapid, robust, and sustained antidepressan...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is an urgent unmet need for novel treatments for methamphetamine (MA) use disorder. We explored the qualitative experiences of people participating in a study of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAT) to treat MA use disorder. DESIGN AND SETTING: Qualitative study of participants enrolled in a single arm, open-label pilot study of...
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring tryptamine alkaloid found in over 200 species of fungi, has emerged as a focal point in the modern revival of psychedelic science. Once relegated to the margins of psychopharmacology due to its association with counterculture and strict legal restrictions, psilocybin is now undergoing a scientific renaissance. This transform...
OBJECTIVES: Interest in psilocybin as a treatment for depression has risen over the past decade, fuelled by promising clinical trials and a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Media coverage plays a critical role in shaping public perceptions, yet little is known about how psilocybin is portrayed in global anglophone online news for the treatment of depre...
Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects over 21 million adults in the U.S (NIMH, 2023) and remains a significant public health challenge. Despite the effectiveness of traditional medications, 30% of patients remains resistant. Little is known about the beliefs individuals hold regarding novel treatments, such as psilocybin and the motivations b...
Abstract Psilocybin has demonstrated promising antidepressant effects in depression and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in controlled clinical trials. However, its effectiveness and safety in real-world therapeutic settings remain largely unknown. Although psilocybin is not yet approved as an antidepressant treatment, Switzerland’s unique legal framewor...
Introduction Mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), remain a significant global health concern, requiring novel therapeutic approaches. Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms, has shown potential in modulating neuroplasticity, a critical process for cognitive flexibility and m...
Abstract Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) are highly prevalent in patients seeking psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and correlate strongly with baseline depression and anxiety. This study characterized EMS in 192 adults and longitudinally followed 74 patients receiving psilocybin- or LSD-assisted therapy. We found that baseline schema burden, particularly r...
Background: Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) may be an effective intervention for a range of mental disorders. However, there appears to be a relative lack of qualitative evidence to complement emerging quantitative findings. To our knowledge, no reviews have systematically mapped the literature on qualitative studies on PAP for the treatment of menta...
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound, has received attention as a novel therapeutic option for major depressive disorder (MDD), particularly in cases where traditional treatments prove ineffective. The study aims to evaluate psilocybin's therapeutic potential by examining its efficacy, safety, and mechanisms of action as well as addressing ...
Abstract Natural variation in psilocybin content across mushroom samples presents a significant challenge to consistent dosing in both research and retreat settings. In this observational report, we describe a pragmatic approach for quantifying psilocybin content in naturally sourced material to ensure more standardized dosing across participants. Eleven ind...
Abstract For many, cognitive and affective health declines through typical aging. Although cognitive and affective symptoms are often studied in isolation, they share substantial overlap, and arise, in part, from common biological processes. Aging is accompanied by diminished neural plasticity, heightened neuroinflammation, and widespread alterations in the ...
Investigators will recruit 36 individuals on MAT for OUD for a double-blind, placebo-controlled design to determine whether PEX010 (25-mg/d) shows preliminary efficacy on neural correlates of neurocognition and on clinical outcomes. Participants will be randomized to either (single dose) 25-mg (PEX010-25 group) or 1-mg (PPEX010-1 group) PEX010 in a 2:1 ratio...
Abstract Psychedelics such as psilocybin have been linked to enhanced neuroplasticity and symptom relief in affective disorders, but the neurobiological mechanisms and impact of environmen-tal context remain unclear. Here, we tested whether a single dose of psilocybin alters synap-tic density in healthy individuals and whether setting-dependent subjective ex...
Abstract Depression is a debilitating mental disorder affecting millions worldwide, yet current pharmacological treatments, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), often exhibit delayed onset and limited efficacy. The chronic social defeat (CSD) stress model in mice is a well-established preclinical paradigm for inducing depression-like beha...
Psilocybin, an indoleamine alkaloid derived from various fungal species, is the subject of renewed, rigorous investigation for its therapeutic potential in psychiatry. This compound, a prodrug for the active metabolite psilocin, functions primarily as a partial agonist at the serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor. Its administration within a structured psychotherap...
Abstract Rationale: Individual variability in psilocybin response is a major challenge for psychedelic-assisted therapy, with structural brain features potentially serving as predictive biomarkers. Lewis et al. (2020) reported that rostral anterior cingulate cortex thickness predicted emotional experiences under psilocybin, suggesting cortical morphometry as...
BackgroundPsychedelics are emerging as promising treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers a powerful tool to study neural mechanisms underlying therapeutic response.MethodsThis systematic review (PROSPERO #CRD42024557973) examined neuroimaging studies of psilo...
Abstract Background Self-transcendent and mystical experiences may be key mechanisms underlying psychedelics’ therapeutic effects, yet how these experiences differ across substances remains unclear. This study compared mystical and self-transcendent experiences across psilocybin, 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and cannabis in a diverse, community-...
Abstract Background: Psychedelics can acutely induce mystical experiences and elevated positive mood, which may contribute to the potential benefits of psychedelic therapy. However, there remains limited understanding of the occurrence and importance of specific positive emotional experiences within psychedelic therapy. Therefore, we examined the effects of ...
