The efficacy of psilocybin and other psychedelics as modes of treatment have been demonstrated through clinical trials and other studies in the management of a number of mental illnesses, including some treatment resistant cases. In Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP), psychedelics catalyze or enhance the experience fostered by psychotherapeutic methods...
Background: Ketamine and psychedelics have abuse liability. They can also induce "transformative experiences" where individuals experience enhanced states of awareness. This enhanced awareness can lead to changes in preexisting behavioral patterns which could be beneficial in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). Preclinical and clinical studies s...
Introduction Psilocybin is one of the most extensively studied psychedelic drugs with a broad therapeutic potential. Despite the fact that its psychoactivity is mainly attributed to the agonism at 5-HT2A receptors, it has high binding affinity also to 5-HT2C and 5-HT1A receptors and indirectly modulates the dopaminergic system. Psilocybin and its active meta...
In a recent article, Messell and colleagues provide a curated list, the "Copenhagen Music Program for Psilocybin". We test their music program with an experienced Indigenous therapist/psychonaut on a 3.5 gram psilocybin journey. Based on comments provided by the Indigenous therapist, we find the program contains musical choices that evoke specific colonial a...
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic component of magic mushrooms, has significant psychoactive effects in both humans and rodents. But the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Blood-oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a useful tool in many preclinical and clinical trials to investigate ps...
This article presents an analytical reading of the extraordinarily rich cultural production around drugs by the 20th-century French poet, writer, critic, and visual artist Michaux (1899-1984). Over about a decade, from the mid-1950's, the otherwise habitually sober Michaux wrote five books, included within which were dozens of drawings, and made one half-hou...
Background: Psilocybin may help treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To date, only one open-label study of psilocybin for OCD exists, necessitating further investigation with a randomized controlled design. The neural correlates of psilocybin's effects on OCD have also not been studied. Objectives: This first-of-its-kind trial aims to evaluate the feas...
The emerging neuroscientific frontier of brain fingerprinting has recently established that human functional connectomes (FCs) exhibit fingerprint-like idiosyncratic features, which map onto heterogeneously distributed behavioural traits. Here, we harness brain-fingerprinting tools to extract FC features that predict subjective drug experience induced by the...
Psychedelics alter consciousness and may have potential for drug development. As psychedelics are likely therapeutically active, it is important to study their effects and mechanisms using preclinical models. Here, we examined the effects of phenylalkylamine and indoleamine psychedelics on locomotor activity and exploratory behaviour using the mouse Behaviou...
Introduction Classic psychedelics have been shown to exert therapeutic potential for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, neuropsychiatric diseases, and neuronal damage. Besides their psychopharmacological activity, psychedelics have been reported to modulate immune functions. There has thus far been a sparse exploration of the direct immune-modul...
Objective Classic psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, and peyote/mescaline) have been used to support addiction treatment in a variety of contexts ranging from ceremonial use to clinical trials. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that past naturalistic use of classic psychedelics would be associated with decreased prevalence of substance use disorde...
The classical psychedelic psilocybin is of interest as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). This study investigated the effects of psilocybin on voluntary ethanol consumption in adult male and female C57BL/6J mice administered saline or psilocybin intraperitoneally as a single dose of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg and provided 20% ethanol utilizing a two...
Abstract Conformational analysis of psilocin, a psychedelic molecule was carried out at B3LYP/cc-pVTZ level of theory. And a global minimum was identified having highest population among all the local conformers along with second stable conformer which is 5.4 kcal/mol higher in energy than global minimum. The global mimimum is stable due to the formation of ...
The psychedelic drug psilocybin has been successfully explored as a novel treatment for a range of psychiatric disorders. Administration of psilocybin requires careful attention to psychological support and the setting in which the drug is administered. The use of music to support the acute psychoactive effects of psilocybin is recommended in current guideli...
Many species of Inosperma cause neurotoxic poisoning in humans after consumption around the world. However, the toxic species of Inosperma and its toxin content remain unclear. In the present study, we proposed five new Inosperma species from China, namely, I. longisporum, I. nivalellum, I. sphaerobulbosum, I. squamulosobrunneum, and I. squamulosohinnuleum. ...
Proclaimed as the "new frontier" in psychiatry, the use of Psychedelics, including Psilocybin as a treatment for mental health and wellbeing has gained momentum over the last few years [1,2].The scientific progress and clinical promise of this movement owes much of its success to the history of indigenous healing practices.Though "discovered" in 1956 by Roge...
BackgroundPsilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences are associated with lasting positive psychological outcomes. Recent studies indicate that trait mindfulness is increased 3 months after psilocybin intake, preceded by decreases in neocortical serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) binding. However, the association between psilocybin-induced mystical-type experi...
Abstract The conformational manifold of psilocybin, a psychedelic molecule, was extensively explored using DFT method. Two most stable conformers were identified and the second most stable conformer was found to be 2.08 kcal/mol higher than the global minimum. The barrier of rotation between the two conformers was found to be 14.63 kcal/mol. The structural a...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant public health concern for which existing therapies are only marginally effective. Indisputably, the primary line of treatment for PTSD is psychotherapy, according to current treatment guidelines. However, PTSD continues to be a chronic condition even after psychotherapy, with high psychiatric and medical...
Anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychiatric disorders among Western countries. Evidence-based treatment modalities including pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral therapy result in deficient treatment responses. Historical and recent research suggests psychedelic drugs may be efficacious in alleviating anxiety-related symptoms among healthy ...
