Summary Microdosing, the prolonged ingestion of psychedelics at sub-hallucinogenic doses, has gained popularity for its perceived cognitive and emotional benefits. Psychedelics have high affinity for 5-HT2B receptors, which cause heart disease with strong chronic activation. We investigated the effects of microdosed psychedelics on cardiovascular health in m...
Background and Hypothesis Visual hallucinations (VH) are a core symptom of both Lewy body diseases (LBDs; e.g., Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies) and serotonergic psychedelics (SPs; e.g., psilocybin and mescaline). While these classes of VH differ in etiology, shared pathways are suggested by overlapping phenomenology and neural mechanisms. ...
Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in specific hallucinogenic mushrooms, is known to induce changes in visual perception and experience in humans. However, there is little knowledge of the molecular mechanisms through which psilocybin affects vision-associated regions in the brain, such as the visual cortex. The current study determined both psilocybin...
Chronic pain is a debilitating disease with current treatments lacking efficacy and safety, therefore discovery of new treatments is crucial. Initial studies suggest that psychedelics may be feasible for targeting pain, however clinical and preclinical controlled studies are necessary to further investigate that possibility. In this study we assessed the eff...
Psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD have recently emerged as popular psychedelic substances for use in psychopharmacology in managing various disorders including treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and anxiety. These substances mainly affect the serotonergic receptors that involve the regulation of consciousness, perceptions, and cognition. These unique alterations ...
4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) is a psychoactive substance with reportedly similar acute effects to both the prototypical empathogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) and the classic psychedelic substance psilocybin (contained in "magic, hallucinogenic mushrooms"). Pharmacologically, MDMA mainly releases serotonin (5-HT) via the s...
Brain aging (BA) processes are complex, often affect multiple systems, and frequently lead to cognitive decline and increased susceptibility to insults. BA appears to be a primary risk for the development of many prominent neurodegenerative pathologies. The US Census Bureau predicts that the aging population (65+) will represent a greater proportion of the U...
Epilepsy, a chronic neurological disorder affecting around 65 million people globally, is characterized by recurrent, unprovoked epileptic seizures. Psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin, a well-known psychedelic compound, has recently gained attention for its potential antidepressant and anxiolytic properties. This study aims to investigate the anti...
Psychedelic drugs, known for their perception-altering properties, are gaining popularity in the treatment of mental health and pain disorders. As exploratory studies demonstrate clinical efficacy with few adverse events, it is expected that more patients will ingest psychedelic drugs. For therapeutic reasons, as with any drug, anaesthesiologists must be awa...
Background/Objectives: Non-response to initial treatment options for major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common clinical challenge with profound deleterious impacts for affected patients. Few treatments have received regulatory approval for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Methods: A systematic search of United States and European Union clinical trials...
Neuroinflammation is a critical factor in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and major depressive disorder. Psychedelics, such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), have demonstrated promising therapeutic effects on neuroinflamma...
Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound in “magic” mushrooms, has promise as a novel treatment for psychiatric disorders, many of which are more prevalent in females and have onsets during adolescence. However, there is a lack of research about how factors such as sex and age affect responses to psilocybin, as well as potential safety concerns with developmental ...
Unlike classical antidepressants, psychedelics such as psilocybin have been shown to induce a rapid antidepressant response. In the wake of this development, interest has emerged in ultra-fast, short-acting psychedelics such as 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) with the expectation that these can produce rapid anti...
Molecular brain imaging by positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computer-tomography (SPECT) entails the mapping of the cerebral distribution of radiopharmaceuticals that track physiological processes such as blood perfusion and glucose metabolism, or the abundance in brain of specific molecular targets such as neuroreceptors. PET and...
Serotonergic psychedelics induce altered states of consciousness and have shown potential for treating a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and addiction. Yet their modes of action are not fully understood. Here, we provide a novel, synergistic understanding of psychedelics arising from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of three h...
Psychedelics are emerging as an effective way to combat mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and substance abuse. Psychedelics such as psilocybin can decrease overactivity in regions of the brain that are associated with anxiety and depression; for instance, psilocybin acts as an agonist on brain receptors to induce consciousness-alteri...
