This review examines the role of trauma in psychiatric morbidity and analogous psychoneurobiological changes. Trauma is a necessary criterion for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), however, trauma history is highly correlated with a variety of psychiatric conditions. Some evidence suggests that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is the most common psychiatr...
Serotonergic hallucinogens psilocybin, and its active metabolite psilocin, have shown promise as rapid-acting antidepressants. The FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation for psilocybin's use as an antidepressant in 2019, and phase II clinical trials are currently ongoing. Psilocybin is converted to psilocin following oral administration, and this metab...
Growing evidence suggests that psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, can rapidly and durably improve symptoms of depression, leading to recent breakthrough status designation by the FDA and legalization for mental health treatment in some jurisdictions. Depression in bipolar disorder is associated with significant morbidity and has f...
Introduction Major depressive disorder is a highly prevalent clinical condition, affecting more than 300 million individuals worldwide. About 1/3 of patients with MDD fail to achieve remission despite treatment with multiple antidepressants and are considered to have treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Novel antidepressants with rapid and sustained effects...
BackgroundDespite tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)'s reputation for creating dramatic effects at high doses, empirical work rarely addresses cannabis's impact on subjective responses common to the tryptamine psychedelics. We focused on these effects because they have preceded and covaried with the therapeutic impact of psilocybin in previous work.AimsThe current s...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) has become a health crisis of epidemic proportions in the modern world. One in six individuals in the world is experiencing an episode of major depression in his or her lifetime, and it is estimated that major depression will rank second after cardiac disease as a cause of international medical morbidity by the year 2020. Depr...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ViewpointsFull AccessWait for the Science Before Widespread Use of PsilocybinNicole Harrington Cirino, M.D.Nicole Harrington Cirino, M.D.Published Online:28 Sep 2020https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.10a32AbstractThe momentum behind psilocybin as the next big "breakthrough" in treating psychiatric dis...
There are few medications with demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Treatment guidelines have unequivocally designated psychotherapy as a first line treatment for PTSD. Yet, even after psychotherapy, PTSD often remains a chronic illness, with high rates of psychiatric and medical comorbidity. Meanwhile, the search ...
Research into the basic effects and therapeutic applications of psychedelic drugs has grown considerably in recent years. Yet, pressing questions remain regarding the substances' lasting effects. Although individual studies have begun monitoring sustained changes, no study to-date has synthesized this information. Therefore, this systematic review aims to fi...
ObjectiveThe authors provide an evidenced-based summary of the literature on the clinical application of psychedelic drugs in psychiatric disorders.MethodsSearches of PubMed and PsycINFO via Ovid were conducted for articles in English, in peer-reviewed journals, reporting on "psilocybin," "lysergic acid diethylamide," "LSD," "ayahuasca," "3,4-methylenedioxym...
Though there was initial interest in the use of psychedelic drugs for psychiatric treatment, bad outcomes and subsequent passage of the Substance Act of 1970, which placed psychedelic drugs in the Schedule I category, significantly limited potential progress. More recently, however, there has been renewal in interest and promise of psychedelic research. The ...
psilocybin; depression; terminal cancer; CME; CNE: psilocybin; depression; terminal cancer; CME; CNEPsilocybin is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in more than 200 species of mushrooms. This compound, which was first isolated by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofman in 1959, is the active constituent of psychedelic mushrooms which are thought to have been util...
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is one of the most potent psychoactive agents known, producing dramatic alterations of consciousness after submilligram (≥20 μg) oral doses. Following the accidental discovery of its potent psychoactive effects in 1943, it was supplied by Sandoz Laboratories as an experimental drug that might be useful as an adjunct for psych...