Psilocybin is being studied for its therapeutic potential in various mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and addiction. Initial studies suggested that psilocybin is generally safe when used under controlled conditions, but more research is needed to better understand its safety profile. We report safety pharmacology data from a pooled analy...
The serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin acutely induces changes in emotional states. However, it remains unresolved whether psilocybin acutely modulates emotionally-relevant amygdala reactivity to emotions, a brain region critically involved in emotion processing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined in 26 healthy individuals wheth...
Mental illness is a hot topic of concern worldwide. The psilocybin has great potential in the treatment of mental disorders, but there is still a research gap on whether it can truly be applied in the treatment of mental disorders. Therefore, this research explores the feasibility of psilocybin’s true application in the treatment of mental disorders by colle...
Abstract Background and aims Psychedelic-assisted therapy (P-AT) has been shown to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms, and is likely to be approved in the United States (US) in the coming years. However, concerns about participant safety in these early trials have surfaced, including allegations of sexual misconduc...
Expectancy effects for many psychoactive substances appear to play a role in consumption, problematic use, subjective responses to acute administration, and subsequent effects. Expectancies of psychedelics have received little attention in published research despite their reputation for creating dramatic changes in subjective state. Psilocybin-assisted treat...
Interest in the use of serotonergic agonists such as psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has grown more quickly than the evidence on which to base a final opinion, as emphasized by McIntyre et al1 in their review. Psilocybin, once metabolized to psilocin, activates 5-HT2A receptors, enhancing GABA function in local circuits in the cortex and i...
This article reviews the historical protocols for the administration of “classic” psychedelics in France, from the 1920s to the 1960s. Taking a chronological approach, it investigates the way mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin were administered, the subjects involved, the route of administration, the dosage, and the epistemological context of the research. From ...
Abstract Serotonergic psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and 5-methoxy- N, N -dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), are currently being investigated for the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. Clinical trials with psilocybin and LSD have shown improvement in emotional and psy...
Introduction: The word “psychedelic” derives from the Greek language and can be loosely translated as “mind manifesting” which is to convey that these substances allow the mind to unleash its hidden potential. Psilocybin is considered to be a “classic psychedelic” and is most commonly found in the form of so-called “magic mushrooms”. Due to its unique proper...
Since reports about CIA-funded LSD studies came out in the 1970s, psychedelic drugs have invoked images of unethical experimentation and “mad scientists” in the public imagination. Even now, as the stigma surrounding psychedelics diminishes in the 21st century, the figure of the “mad scientist” continues to occupy a space in what Ido Hartogsohn calls the “co...
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...
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...
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this qualitative study was to delineate psychological mechanisms of change in the first randomized controlled trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). Theories regarding psychological processes involved in psychedelic therapy remain underdeveloped. METHOD: Participants (N = 13) mostly ident...
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...
Abstract Whether occasioned through careful, consistent meditative practice or through quicker means like the ritual ingestion of psilocybin or ayahuasca, global contemplative practices have established effective systems of implementing, directing, and integrating the very kinds of non-ordinary experiences central to psychedelic use. However, contemplative t...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Government & LegalFull AccessPsychedelics Legislation Gains MomentumTerri D'ArrigoTerri D'ArrigoSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:16 Feb 2023https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.03.3.4AbstractBills that would decriminalize the use of psychedelics are popping up faster than magic mush...