Microdosing - the practice of consuming extremely low doses of classical psychedelic substances that do not elicit overt psychedelic effects - has gained significant attention as a potential method for enhancing cognitive performance. However, findings from controlled studies remain mixed and inconclusive. This preregistered meta-analysis examined the cognit...
BACKGROUND: Chronic pain affects nearly one in five adults worldwide and remains a major healthcare burden due to its persistence, multidimensional impact, and resistance to conventional therapies. The opioid crisis has further highlighted the urgent need for safer and more effective alternatives. Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic compound, has re-emerg...
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a highly prevalent disorder with limited therapeutic options. The central amygdala (CeA) is a critical brain region as dysregulation within the CeA and the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system are associated with AUD pathology. CeA CRF1 receptors regulate alcohol drinking and have served as a therapeutic target in alcohol...
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Many neuropsychiatric conditions, including depression, involve synaptic loss and atrophy of the prefrontal cortex. The rapid regrowth of cortical neurons has been hypothesized to explain the rapid and enduring therapeutic effects of psychedelics and the dissociative anesthetic ketamine. However, safety concerns related to hallucinogenic/dissociative propert...
Psychedelic-assisted therapies are re-emerging as credible options in psychological care amid a high global burden of mental ill-health and limited response to first-line treatments. Once marginal, psychedelics are now part of mainstream research and policy debate, while remaining illegal or tightly restricted in many jurisdictions. Classic and atypical comp...
The primary aim is to determine the feasibility of enrolling and 15 women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) that have failed one conventional for CPP to obtain preliminary safety data on a single administration of a moderate dose of pharmaceutical grade psilocybin (25 mg) in combination with psychotherapy sessions (two pre-dose preparatory and three post-dose i...
Psilocybin has emerged as a promising therapeutic agent for psychiatric and neurological disorders. However, its legal status varies significantly across countries, creating barriers for clinical use and research. This paper provides an international overview of the regulatory landscape governing medical psilocybin, highlighting key legal restrictions, polic...
Chronic pain and mood disorders co-occur, exacerbate one another and share neurobiological mechanisms, but whether a single intervention could promptly alleviate both conditions remains unclear. Here, in two chronic pain models, we show that a single dose of psilocybin induces a rapid and sustained reversal of both mechanical allodynia and anxiodepression-li...
Czechia has recently approved the medical use of psilocybin, marking a pivotal shift in the country’s drug policy landscape. This development paves the way for regulated therapeutic applications of psilocybin within clinical settings, while simultaneously prompting a timely discussion on the potential uses of psychedelics beyond strictly medical contexts. Th...
Serotonergic psychedelics have shown promise in clinical trials for treating an array of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite these findings, our understanding of how these drugs mechanistically exert their therapeutic effects remains incomplete. While researchers have regularly employed rodent p...
Introduction In recent years, psychiatry has witnessed a renaissance in the investigation of psychedelic compounds, a broad class of psychoactive substances that induce altered states of consciousness, often characterized by changes in perception, mood, and cognition, which were largely shelved following regulatory crackdowns in the 1970s. The renewed intere...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex and debilitating condition affecting approximately 280 million people worldwide. Its heterogeneous nature makes it difficult to establish clinical treatment guidelines that address individual differences in treatment response. As a result, many individuals experience treatment-resistant depression (TRD) failing to...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by compulsive eating restrictions and cognitive inflexibility, which is linked to dysregulation within the cortico-striatal-thalamo cortical (CSTC) circuitry. Dysfunction within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal striatum has been implicated in habitual decision making and impaired cognitiv...
Introduction: Recently, there has been a significant increase in interest in the use of psychedelics for various psychiatric conditions. Psilocybin is receiving particular attention as a psychoactive substance with significant therapeutic potential. Recent research focuses on its possible benefits in the treatment of major depressive disorders (MDD) and anor...
Psychedelics are undergoing a clinical research renaissance, with compounds such as psilocybin advancing to Phase 3 trials for treatment-resistant depression and receiving fast-track or breakthrough designations from regulatory agencies. Despite this progress, the field lacks standardized terminology to guide clinical development, dosing, safety monitoring, ...
Established by the 1971 United Nations (UN) Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the prohibition of the recreational use of psychedelics (lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], psilocybin, N, N -dimethyltryptamine [ N, N -DMT], and mescaline) has two premises. First, recreational use poses a serious threat to public health because psychedelics are highly liable...
Treatment resistant depression (TRD) is frequently encountered in clinical practice. The lack of response of the condition to conventional medications and augmentation strategies has spawned the search for novel treatment approaches. Psychedelic medications used in conjunction with intensive psychotherapy, so-called psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP), ...
