BackgroundThough drugs binding to serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors have long been claimed to influence human anxiety, it remains unclear if this receptor subtype is best described as anxiety promoting or anxiety dampening. Whereas conditioned fear expressed as freezing in rats is modified by application of 5-HT2A-acting drugs locally into different brain region...
Introduction Recently there has been renewal in interest of psychedelic research. Classic psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin and mescaline act pharmacologically as agonists at the 5-HT2A receptor. The entactogens like methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), acts as a serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline agonist. All of these dru...
Introduction Psilocybin is a naturally occurring plant alkaloid in mushrooms and a prodrug of psilocin. It is a serotonin receptor (5-HT2A) agonist and known psychedelic, with similar hallucinatory properties to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). It has been identified as a safe and effective option in treatment-resistant depression. Literature focus mainly o...
Hallucinogens include many different drugs, which are often called “psychedelic” drugs. The US National Institute on Drug Abuse categorizes these drugs into 2 categories: classic hallucinogens and dissociative drugs. Both types of psychedelics can lead to hallucinations - sensations and images that seem real although they are imaginary. In addition, an indiv...
Psychedelics like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin offer a powerful window into the function of the human brain and mind, by temporarily altering subjective experience through their neurochemical effects. A recent model postulates that serotonin 2a (5-HT2a) receptor agonism allows the brain to explore its dynamic landscape more readily, as ref...
Hallucinogens are a loosely defined group of compounds including LSD, N,N-dimethyltryptamines, mescaline, psilocybin/psilocin, and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methamphetamine (DOM), which can evoke intense visual and emotional experiences. We are witnessing a renaissance of research interest in hallucinogens, driven by increasing awareness of their psychotherapeutic pot...
Introduction Psilocybin is a naturally occurring plant alkaloid in mushrooms and a prodrug of psilocin. It is a serotonin receptor (5-HT2A) agonist and known psychedelic, with similar hallucinatory properties to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). It has been identified as a safe and effective option in treatment-resistant depression. Literature focus mainly o...
Nicotine use and dependence, typically achieved through cigarette smoking, but increasingly through vape products, is the leading cause of preventable death today. Despite a recognition that many current smokers would like to quit, the success rate at doing so is low and indicative of the persistent nature of nicotine dependence and the high urge to relapse....
A single dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic and serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist, may be associated with antidepressant effects. The mechanism behind its antidepressive action is unknown but could be linked to increased synaptogenesis and down-regulation of cerebral 5-HT2AR. Here, we investigate if a single psychedelic dose of psilocybin changes synapt...
Mounting evidence supports the serotonin 2A receptor agonist psilocybin as a psychiatric pharmacotherapy. Little research has experimentally examined how session “set and setting” impacts subjective and therapeutic effects. We analyzed effects of musical genre played during sessions of a psilocybin study for tobacco smoking cessation. Participants (N=10) rec...
The 5-HT2A receptor is thought to be the primary target for psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and other serotonergic hallucinogens (psychedelic drugs). Although a large amount of experimental work has been conducted to characterize the pharmacology of psilocybin and its dephosphorylated metabolite psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine)...
A single dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic and serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist, may be associated with antidepressant effects. The mechanism behind its antidepressive action is unknown but could be linked to increased synaptogenesis and down-regulation of cerebral 5-HT2AR. Here, we investigate if a single psychedelic dose of psilocybin changes synapt...
Psychedelic drugs, including the serotonin 2a (5-HT2A) receptor partial agonist psilocybin, are receiving renewed attention for their possible efficacy in treating a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. Psilocybin induces widespread dysregulation of cortical activity, but circuit-level mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear. The claustrum is a subco...
Machine Learning is used to predict the efficacy of psilocybin in treating mental health and addiction by using a random forest algorithm. Psilocybin is a chemical compound found in fungi. Following ingestion, it is converted to psilocin which acts as a serotonin agonist, producing altered states of consciousness and hallucinations. Research suggests the use...
Serotoninergic hallucinogens include drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and psilocybin. Recent trials with single/few doses of these compounds show that they induce rapid and sustained antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive effects. These effects are also observed in religious groups using the DMT-containing brew ...
Hallucinogenic agents have been proposed as potent antidepressants; this includes the serotonin (5-HT) receptor 2A agonist psilocybin. In human subjects, psilocybin alters functional connectivity (FC) within the default-mode network (DMN), a constellation of inter-connected regions that is involved in self-reference and displays altered FC in depressive diso...
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...
OBJECTIVE: Psilocybin is a serotonin receptor agonist with a therapeutic potential for treatment-resistant depression and other psychiatric illnesses. We investigated whether the administration of psilocybin had an antidepressant-like effect in a rat model of depression. METHODS: Using the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rat model of depression, we assessed th...
Sleep paralysis is a state of involuntary immobility occurring at sleep onset or offset, often accompanied by uncanny "ghost-like" hallucinations and extreme fear reactions. I provide here a neuropharmacological account for these hallucinatory experiences by evoking the role of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). Research has shown that 5-HT2AR activation c...
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT)2A receptor agonists have recently emerged as promising new treatment options for a variety of disorders. The recent success of these agonists, also known as psychedelics, like psilocybin for the treatment of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and addiction, has ushered in a renaissance in the way t...
