Research into the use of psilocybin for the treatment of psychiatric disorders is a growing field. Nevertheless, robust brain-behavior relationships linking psilocybin-induced brain changes to subjective drug-induced effects have not been established. Furthermore, it is unclear if the acute neural effects are dependent on individual heterogeneity in baseline...
INTRODUCTION: The mechanisms by which the psychedelic drug psilocybin, a novel rapid-acting antidepressant, improves depressive symptoms are still unclear. One candidate mechanism is the impact of the phenomenology of the psychedelic experience, with positive phenomenology hypothesised to be associated with positive long-term outcomes and fearful phenomenolo...
The investigators are doing this project to investigate potential neurophysiological synergy effects between mindfulness meditation and psychedelics. Previous studies have found that both mindfulness and psychedelics like psilocybin modulate neural activity and connectivity of the same brain network. However, little is known about the potential interactions ...
To provide insights into neurophenomenological richness after psilocybin intake, we investigated the link between dynamical brain patterns and the ensuing phenomenological pattern after psilocybin intake. Healthy participants received either psilocybin (n=22) or placebo (n=27) while in ultra-high field 7T MRI scanning. Changes in the phenomenological pattern...
Patients characterized by stress-related disorders such as depression display elevated circulating concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a hyperactive HPA axis. Psychedelics are demonstrating promising results in treatment of such disorders, however the mechanisms of their therapeutic effects are still unknown. To date the evidence of acute and pe...
Rationale: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated dissociatives and serotonergic hallucinogens are being increasingly used in therapeutic interventions that involve nonordinary states of consciousness and may represent a unique mental health paradigm wherein pharmacologically induced experiences are conducive to psychological well-being. Objective: The aim o...
This study is comprised of two parts. The purpose of the first part of this study is to evaluate the effects of a supratherapeutic dose of psilocybin on cardiac repolarization. The purpose of the second part of the study is to evaluate the effects of food on the pharmacokinetics of psilocybin. Part one of this study will be a double-blind, single-dose, rando...
BackgroundResearch on psilocybin has become increasingly popular during the current psychedelic renaissance, which began in the early 1990s. Psilocybin's effects on mental health are promising and there are ongoing efforts to investigate its clinical implementation and its effects on cognition.AimsThe purpose of this study is to report trends in publications...
Mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and psilocybin are classic serotonergic psychedelics. A valid, direct comparison of the effects of these substances is lacking. The main goal of the present study was to investigate potential pharmacological, physiological and phenomenological differences at psychoactive-equivalent doses of mescaline, LSD, and psi...
The primary objective of the RECAP Study Program is to investigate the role played by conscious experience in the antidepressant effects of the psychedelic agent psilocybin. This pilot dosing study (PILOT RECAP) is designed to determine the optimal dose of midazolam that allows a psychedelic experience to occur while inducing amnesia for the experience. This...
Mescaline (the active substance in Peyote and San Pedro cacti) is a classic and long known serotonergic psychedelic substance (hallucinogen) that is widely used for recreational, spiritual, and/or ethno medical purposes. Despite its long history, modern data on the acute effects of mescaline on human is lacking. Mescaline produces prototypical psychedelic ef...
The emerging neuroscientific frontier of brain fingerprinting has recently established that human functional connectomes (FCs) exhibit fingerprint-like idiosyncratic features, which map onto heterogeneously distributed behavioural traits. Here, we harness brain-fingerprinting tools to extract FC features that predict subjective drug experience induced by the...
Psilocybin is being investigated as a potential treatment for psychiatric and neurological disorders. Only a few studies have evaluated the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of psilocybin and have used body weight-adjusted dosing. Data on PKs and the PK-pharmacodynamic (PD) relationship of fixed doses that are commonly used are unavailable. The present study characteri...
Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic that has gained prominent attention recently as a potential therapeutic for neuropsychiatric disorders including Major Depressive Disorder. Pre-clinical and initial studies in humans suggest that serotonin 2A receptor agonists, including serotonergic psychedelics, have anti-inflammatory effects. This may contribute to...
Patients characterized by stress-related disorders such as depression display elevated circulating concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a hyperactive HPA axis. Psychedelics are demonstrating promising results in treatment of such disorders, however the mechanisms of their therapeutic effects are still unknown. To date the evidence of acute and pe...
BackgroundPsilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences are associated with lasting positive psychological outcomes. Recent studies indicate that trait mindfulness is increased 3 months after psilocybin intake, preceded by decreases in neocortical serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) binding. However, the association between psilocybin-induced mystical-type experi...
Anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychiatric disorders among Western countries. Evidence-based treatment modalities including pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral therapy result in deficient treatment responses. Historical and recent research suggests psychedelic drugs may be efficacious in alleviating anxiety-related symptoms among healthy ...
Psilocybin is a classical serotoninergic psychedelic that induces cognitive disruptions similar to psychosis. Gamma activity is affected in psychosis and is tightly related to cognitive processing. The 40 Hz auditory steady-state responses (ASSR) are frequently used as indicators to test the ability to generate gamma activity. Based on previous literature, w...
The main goal is to compare the antidepressant effects of psilocybin and ketamine in patients with TRD versus the antidepressant inactive substance midazolam. The primary endpoint will be the antidepressant effect on the Montgomery- Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) 24 hours after treatment, the key secondary endpoints being the duration of antidepressa...
