Purpose of the studyPsilocybin is a rapidly-emerging treatment for depression, yet its impact on sleep is not well understood. We sought to explore the literature on sleep and psilocybin use, and explore the topic using our own primary data.FindingsWhilst clinical trials demonstrate large depressive symptom improvements, the impact of psilocybin on sleep qua...
In recent decades, psilocybin has gained attention as a potential drug for several mental disorders. Clinical and preclinical studies have provided evidence that psilocybin can be used as a fast-acting antidepressant. However, the exact mechanisms of action of psilocybin have not been clearly defined. Data show that psilocybin as an agonist of 5-HT2A recepto...
Artificial intelligence (AI) and psychedelic medicines are among the most high-profile evolving disruptive innovations within mental healthcare in recent years. Although AI and psychedelics may not have historically shared any common ground, there exists the potential for these subjects to combine in generating innovative mental health treatment approaches. ...
Psychedelics have recently re-emerged as potential treatments for various psychiatric conditions that impose major public health costs and for which current treatment options have limited efficacy. At the same time, personalized medicine is increasingly being implemented in psychiatry to provide individualized drug dosing recommendations based on genetics. T...
Psilocybin and psilocin do not cause addiction or dependence, as they do not interact with the dopaminergic reward system. New pharmacological treatment strategies for substance abuse disorders have targeted craving, which is characterized, in a simplified way, by an intense desire to use the substance. Psilocybin is an indole alkaloid of the hallucinogenic ...
IntroductionDespite considerable efforts, tobacco use disorder persists as a significant public health issue. The effectiveness of current smoking cessation therapies is limited, leading to a growing interest in alternative treatment approaches such as psychedelics.AimThe aim of this review is to evaluate the scientific evidence regarding the role of psyched...
BackgroundThe applications of psilocybin, derived from 'magic mushrooms,' are vast, including a burgeoning practice known as microdosing, which refers to the administration of sub-hallucinogenic doses of psychedelic substances to obtain benefits without experiencing significant cognitive and perceptual distortion. However, current research is fairly new with...
Abstract Objectives The first line for symptom management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a class of medications that act on dopamine and noradrenaline receptors, which leads to symptom reduction at the cost of significant side effects. These side effects have led to community searching for alternative methods that manage ADHD symptoms ...
ObjectiveThis article provides an intercultural transdisciplinary perspective on the Indigenous roots of the resurging field of psychedelic science in the management of substance use disorders (SUDs). Ritual uses of entheogens (i.e., psychedelics of natural origin) are elaborate technologies for navigating, containing, and therapeutically directing non-ordin...
OBJECTIVE: Patterns of psilocybin use in nonclinical settings are not well described in the literature. Psilocybin use can involve infrequent, large (i.e., macro) doses that produce hallucinogenic effects. In addition, some people report psilocybin use at particularly small (i.e., micro), sub-perceptual doses. Given the heterogeneity in reported use metrics,...
BackgroundPsychedelic drugs have been of interest in medicine since the early 1950s. There has recently been a resurgence of interest in psychedelics.AimsThe objective of this study is to determine the extent of the available literature on psilocybin for medical indications including the designs used, study characteristics, indications studied, doses, and au...
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has emerged as a potential treatment for a variety of mental health conditions, including substance use disorders and depression. Current models of PAP emphasize the importance of psychotherapeutic support before, during, and after ingestion of a psychedelic to maximize safety and clinical benefit. Despite this ubiqui...
Background: How the human psyche interacts with the theme of death is fundamental to individual and societal life, profoundly influencing cognition, affect, and behavior. Death-related psychological phenomena, such as death anxiety and acceptance, have been shown in clinical studies to be influenced by psychedelic (LSD and psilocybin) interventions. However,...
Background: How the human psyche interacts with the theme of death is fundamental to individual and societal life, profoundly influencing cognition, affect, and behavior. Death-related psychological phenomena, such as death anxiety and acceptance, have been shown in clinical studies to be influenced by psychedelic (LSD and psilocybin) interventions. However,...
Abstract Psychoactive substances used for recreational purposes have mind-altering effects, but systematic evaluation of these effects is largely limited to self-reports. Automated analysis of expressed language (speech and written text) using Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools can provide objective readouts of mental states. In this pre-registered syst...
Background: Following clinical trials on psilocybin for the treatment of pain, anxiety, and depression in patients with cancer, scientific interest emerged in its use for substance use disorders. Methods: In this review of the literature, we summarize available trials looking at the use of psilocybin in addiction Results: One double-blind, randomized clinica...
Psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine have emerged as potentially effective treatments for rapid amelioration of the symptoms of mood and related psychiatric disorders. All clinical data collected so far with regard to psilocybin or MDMA, which have reported positive outcomes for treating depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and drug or alcohol use d...
Some recent research and commentary have suggested that most or all the effects reported by people who microdose psychedelics may be explained by expectations or placebo effects. In this rapid review, we aimed to evaluate the strength of evidence for a placebo explanation of the reported effects of microdosing. We conducted a PubMed search for all studies in...
Introduction: Psilocybin is a naturally occurring tryptamine derivative psychedelic compound potently produced by fungi members of the genus Psilocybe. Previous literature has highlighted psilocybin as a serotonin 2A receptor agonist with striking effects on neural plasticity and cognition. Recent studies explore the usage of psilocybin in addressing addicti...
IntroductionPsilocybin, a naturally occurring serotonergic agonist in some mushroom species, has shown promise as a novel, fast-acting pharmacotherapy seeking to overcome the limitations of conventional first-line antidepressants. Studying psilocybin effects on cognition and emotional processing may help to clarify the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic p...