BackgroundTreatment with so-called psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and others, is among the most promising recent developments in psychiatry. This review focuses on psilocybin, a substance found in all mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe, because the largest amount of available evidence relates to this drug.MethodsThis...
Psychedelics are emerging as an effective way to combat mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and substance abuse. Psychedelics such as psilocybin can decrease overactivity in regions of the brain that are associated with anxiety and depression; for instance, psilocybin acts as an agonist on brain receptors to induce consciousness-alteri...
BackgroundCannabis Use Disorder (CUD) is an increasingly prevalent disorder affecting millions of Americans each year. Psychedelic compounds have recently been investigated for their therapeutic potential in treating substance use disorders, yet no prior work has examined the relationship between naturalistic use of specific psychedelic compounds and rates o...
Background Currently, there are great hopes for psychedelic substances in treating psychiatric conditions and improving well-being. These substances are illegal in many countries, and we lack knowledge of how conflicting discourses shape psychedelic use in naturalistic settings. This study explores how psilocybin use is made meaningful by participants and st...
There is some evidence that the subjective effects of ketamine and other psychedelics like psilocybin are crucial for their therapeutic outcomes, such as treatment of depression or substance use disorder (SUD). We performed a meta-analysis and systematic review on the correlation of subjective symptoms and dissociation versus ketamine-induced therapeutic out...
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 ...
The recent relaxation of psychedelic drug regulations has prompted extensive clinical investigation into their potential use to treat diverse mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and substance-abuse disorders. Most clinical trials have relied on a small number of known molecules found in nature, such as psilocybin, o...
This study aims to estimate the lower, middle, and upper bounds of potential demand for psilocybin-assisted therapy (PSIL-AT) for major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in the United States. We calculated potential PSIL-AT demand for MDD and TRD by estimating the number of U.S. patients with MDD, identifying those in treatme...
BackgroundPsychedelic-assisted therapy refers to a group of therapeutic practices involving psychedelics taken under therapeutic supervision from physicians, psychologists, and others. It has been hypothesised that psychedelic-assisted therapy may reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and existential distress in patients facing life-threatening diseases (e...
As a proposed mediator between stigma-related stressors and negative mental health outcomes, HIV-related shame has been predictive of increased rates of substance use and difficulties adhering to antiretroviral treatment among people with HIV. These downstream manifestations have ultimately impeded progress toward national goals to End the HIV Epidemic, in p...
Source: Farah R, Kerns AF, Murray AC, et al. Psilocybin exposures reported to U.S. poison centers: national trends over a decade. J Adolesc Health. 2024;74(5):1053-1056; doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.01.027.Investigators from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, conducted a retrospective study to describe trends in psilocybin exposure in adolesc...
Background Current drug policy classifies psilocybin, a substance produced by psychoactive mushrooms, as having a high potential for abuse, neglecting its therapeutic properties. We aimed to investigate if psilocybin mushrooms pose a risk to Brazilian public health compared to other toxic agents and whether evidence-based regulatory discussions are needed. M...
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...
This study is a two-group feasibility study of oral psilocybin combined with a 12-week group-based program, customized for firefighters. Trained facilitators will help create a trauma-informed space for the group (n = 6-8) to thrive and promote cognitive resilience. The topics covered throughout the 12 weeks include breath-work, mindfulness, self-compassion,...
Introduction: In Colorado, both cannabis and psilocybin are legal and becoming more commonly used. However, there is almost no research detailing the public health concerns regarding negative outcomes (e.g., dependence) of cannabis and psilocybin co-use and motives that may perpetuate these negative outcomes (e.g., coping, boredom). Methods: Using data from ...
Resistance to traditional treatment methods is still a major obstacle in modern psychiatry. As a result, several studies are currently being conducted to find effective alternatives to traditional therapies. One of these alternatives is psilocybin, a psychedelic substance that has been tested in clinical trials as an adjunct to psychotherapy. These studies f...
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...
Introduction: Treatment-outcome expectancies are an individual’s beliefs about how a medical or psychological intervention will affect them and others. These response expectancies represent serious potential confounds to clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapies for a variety of conditions because of difficulties associated with blinding psychedelic ...
