Entheogens, a class of psychoactive substances with profound cultural and religious significance, have been utilized for centuries across diverse traditions for healing, spiritual exploration, and communication with the divine. Their historical usage spans continents, from the pre-Columbian Americas to traditional African practices and Ayurvedic medicine in ...
We aim to systematically review and meta-analyze the effectiveness and safety of psychedelics [psilocybin, ayahuasca (active component DMT), LSD and MDMA] in treating symptoms of various mental disorders. Web of Science, Embase, EBSCO, and PubMed were searched up to February 2024 and 126 articles were finally included. Results showed that psilocybin has the ...
Natural psychedelics such as magic mushrooms have a long history of human use of at least 7000 years. Their use underwent a resurgence in the 1950/1960s following the synthesis of LSD as a psychedelic and its use as a medicine with powerful therapeutic benefits. But because non-medical use led to massive cultural changes especially in young people, all psych...
The use of psychoactive substances for ritual, spiritual and medicinal purposes stretches back into prehistory and has been a common feature of many diverse cultures and societies globally. Psychedelics, with their unique ability to amplify feelings of connectedness and openness, may have also served as tools for promoting tribal cohesion and trust in ancien...
When Oregon's first psilocybin service center opened in June 2023, allowing those over 21 to take mind-altering mushrooms in a state-licensed facility, the psychedelic revival that had been unfolding over the past two decades entered an important new phase.Psilocybin is still illegal on the federal level. But now, as researchers explore the therapeutic poten...
Abstract The mechanisms by which Psilocybin Therapy (PT) improves depression remain an important object of study, with scientists actively exploring acute psychological experiences and neurobiological processes as candidates. In a phase 2, double-blind, randomized, active comparator controlled trial involving patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive...
Abstract Current treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) show large heterogeneity in response and thus limited effectiveness and high relapse rates. A precision medicine approach with biomarkers responsive to new treatments is warranted to overcome this limitation. Promising biomarkers relate to prefrontal control mechanisms that are severely disturbed in ...
This pilot study investigated psilocybin-induced changes in neural reactivity to alcohol and emotional cues in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Participants were recruited from a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial investigating psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) for the treatment of AUD (NCT02061293). Eleven adult p...
: Psychedelics are currently being examined once more as potential remedies for untreatable biological illnesses after decades of research problems. They are frequently regarded to be physically safe and do not frequently lead to dependency or addiction. The use of psychedelic substances in the treatment of mental illness and the adoption of the Substance Ac...
BackgroundGrowing clinical interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies has led to a second wave of research involving psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other substances. Data suggests that these compounds have the potential to treat mental health conditions that are especially prevalent in older adults ...
A “UK first” trial will investigate whether psilocybin - the active ingredient in ‘magic mushrooms’ - can help prevent relapse in people recovering from opioid addiction. The psilocybin study, led by researchers at Imperial College London, will involve 28 participants who have recently undergone detoxification from ‘street’ opioids. Participants will receive...
HISTORY In the early part of twentieth century, these molecules were known as psychotomimetics, meaning that they create a state similar to psychosis. Later on, they were also termed as hallucinogens, but psychedelics usually do not cause hallucinations at a therapeutic dose. The name psychedelics for these substances was first given by Osmond in 1957, meani...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) share overlapping neurobiological mechanisms particularly reward deficiency and stress-like anti-reward processes. And so, BPD may be reclassified as a "traumatic personality stress disorder" (TPSD) with ensuing common therapeutic strategies that may stabilize dopaminergic reward...
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that may develop in people who have been exposed to a traumatic event, including actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Exposure to a traumatic event is defined as directly experiencing the event, learning about the event, or repeated exposure to details of the event. PTSD is...
BACKGROUND: Psychedelic substances have demonstrated promise in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Significant media coverage has been dedicated to psychedelic medicine, but it is unclear whether the public associates psilocybin with its potential therapeutic benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in depression, an...
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogen found in different species of fungi. Psilocybin has gained extensive social popularity and political attention in the United States. Research has shown that psilocybin and psychological therapy may have promising therapeutic applications for safer and more effective treatment of mental illnesses such as major ...
Clinical trials of psychedelics have provided support for their potential efficacy and safety. Although most combined a psychedelic with psychological support akin to psychotherapy, providing psychotherapy is costlier and more difficult to scale than providing only support to reduce harms. Trials with factorial designs can evaluate the individual effects of ...
Serotonergic psychedelics (SP) such as psilocybin, LSD or DMT pose significant potential for development of new strategies in treating neuropsychiatric disorders including major depression disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. To bring these substances to clinical application, however, better understanding of the mechanisms behind their eff...
Chronic pain is a public health concern that affects approximately 1.5 billion people globally. Conventional therapeutic agents including opioid and non-opioid analgesics have been associated with adverse side effects, issues with addiction, and ineffective analgesia. Novel agents repurposed to treat pain via different mechanisms are needed to fill the thera...
Introduction: In psychedelic therapy, mystical as well as challenging experience may influence therapeutic outcome. However, predictors of such experience have not been sufficiently established. Determining predictors of their intensity is, therefore, potentially beneficial in targeting psilocybin therapy for depression. Methods: In a post hoc data analysis ...
