BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting roughly 322 million people. Recently, doses of psilocybin have shown promise in treating mood disorders, sparking interest in other dosing practices. According to anecdotal reports and observational studies, microdosing psilocybin yields benefits to mental hea...
Psilocybin is the primary psychoactive compound in "magic mushrooms"; it has been used by humans for millennia, it is in promising clinical trials with humans and used in legalized psilocybin-assisted therapy, and researchers use and are further developing human-based methods with cutting-edge technologies.However, researchers are still allowed to conduct un...
Abstract Background and Purpose Music plays a central role in psychedelic-assisted therapy, yet few methodologies exist to create and assess therapeutic playlists. This study aimed to illustrate a methodology for developing and evaluating a music playlist for a clinical psilocybin trial using an integrative framework grounded in theory, intentionality, and m...
Abstract Rapid-acting antidepressants like ketamine and serotonergic psychedelics show promise for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but the molecular mechanisms that contribute to their therapeutic effects remain unclear. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a platform to model human cortical neurons and investigate drug effects in a human-relev...
Anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, is often resistant to conventional treatments and significantly impacts quality of life. This secondary analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) on anhedonia severity in individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Participants (n = 30) with TRD and a primary diagnosi...
Functional disorders, characterised by symptoms unexplained by organic disease, impose a significant burden on individuals and healthcare systems. Existing treatments are limited in efficacy, with no effective pharmacotherapies. There is growing evidence supporting the treatment potential of psychedelics in neuropsychiatric conditions, including several dist...
RATIONALE: Classical psychedelics-a broad class of compounds that include psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, dimethyltryptamine, and mescaline-have shown significant promise for the treatment of mental health conditions in recent clinical trials. Organizations such as the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDCs) can play a pivotal role in uniting ...
Psilocin, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic component of magic mushrooms, exerts notable psychoactive effects in both humans and rodents. However, the underlying mechanisms remain not fully understood. Blood-oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a valuable tool in many preclinical and clinical trials for invest...
There has been a renewed interest in the use of various psychedelic agents as potential therapies for multiple psychiatric conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), to name a few. This follows the recent accumulation of evidence for ketamine pharmacotherapy and a rapid pr...
Psilocybin-assisted interventions have shown rapid reductions in depressive symptoms in controlled clinical settings, raising questions about biological mechanisms supporting durability beyond the acute drug effect. [5,7] Mechanistic accounts increasingly focus on neuroplasticity as a candidate pathway linking transient serotonergic receptor activation to lo...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is increasingly investigated as a treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder. In the United States (US) and European Union, esketamine has been approved for the treatment of depression, while psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) have received Breakthrough T...
This manuscript comprehensively reviews psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression. It aims to synthesize current understanding regarding its mechanisms, efficacy, safety, costs, and accessibility, comparing it with conventional antidepressant and ketamine treatments. The methodology involved a narrative synt...
Despite decades of neuroscience research and significant investment in addiction neuroimaging, clinical outcomes for individuals with substance use and behavioural addictions remain poor. Only 1.8% of people with substance use disorders receive effective treatment, highlighting a major disconnect between mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. This p...
About 30-50% of patients with advanced illness experience depression, anxiety, or decreased sense of purpose and autonomy. Together, these are called psychological distress. Treatment options such as medication and therapy are available; however, they do not always work and can be time-consuming and expensive. We need treatments that work well, quickly, and ...
Psychedelic-assisted therapies have re-emerged as a subject of increasing scientific and clinical interest in psychiatry, particularly in the context of persistent treatment gaps for conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. Compounds, including psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethampheta...
BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in psychedelic research have highlighted psilocybin's potential therapeutic benefits for various mental disorders. Understanding its effects on brain function and identifying predictors of individual responses are essential for developing effective treatments. METHODS: This double-blind, randomized, crossover, and placebo-cont...
Background: Psychedelic substances have been used for millennia in religious and healing contexts and have recently re-emerged as subjects of scientific interest due to advances in neuroscience and psychiatry. Research suggests that psychedelics may address limitations of conventional psychiatric treatments, particularly in disorders such as major depressive...
This review examines the therapeutic efficacy of psilocybin for major depressive disorder by integrating findings from clinical trials, meta-analyses, and mechanistic research. A comprehensive literature search across major scientific databases identified empirical studies evaluating psilocybin’s effects on depressive symptomatology, safety, and underlying n...
BACKGROUND: Changes in well-being, personality, and personal values have been documented post-psilocybin; however, evidence from placebo-controlled trials is limited. AIMS: To examine the effects of psilocybin versus placebo on psychiatric symptoms, personality, and personal values in healthy participants. Potential mediators were also explored. METHODS: = 2...
