Naturally occurring psychedelics have been used for a long time as remedies or in religious ceremonies and recreational activities. Recent studies have proven the therapeutic potential of some psychedelic compounds to safely treat a wide range of diseases such as anxiety, depression, migraine, and addiction. It is hypothesized that psychedelic compounds like...
Background: Past research reports a positive relationship between experience with classic serotonergic psychedelics and nature relatedness (NR). However, these studies typically do not distinguish between different psychedelic compounds, which have a unique psychopharmacology and may be used in specific contexts and with different intentions. Likewise, it is...
Lysergic acid Diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, and psilocin are being intensively evaluated as potential therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and a host of other psychiatric illnesses. Pre-clinical investigation of these compounds in rodent models forms a key component of their drug development process. In this review, we will su...
Contemporary research on serotonergic psychedelic compounds has been rife with references to so-called 'mystical' subjective effects. Several psychometric assessments have been used to assess such effects, and clinical studies have found quantitative associations between 'mystical experiences' and positive mental health outcomes. The nascent study of psyched...
Classic psychedelics are currently re-emerging as therapeutic agents with unique clinical benefits; however, it is also important to recognize the adverse effects of this drug class. While the risk of seizures with this drug class is known, the literature is lacking in detail. We present a case of psychedelic mushroom-induced seizures in a person with refrac...
Identifying gaps and strengths in psychedelic-related knowledge is key to developing effective, evidence-based education to inform appropriate use of and harm reduction practices for psychedelics in the naturalistic use landscape. The current study piloted an assessment instrument with questions on legal status, therapeutic potential, and side effects of psy...
There has recently been a resurgence of interest in psychedelic compounds based on studies demonstrating their potential therapeutic applications in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse disorders, and treatment-resistant depression. Despite promising efficacy observed in some clinical trials, the full range of biological effects and mecha...
Psychedelic compounds have been utilized by humans for centuries for medicinal, religious, and tribal purposes. Clinical trial data starting from the early 2000s and continuing today indicates that psychedelics are a clinically efficacious treatment for a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, all clinical trials examining these substanc...
Interest in the therapeutic potential of serotonergic psychedelic compounds including psilocybin has surged in recent years. While human clinical research suggests psilocybin holds promise as a rapid and long-lasting antidepressant, little is known about how its acute mechanisms of action mediate enduring alterations in cognition and behavior. Human neuroima...
There is increasing interest in the therapeutic potential of psilocybin. In rodents, the serotonin precursor, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and psilocybin induce a characteristic 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR)-mediated head twitch response (HTR), which is correlated with the human psychedelic trip. We examined the role of other serotonergic receptors and the trace ...
Summary Psilocin, the active compound in Psilocybe sp. mushrooms, is a serotonergic psychedelic that has recently gained renewed interest due to its potential as a therapeutic tool. Despite promising clinical findings, the underlying signaling mechanisms and brain region-specific effects of psilocin and other psychedelic drugs remain unclear. Psilocin, like ...
Since not only psilocybin (PSB) but also PSB-containing mushrooms are used for psychedelic therapy and microdosing, it is necessary to know their concentration variability in wild-grown mushrooms. This article aimed to determine the PSB, psilocin (PS), baeocystin (BA), norbaeocystin (NB), and aeruginascin (AE) concentrations in a large sample set of mushroom...
ABSTRACT Serotonergic psychedelics are gaining increasing interest as potential therapeutics for a range of mental illnesses. Compounds with short-lived subjective effects may be clinically useful because dosing time would be reduced, which may improve patient access. One short-acting psychedelic is 5-MeO-DMT, which has been associated with improvement in de...
4-Phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (psilocybin) is a naturally occurring tertiary amine found in many mushroom species. Psilocybin is a prodrug for 4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (psilocin), which induces psychedelic effects via agonist activity at the serotonin (5-HT) 2A receptor (5-HT2A). Several other 4-position ring-substituted tryptamines are pres...
Psychedelic compounds have been linked to salutary mental health outcomes in both naturalistic and clinical settings; however, current research on psychedelics suffers from a lack of inclusion and focus on racial and ethnic minorities. Thus, the goal of our study was to assess whether race and ethnicity moderate the associations that naturalistic lifetime MD...
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy holds great promise in the treatment of mental health disorders. Research into 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist psychedelic compounds has increased dramatically over the past two decades. In humans, these compounds produce drastic effects on consciousness, and their therapeutic potential relates to changes ...
Psychedelics have been already used by human societies for more than 3000 years, mostly in religious and healing context. The renewed interest in the potential application of psychedelic compounds as novel therapeutics has led to promising preliminary evidence of clinical benefit in some psychiatric disorders. Despite these promising results, the potential f...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant public health concern for which existing therapies are only marginally effective. Indisputably, the primary line of treatment for PTSD is psychotherapy, according to current treatment guidelines. However, PTSD continues to be a chronic condition even after psychotherapy, with high psychiatric and medical...
BackgroundClinical studies report preliminary therapeutic effects of classic psychedelic drugs in several psychiatric conditions and international drug trends show increased use of these compounds. However, the epidemiology of classic psychedelic drug use in Scandinavian countries remains sparsely investigated. To this end, we investigated the patterns of us...
This publication discusses two compounds belonging to the psychoactive substances group which are studied in the context of depression treatment-psilocybin and esketamine. The former is a naturally occurring psychedelic. The latter was invented in the laboratory exactly 60 years ago. Although the substances were controversial in the past, recent studies indi...
