Psilocybin, a psychoactive alkaloid with hallucinogenic properties, exists in a variety of hallucinogenic mushrooms. As a study tool to imitate psychosis, psilocybin has aroused a lot of interest in the biological community due to its various possible therapeutic benefits. It is also a very popular and widely misused natural hallucinogens with distinct metab...
There has been a resurgence of interest in the use of psychedelic therapies for several mental and substance use disorders. Psilocybin, a "classic" serotonergic psychedelic, has emerged as one of the primary compounds of interest in clinical research. While research on psilocybin's potential mental health benefits has grown, data on the safety and efficacy o...
Psychedelic microdosing is the practice of taking very low doses of psychedelic substances, typically over a longer period of time. The long-term safety of chronic microdosing is relatively uncharacterized, but valvular heart disease (VHD) has been proposed as a potential risk due to activation of the serotonin 5-HT2B receptor. However, this risk has not yet...
Hallucinogen dependence and abuse are DSM-IV diagnoses that are associated with significant morbidity, yet the specific hallucinogens that are most strongly linked to dependence and abuse are understudied. We used recent data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2020) and multivariable logistic regression to test the relationships that lifet...
Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of senile dementia, is poised to place an even greater societal and healthcare burden as the population ages. With few treatment options for the symptomatic relief of the disease and its unknown etiopathology, more research into AD is urgently needed. Psychedelic drugs target AD-related psychological pathology a...
Natural psychedelic compounds are emerging as potential novel therapeutics in psychiatry. This review will discuss how natural psychedelics exert their neurobiological therapeutic effects, and how different neurotransmission systems mediate the effects of these compounds. Further, current therapeutic strategies for depression, and novel mechanism of action o...
The science of psychedelics is an intriguing, multi-disciplinary field that has recently been the subject of heightened public interest. This has mainly resulted from publicity associated with a number of high-profile investigations into psychedelic-assisted therapy for a range of difficult-to-treat mental health conditions. With many psychedelic substances ...
Classic psychedelics, lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, mescaline and N,N-dimethyltryptamine, are potent psychoactive substances that have been studied for their physiological and psychological effects. However, our understanding of the potential interactions and outcomes of using these substances are used in combination with other psychoactive drugs i...
BackgroundClassic serotonergic psychedelics have anecdotally been reported to show a characteristic pattern of subacute effects that persist after the acute effects of the substance have subsided. These transient effects, sometimes labeled as the 'psychedelic afterglow', have been suggested to be associated with enhanced effectiveness of psychotherapeutic in...
Mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and psilocybin are classic serotonergic psychedelics. A valid, direct comparison of the effects of these substances is lacking. The main goal of the present study was to investigate potential pharmacological, physiological and phenomenological differences at psychoactive-equivalent doses of mescaline, LSD, and psi...
This article presents an analytical reading of the extraordinarily rich cultural production around drugs by the 20th-century French poet, writer, critic, and visual artist Michaux (1899-1984). Over about a decade, from the mid-1950's, the otherwise habitually sober Michaux wrote five books, included within which were dozens of drawings, and made one half-hou...
The gut-brain axis (GBA) refers to the sophisticated bidirectional communication system connecting the digestive system with the central nervous system. This interaction is enabled by a series of intricate signaling processes, encompassing various neuro-immune and hormonal pathways. The association between the gut microbiome and mental health has garnered im...
Mescaline (the active substance in Peyote and San Pedro cacti) is a classic and long known serotonergic psychedelic substance (hallucinogen) that is widely used for recreational, spiritual, and/or ethno medical purposes. Despite its long history, modern data on the acute effects of mescaline on human is lacking. Mescaline produces prototypical psychedelic ef...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Government & LegalFull AccessPsychedelics Legislation Gains MomentumTerri D'ArrigoTerri D'ArrigoSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:16 Feb 2023https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.03.3.4AbstractBills that would decriminalize the use of psychedelics are popping up faster than magic mush...
2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine (2C-B) is a hallucinogenic phenethylamine derived from mescaline. Observational and preclinical data have suggested it to be capable of producing both subjective and emotional effects on par with other classical psychedelics and entactogens. Whereas it is the most prevalently used novel serotonergic hallucinogen to date, i...
Psychedelics alter consciousness and may have potential for drug development. As psychedelics are likely therapeutically active, it is important to study their effects and mechanisms using preclinical models. Here, we examined the effects of phenylalkylamine and indoleamine psychedelics on locomotor activity and exploratory behaviour using the mouse Behaviou...
Impairment in social functioning is a common source of morbidity across many mental health disorders, yet there is a dearth of effective and easily implemented interventions to support social functioning. MDMA/ecstasy and classic psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, peyote, mescaline) represent two potential treatments for impairments in social functioning, as evi...
Introduction Classic psychedelics have been shown to exert therapeutic potential for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, neuropsychiatric diseases, and neuronal damage. Besides their psychopharmacological activity, psychedelics have been reported to modulate immune functions. There has thus far been a sparse exploration of the direct immune-modul...
Abstract Background and aims Although large-scale population studies have linked the use of classic psychedelics (lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, or mescaline) to reduced odds of physical health problems, mental health problems, and criminal behavior, the roughly 35 million adults in the United States who have used classic psychedelics are nonetheles...
The need to identify effective therapies for the treatment of psychiatric disorders is a particularly important issue in modern societies. In addition, difficulties in finding new drugs have led pharmacologists to review and re-evaluate some past molecules, including psychedelics. For several years there has been growing interest among psychotherapists in ps...
