Chronic stress exerts profound effects on mental health, contributing to disorders such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. This study examines the potential of psilocybin to alleviate behavioral despair and cognitive deficits in a rodent model of chronic stress, focusing on the interplay between the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis an...
Classic psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin are showing promising effects in treating certain psychiatric disorders. Despite their low toxicity and lack of an addictive potential, in some individuals, psychedelics can be associated with persisting psychological harms. Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) is one of those complications, a rare d...
Empathy plays a crucial role in interpersonal relationships and mental health. It is decreased in a variety of psychiatric disorders including major depression. Psilocybin, a promising candidate for treating depression, has been shown to acutely increase emotional empathy in healthy volunteers. However, no study has investigated this effect and its relevance...
Known for their capacity to alter perception and consciousness, psychedelics are increasingly being explored for therapeutic applications in treating conditions such chronic pain, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.1,2 Despite historical stigmas and legal restrictions, recent changes in legislation and the United States Food and Dr...
This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial examines the association between treatment expectancies and the relative efficacy of psilocybin compared with escitalopram for major depressive disorder.
Methamphetamine (MA) dependence leads to severe physical and psychological issues. Current treatments, including psychosocial therapies and residential rehabilitation, face limitations such as high relapse rates, cost, and accessibility issues. As a result, there is an urgent need for novel approaches to treat MA dependence that are effective, affordable, an...
Serotonergic psychedelics induce their characteristic subjective effects via activation of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). This structurally diverse class of drugs includes ergolines (e.g., LSD), phenethylamines (e.g., mescaline), and tryptamines (e.g., psilocin), all of which have NPS analogues that have emerged on recreational drug markets. Importantl...
Abstract Background Traditionally associated with recreational and spiritual uses, psychedelics have gained attention in psychotherapy for their therapeutic potential. Functioning as potent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) agonists, these compounds have demonstrated the ability to enhance neural plasticity by activating serotoninergic and glutamatergic systems. Des...
Understanding neuromodulatory effects of serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2A R) agonists with diverse pharmacological profiles is relevant to advancing psychedelic-related drug applications. We performed simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) and pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) in anesthetized nonhuman primates (NHP; N = 3) to examine p...
Motivation: Acute effects of psychedelic drugs are under-reported in neuroimaging studies, warranting further investigation of their immediate pharmacology to explore the potential to monitor treatment response with imaging. Goal(s): Our goal was to assess acute impacts of serotonergic (psychedelic and non-psychedelic) agonists on hemodynamics in non-human p...
Psychedelic substances are garnering renewed interest for their potential therapeutic applications, yet the mechanisms by which challenging experiences during psychedelic use contribute to positive outcomes remains poorly understood. Here we present a mixed-methods investigation into the strategies individuals employ to navigate difficult psychedelic experie...
Psilocybin-containing mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, drastically affect mental processing, cognitive functioning, and the mood state. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the Psilocybe cubensis extract on spatial memory and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). ...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric illness with high mortality rates and limited treatment outcomes. Psilocybin treatment (PT) has shown promise for various mental health indications and there is significant interest in exploring its potential for AN; however, studies to date are preliminary. Given the probable surge in psychedelic studies for AN, more i...
Neuroinflammation that is caused by microglia, the main immune cells of the brain, contributes to neurodegenerative diseases. Psychedelics, including psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), possess certain anti-inflammatory properties and, therefore, should be considered as drug candidates for treating neuroinflammatory pathologies. When ingested, p...
Psychedelics, including ketamine, 3,4-Methyl enedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA), and psilocybin, have gained attention for their potential therapeutic role in mental health treatment. While recreational use is prohibited in Canada, medicinal exemptions can be granted. There are several psychedelic clinics in Ontario, Canada, promoting the use of psychedelics fo...
Executive function deficits, common in psychiatric disorders, hinder daily activities and may be linked to diminished neural plasticity, affecting treatment and training responsiveness. In this pioneering study, we evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin-assisted frontal-midline theta neurofeedback (NF), a neuromodulation technique l...
Abstract Psychedelic drugs have profound effects on perception, cognition and mood. How psychedelics affect neural signaling to produce these effects remains poorly understood. We investigated the effect of the classic psychedelic psilocybin on neural activity patterns and spatial encoding in the retrosplenial cortex of head-fixed mice navigating on a treadm...
Psilocybin has shown promise as a novel pharmacological intervention for treatment of depression, where post-acute effects of psilocybin treatment have been associated with increased positive mood and decreased pessimism. Although psilocybin is proving to be effective in clinical trials for treatment of psychiatric disorders, the information processing mecha...
Chronic neuropathic pain is a significant public health issue affecting an estimated 1.5 billion individuals worldwide. The mechanisms underlying chronic pain are multifaceted and not fully understood. Chronic pain amplifies specific neural pathways through peripheral and central sensitization triggered by repeated exposure to noxious stimuli, ultimately res...
