Rationale Since the earliest LSD research, psychedelics have been claimed to enhance autobiographical memory. Revisiting and processing autobiographical memories has further been suggested to be a major component of the therapeutic action of psychedelics. However, modern psychedelic research has largely neglected autobiographical elements of psychedelic expe...
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is typically characterized by altered linear functional connectivity (FC) across large-scale brain networks. Yet, it is unclear whether similar alterations are observed when nonlinear FC is examined. This study investigated how antidepressant treatment (i.e., psilocybin and escitalopram) modulates both linear FC and nonlinear ...
New methods that capture the public's perception of controversial topics may be valuable. This study investigates public sentiments towards psychedelics and other substances through analyzes of Reddit discussions, using Google’s cloud-based Natural Language Processing (NLP) infrastructure. Our findings indicate that illicit substances such as heroin and meth...
New methods that capture the public's perception of controversial topics may be valuable. This study investigates public sentiments towards psychedelics and other substances through analyzes of Reddit discussions, using Google’s cloud-based Natural Language Processing (NLP) infrastructure. Our findings indicate that illicit substances such as heroin and meth...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is an emerging treatment approach that often combines pharmacotherapeutic dosing sessions with more traditional psychotherapy. Despite limited formal regulatory approval, treatment seekers can currently access PAT through a variety of avenues, including ketamine treatment centers and “supported adult use” psilocybin centers...
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain fungi, has long been used by Indigenous cultures worldwide for healing and spiritual purposes. While emerging evidence points to psychedelic agents being novel avenues for the treatment of substance use disorders, the predominantly Western medical models of psychedelic-assisted therapy b...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is an emerging treatment approach that often combines pharmacotherapeutic dosing sessions with more traditional psychotherapy. Despite limited formal regulatory approval, treatment seekers can currently access PAT through a variety of avenues, including ketamine treatment centers and “supported adult use” psilocybin centers...
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain fungi, has long been used by Indigenous cultures worldwide for healing and spiritual purposes. While emerging evidence points to psychedelic agents being novel avenues for the treatment of substance use disorders, the predominantly Western medical models of psychedelic-assisted therapy b...
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain fungi, has long been used by Indigenous cultures worldwide for healing and spiritual purposes. While emerging evidence points to psychedelic agents being novel avenues for the treatment of substance use disorders, the predominantly Western medical models of psychedelic-assisted therapy b...
Background: Preliminary evidence suggests psilocybin may have therapeutic value for various mental health conditions; despite this, it is currently illegal in the UK. Less is known about how people form their attitudes towards psilocybin policies. Objectives: To explore whether beliefs about the benefits and safety of psilocybin influence support for psilocy...
Background: Preliminary evidence suggests psilocybin may have therapeutic value for various mental health conditions; despite this, it is currently illegal in the UK. Less is known about how people form their attitudes towards psilocybin policies. Objectives: To explore whether beliefs about the benefits and safety of psilocybin influence support for psilocy...
Background: Preliminary evidence suggests psilocybin may have therapeutic value for various mental health conditions; despite this, it is currently illegal in the UK. Less is known about how people form their attitudes towards psilocybin policies. Objectives: To explore whether beliefs about the benefits and safety of psilocybin influence support for psilocy...
Background and HypothesisVisual hallucinations (VH) are a core symptom of both Lewy body diseases (LBDs; e.g., Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies) and serotonergic psychedelics (SPs; e.g., psilocybin and mescaline). While these classes of VH differ in etiology, shared pathways are suggested by overlapping phenomenology and neural mechanisms. T...
Psilocybin alters perception and brain dynamics. Contextual computations are ubiquitous in the brain. Here, we investigate the effects of psilocybin using psychophysics, ultra-high field functional MRI, and computational modeling. We find that 1) psilocybin alters contextual perception in the Ebbinghaus illusion, 2) psilocybin alters contextual modulation in...
Psilocybin is a hallucinogen with complex neurobiological and behavioral effects. This is the first study to use MRI to follow functional changes in brain activity in response to different doses of psilocybin in fully awake, drug naive rats. Female and male rats were given IP injections of vehicle or psilocybin in doses of 0.03 mg/kg, 0.3 mg/kg, and 3.0 mg/k...
Repetitive mild head injuries incurred while playing organized sports, during car accidents and falls, or in active military service are a major health problem. These head injuries induce cognitive, motor, and behavioral deficits that can last for months and even years with an increased risk of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and chronic traumatic encephalopa...
Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound in “magic” mushrooms, has promise as a novel treatment for psychiatric disorders, many of which are more prevalent in females and have onsets during adolescence. However, there is a lack of research about how factors such as sex and age affect responses to psilocybin, as well as potential safety concerns with developmental ...
Despite enormous interest in psychedelics for psychiatric interventions, potential underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we confirm that a single dose of psilocybin increases synaptic transmission in mouse medial prefrontal cortex. Using scRNA-sequencing, we identify cell-type specific mechanisms of sustained neuroplastic effects. We show th...
ABSTRACT Psychedelics have reemerged as potential treatments for mental health disorders, yet their impact on stress-related brain regions remains poorly understood. Here, we provide the first real-time, in vivo evidence of psilocybin-induced neuronal activation, specifically in hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons. Notably, psilocybin elicit...
ABSTRACT There is growing interest to investigate classic psychedelics and ketamine as therapeutics for mental illnesses. Previous studies have demonstrated that one dose of psilocybin or ketamine leads to persisting neural and behavioral changes. The durability of these effects suggests that there are likely alterations in gene expression at the transcripti...
