Current drug policy classifies psilocybin, a compound found in psychoactive mushrooms, as having high abuse potential while overlooking its therapeutic properties. We evaluated the risk of psilocybin mushrooms to Brazilian public health compared to other toxic agents and assessed the need for regulatory discussions. This retrospective cross-sectional study f...
Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic with therapeutic potential for treating mental illnesses 1-4. At the cellular level, psychedelics induce structural neural plasticity 5,6, exemplified by the drug-evoked growth and remodeling of dendritic spines in cortical pyramidal cells 7-9. A key question is how these cellular modifications map onto cell type-spec...
Background: Due to the unsatisfactory therapeutic effects of current antidepressants, research has been launched into alternative treatment approaches, such as the administration of psychedelics. Psilocybin, a classic hallucinogen, has been shown to exert considerable positive influence on depression symptoms through its serotonergic and glutamatergic effect...
This meta-analysis investigates the effect of classic psychedelic drugs on empathy and focuses on cognitive and emotional empathy measured using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET). Empathy entails the ability to understand and share the feelings of another and is a significant component of social interaction. Several studies have examined the effects of psy...
In recent decades, psilocybin has gained attention as a potential drug for several mental disorders. Clinical and preclinical studies have provided evidence that psilocybin can be used as a fast-acting antidepressant. However, the exact mechanisms of action of psilocybin have not been clearly defined. Data show that psilocybin as an agonist of 5-HT2A recepto...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious eating disorder (ED) with high rates of mortality and chronicity. Given the ambivalence towards engaging in treatment and recovery that is characteristic of this condition, the identification of novel treatment avenues that can target motivation and demonstrate superior efficacy to existing treatment options is desperately ...
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin is a psychedelic 5HT2A receptor agonist found in "magic mushrooms". Recent studies have indicated that 5HT2A agonists, such as dimethyltryptamine, given before middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo), improve staircase behavior, increased BDNF expression, and reduce brain infarction in stroke rats. The objective of this study is to det...
There is some evidence that the subjective effects of ketamine and other psychedelics like psilocybin are crucial for their therapeutic outcomes, such as treatment of depression or substance use disorder (SUD). We performed a meta-analysis and systematic review on the correlation of subjective symptoms and dissociation versus ketamine-induced therapeutic out...
Antidepressants including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, ketamine, and psilocybin are all effective for treating depression despite their distinct primary mechanisms. We hypothesized that these drugs may share a common mechanism that underlies their therapeutic actions. We treated mice with one of the following: escitalopram, R- / S -/ RS- ketamine...
Background SAPAP3-knockout (KO) mice develop excessive self-grooming behavior at 4-6 months of age, serving as a model for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Given that anxiety often precedes OCD diagnosis in humans, this study investigated whether juvenile SAPAP3-KO mice exhibit anxiety-like behaviors before developing the self-grooming phenotype, and whe...
Psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin, is a psychedelic and agonist at the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) that has shown positive therapeutic effects for brain disorders such as depression. To elucidate the brain effects of psilocybin, we directly compared the acute effects of 5-HT2AR agonist (psilocybin) and antagonist (ketanserin) on cerebral bloo...
BackgroundPsychedelic-assisted therapy refers to a group of therapeutic practices involving psychedelics taken under therapeutic supervision from physicians, psychologists, and others. It has been hypothesised that psychedelic-assisted therapy may reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and existential distress in patients facing life-threatening diseases (e...
Existential distress is commonly experienced by patients diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. This condition has been shown to adversely impact quality of life and is correlated with increased suicidal ideation and requests for hastened death. While palliative care teams are experienced in treating depression and anxiety, existential distress is a dist...
The goal of this multi-centre phase I/II open-label, single-arm study is to determine the safety, feasibility, therapeutic dose, and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin microdosing to treat psychological distress among patients with advanced illness. Forty patients will receive psilocybin drug product (1-3mg per day, Mon-Fri) for 4 weeks to be administered vi...
Background: Recent evidence suggests that psychedelics are able to induce rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects. The generally acknowledged explanation for these traits is the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, although exact underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Aims: This study investigates selected neuroplastic effects of psilocin, lysergic ...
Psychedelics are currently undergoing a scientific renaissance, with modern studies investigating therapeutic efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy in a range of psychiatric conditions. In particular, psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has been suggested to have positive effects on patients suffering from depression and psychiatric distress associated with...
Background: There has been a resurgence of research into the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for neuropsychiatric disorders. Classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, exert complex effects on higher cognitive functions such as perception and awareness, but their impact on motor function remains unexplored. Moreover, there is a theoretical rati...
Psilocybin has reemerged as a promising treatment for difficult-to-treat depression (DTD). Although there is limited evidence regarding interactions between psilocybin and other psychotropic drugs, clinical trials require that patients discontinue their antidepressants before study entry to isolate the benefits of psilocybin and to minimize the risk of adver...
Serotonergic psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin, LSD) have potential to treat psychiatric disorders, with therapeutic effects lasting days to weeks after a single dose. Prominent theories suggest that psychedelics have a lasting effect on hierarchical brain circuits, reducing top-down influence on information processing to facilitate an unbiased, bottom-up reass...
Background: Following clinical trials on psilocybin for the treatment of pain, anxiety, and depression in patients with cancer, scientific interest emerged in its use for substance use disorders. Methods: In this review of the literature, we summarize available trials looking at the use of psilocybin in addiction Results: One double-blind, randomized clinica...
