Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic compound that is showing promise in the ability to treat neurological conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. There have been several investigations into the neural correlates of psilocybin administration using non-invasive methods, however, there has yet to be an invasive study of the mechanism of act...
Background: The Relaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS) model proposes that serotonergic psychedelics decrease the precision weighting of neurobiologically-encoded beliefs, and offers a unified account of the acute and therapeutic action of psychedelics. Although REBUS has received some neuroscientific support, little research has examined its psychologic...
BackgroundClassic psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, and other serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonists evoke acute alterations in perception and cognition. Altered thalamocortical connectivity has been hypothesized to underlie these effects, which is supported by some functional MRI (fMRI) studies. These studies have treated the thalamus as a unitary...
Objectives: To perform a Bayesian reanalysis of a recent trial of psilocybin (COMP360) versus escitalopram for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in order to provide a more informative interpretation of the indeterminate outcome of a previous frequentist analysis. Design: Reanalysis of a two-arm double-blind placebo controlled trial. Participants: Fifty-nine pa...
Psychedelic therapy (PT) is an emerging paradigm with great transdiagnostic potential for treating a range of psychiatric disorders, including depression, addiction, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others. ‘Classic’ serotonergic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and 5-metho...
This document details an authors' response to a critique of their work entitled: Skepticism About Recent Evidence that Psilocybin Opens Depressed Minds.
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Annual MeetingFull AccessDemystifying Psychedelic Treatments in Psychiatry: Is Ego Dissolution the Solution?Michael Avissar, M.D., Ph.D., Adrian Jacques Ambrose, M.D., M.P.H.Michael AvissarSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Ph.D., Adrian Jacques AmbroseSearch for more papers by this author, M....
Several measures have been designed to assess subjective experiences induced by psychedelic substances or other mind-altering drugs as well as non-pharmacological methods. Recently, two self-report questionnaires have been introduced to measure acute adverse effects following psilocybin ingestion and the phenomenon of ego-dissolution associated with the use ...
ABSTRACT Background Serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT 2AR ) agonist psychedelics including psilocybin and LSD (“classic” psychedelics) evoke acute alterations in perception and cognition. Altered thalamocortical connectivity has been proposed to underlie these effects, which is supported by some functional MRI (fMRI) studies. Likely due to sample size limitations,...
Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) combines the use of psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, with psychotherapy. PAP has shown some promise as a novel treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and empirical research suggests that its efficacy turns on the altered states induced by psychedelic compounds. In this paper we draw on the literature...
Research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances is rapidly expanding. A major limitation within this field is the unpredictability of individual responses to psychedelic substances. A better understanding of factors that can predict psychedelic experience is essential to both clinical progress and wider harm reduction frameworks. Ketamine, MD...
Background Psilocin, the neuroactive metabolite of psilocybin, is a serotonergic psychedelic that induces an acute altered state of consciousness, evokes lasting changes in mood and personality in healthy individuals, and has potential as an antidepressant treatment. Examining the acute effects of psilocin on resting-state dynamic functional connectivity imp...
Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin are under investigation for the treatment of several psychiatric conditions. They also have the remarkable property of producing persisting positive psychological changes in healthy volunteers for at least several months. In this study, 35 medium-high doses of psilocybin were administered to 28 healthy volunteers (12 fema...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ViewpointsFull AccessPsychedelic Drugs for Mental Disorders and Human Potential: Placebo or PanaceaDavid Hellerstein, M.D., Kevin Sabet, Ph.D., Jeffrey A. Lieberman, M.D.David HellersteinSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Kevin SabetSearch for more papers by this author, Ph.D., Jeffrey A. Lieb...
Background: Due to increasing evidence of efficacy in treating mental health disorders, psilocybin may become a legal medicinal drug. This study tested the validity of Carhart-Harris & Nutt (2017) model of extra-pharmacological (EP) factors and examined whether such factors should be taken into account in any psychological suitability test for medicinally pr...
Background and Aims: The benefits of classic serotonergic psychedelics (e.g. psilocybin, LSD, DMT, ayahuasca) are becoming more widely known with the resurgence in research in the past decade. Furthermore, the benefits of mindfulness are well documented. However, no systematic reviews have examined linkage of mindfulness and psychedelics use. The aim of this...
RationaleClassical psychedelics, including psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), are under investigation as potential therapeutic agents in psychiatry. Whereas most studies utilize relatively high doses, there are also reports of beneficial effects of "microdosing," or repeated use of very low doses of these drugs. The behavioral and neural effect...
Treatments for addressing psychiatric mental health issues in vulnerable patients with cancer are established. Yet, many patients persist with unrelenting psychological difficulties despite intervention. There is growing interest in the role of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for managing treatment-resistant mental health challenges in patients with cancer...
In this précis I summarise the main ideas of my book Philosophy of Psychedelics. The book discusses philosophical issues arising from the therapeutic use of classic psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and LSD. The book is organised around what I call the Comforting Delusion Objection to psychedelic therapy: the concern that this novel and promising treatmen...
