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....
Psychedelics such as psilocybin have recently gained remarkable interest in both the specialist literature and the lay press because studies suggest that these substances may have great therapeutic potential in various psychiatric disorders, including major depression. However, clinical trials with psychedelic drugs pose particular methodological challenges ...
RationaleA broad reassessment of the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs has led to the initiation of multiple major clinical trials in an effort to advance their status to become FDA-approved medications, as well as local legislative efforts to legalize or decriminalize their use.ObjectivesTo use recently published data to assess potential risks and ben...
Background: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was extensively investigated in humans in the 1950s and 1960s. Particularly, LSD attenuated anxiety in patients with cancer. Clinical research with LSD ended in the 1970s due to regulatory restrictions but its use for personal and recreational purposes continued. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest ...
BackgroundMicrodoses of psychedelics (i.e. a sub-hallucinogenic dose taken every third day) can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress according to anecdotal reports and observational studies. Research with medium to high doses of psilocybin points towards potential underlying mechanisms, including the modulation of emotion and interoceptive proce...
The psychedelic psilocybin is being investigated for the treatment of depression and anxiety. Unclear is whether antidepressant treatments interact with psilocybin. The present study used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design with two experimental test sessions to investigate the response to psilocybin (25 mg) in healthy subjects after pretrea...
RATIONALE: Classic psychedelics are currently being studied as novel treatments for a range of psychiatric disorders. However, research on how psychedelics interact with other psychoactive substances remains scarce. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to explore the subjective effects of psychedelics when used alongside cannabis. METHODS: Participants (n = 3...
As both 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)- and psilocybin-assisted psychedelic psychotherapy near U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and gain acceptance as efficacious clinical approaches, concerns have been raised about the likelihood of sexual violation of a client and other relational boundary transgressions. In the current study, 23 ...
A single centre clinical trial to evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of psilocybin, given under supportive conditions, in a randomised, blinded design in adult participants with treatment resistant major depressive disorder. The primary objective is to evaluate feasibility by measuring recruitment rates, dropout rates and by estimating the varianc...
Abstract Importance Psilocybin therapy shows antidepressant potential; our data link its antidepressant effects to decreased brain network modularity post-treatment. Objective To assess the sub-acute impact of psilocybin on brain activity in patients with depression. Design Pre vs post-treatment resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) was recorded in two trials:...
Altered waking states of consciousness and its underlying functional organization have gained increasing interest in recent years, i.e. in identifying the neural basis of consciousness. To overcome fundamental shortcomings of current methods to objectively assess the level of consciousness, the investigators propose here to apply a novel and empirically vali...
In the wake of a turning tide on the legalization of medicinal and recreational marijuana, and with the recent decriminalization of psilocybin in Denver, a psychedelic renaissance may too be on the horizon. Psychedelics have again become the subject of rigorous study at institutions such as Yale, UCLA, NYU, and Johns Hopkins. Many clinical accounts underscor...
Introduction: Psychological support throughout psilocybin therapy is mandated by regulators as an essential part of ensuring participants' physical and psychological safety. There is an increased need for specially trained therapists who can provide high-quality care to participants in clinical studies. This paper describes the development and practical impl...
BackgroundScientific interest in the therapeutic effects of classical psychedelics has increased in the past two decades. The psychological effects of these substances outside the period of acute intoxication have not been fully characterized. This study aimed to: (1) quantify the effects of psilocybin, ayahuasca, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on psyc...
Importance: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial public health burden, but current treatments have limited effectiveness and adherence. Recent evidence suggests that 1 or 2 administrations of psilocybin with psychological support produces antidepressant effects in patients with cancer and in those with treatment-resistant depression. Objective: T...
The primary objective of this double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study is to assess the efficacy of psilocybin administration (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine), a serotonergic psychoactive agent, on psychosocial distress, with the specific primary outcome variable being anxiety associated with cancer. Secondary outcome measures will look at the ef...
BACKGROUND: While cannabis has a long history of spiritual use, its normalization in Western societies during the last decades has led to more recreational use. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of spiritual cannabis use as compared to recreational use and to the use of psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin. METHODS: The study employed a mixe...
Studies combining psychotherapy with psychedelic drugs (Ds) have demonstrated positive outcomes that are often associated with 'Ds' ability to induce 'mystical-type' experiences (MTEs) i.e., subjective experiences whose characteristics include a sense of connectedness, transcendence, and ineffability. We suggest that both PsiDs and virtual reality can be sit...
BACKGROUND: A recently published randomized controlled trial compared single-dose psilocybin with single-dose niacin in conjunction with psychotherapy in participants with cancer-related psychiatric distress. Results suggested that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy facilitated improvements in psychiatric and existential distress, quality of life, and spiritu...
