Abstract Background Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with significant personal suffering and functional impairment. At least a third of OCD patients do not respond to conventional treatments. There is a substantial anecdotal literature suggesting that psychedelic agents, specifically psilocybin and psilocybin-containing psychedelic mushroom ...
Psilocybin has profound therapeutic potential for various mental health disorders, but its mechanisms of action are unknown. Functional MRI studies have reported the effects of psilocybin on brain activity and connectivity; however, these measurements rely on neurovascular coupling to infer neural activity changes and assume that blood flow responses to neur...
Depression, a common mental disorder, affects people at different stages of life.Classic antidepressant treatment is generally effective, however, it is prolonged.Nonetheless, numerous patients who undergo various classic antidepressant therapies still suffer from depression.Therefore, the search for novel medications is essential.In this review, we explore ...
The serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin induces neural plasticity and profoundly alters consciousness. The benzodiazepine midazolam blunts neural plasticity and induces conscious sedation and amnesia at low doses. In our recent open label pilot study, we administered oral psilocybin (25 mg) along with intravenous midazolam at doses allowing a full psychedeli...
Background Classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, evoke certain kinds of altered states of consciousness. Specific features of the experience, such as its allegedly ineffable nature, have been discussed as posing challenges to the informed consent process. A growing call for tailored informed consent documents (ICDs) in the psychedelic bioethics l...
BACKGROUND: Recent regulatory changes in Australia have approved 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. However, limited data exists on Australian mental healthcare providers' attitudes, knowledge and readiness to implement with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. METHO...
Background: Although classic psychedelic trials show therapeutic potential, the limited diversity of participants raises concerns about generalizability and safety. Aims: This study assesses the representation of race, ethnicity, and sex in interventional clinical trials of psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to evaluate disparities in participan...
Recent advancements in the study of psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin have highlighted their unique psychedelic properties and potential therapeutic applications, particularly in the rapid and sustained treatment of depression. However, the potent acute psychedelic effects of psilocybin necessitate a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms ...
The psychedelic psilocybin may have lasting therapeutic effects for patients with chronic pain syndromes. Some clinical and preclinical data suggest these putative benefits derive from direct analgesic effects. However, this possibility has not been comprehensively tested in preclinical models. Here, we show that psilocybin is not analgesic over a range of d...
Psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms,” is naturally found in psychedelic compound from different types of mushrooms. The utility of psilocybin for spiritual and therapeutic purposes has already go through several centuries. Scientific research on these compounds gained traction in the mid-20th century, the increasing interest in the possible therapeuti...
BACKGROUND: Military veterans are at risk of various mental health conditions, with profound implications for post-deployment quality of life. Current treatment options encounter high dropout rates and non-responsiveness, and overlook the importance of community building in veterans' holistic recovery. Preliminary research suggests psychedelics offer therape...
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) is a promising treatment for various psychiatric disorders. However, the exact biological and psychological mechanisms of action of PAP remain to be determined. Examining predictors of PAP outcomes may help identify necessary processes for positive treatment outcomes. Mystical experiences are considered a k...
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates (1) the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) using psilocybin and ketamine for psychosocial symptoms in adults with cancer, (2) contextualizes findings with non-randomized and exploratory studies of other psychedelics, and (3) examines the role of therapeutic frameworks in shaping outcomes. We...
Depression and anxiety are disabling and high incidence mental disorders characterized by phenotypic heterogeneity. Currently available treatments show severe limitations. Thus, there is an urgent need for effective treatments in this population. In the search for novel rapid-acting antidepressants, the psychedelic psilocybin has emerged as a promising thera...
Psilocybin (PSIL) is a psychedelic drug and a promising experimental therapeutic for many psychiatric conditions. Precision functional mapping (PFM) combines densely repeated resting state fMRI sampling and individual-specific network mapping to improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and effect size in brain imaging research. We present a randomized cross-over ...
Ketamine has transformed depression treatment by providing therapeutic relief within a single day, unlike monoaminergic antidepressants that require weeks to take effect. Here, we conducted whole-brain screening in mice to compare drug-evoked c-fos expression-acting as a marker of brain activity leading to protein synthesis-dependent forms of plasticity-foll...
BackgroundRecent evidence suggests that psychedelics can induce rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects. The generally acknowledged explanation for these traits is the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, although the exact underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear.AimsThis study investigates the effects of psilocin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and...
BACKGROUND: Psychedelic treatment is a rapidly emerging therapeutic approach for a host of chronic, difficult to treat psychiatric disorders, including anorexia nervosa (AN). Trauma and its sequelae, such as dissociation, often contribute to comorbidity and treatment refractoriness. AIMS: In this report, we describe the therapeutic emergence of previously di...
BACKGROUND: The psychedelic psilocybin has been posited as efficacious for the treatment of depression. However, the potential link between the intensity of acute psychedelic effects and long-term therapeutic outcomes remains undiscovered. Moreover, the impact of classical antidepressant drugs that modulate serotonergic activity on psilocybin's effects is a ...
Introduction The aesthetic qualities of psychedelic experiences have long been documented, but their specific contribution to therapeutic outcomes remains understudied. Aesthetic experiences may facilitate emotional breakthroughs and cognitive shifts, potentially playing a crucial role in the lasting psychological benefits observed following psychedelic use....
