BackgroundPersons with schizophrenia are excluded from psychedelic-assisted therapy due to concerns about the risk of triggering or worsening psychosis. However, there is limited meta-analytic data on the risk of psychedelic-induced psychosis in individuals with pre-existing psychotic disorders.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review, meta-analysis, and over...
BackgroundCannabis Use Disorder (CUD) is an increasingly prevalent disorder affecting millions of Americans each year. Psychedelic compounds have recently been investigated for their therapeutic potential in treating substance use disorders, yet no prior work has examined the relationship between naturalistic use of specific psychedelic compounds and rates o...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy is becoming increasingly acknowledged as an effective therapeutic intervention for various psychiatric illnesses. However, the evaluation of masking success is rarely reported in trials. The objective of the present systematic review was to evaluate placebo-control and masking in studies exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy. Ni...
Psychedelics have recently (re)emerged as therapeutics of high potential for multiple mental health conditions, including substance use disorders (SUDs). Despite early mid-20th century anecdotal reports and pilot studies demonstrating the possibility of these substances in efficaciously treating conditions such as alcohol and opioid use disorders, legal rest...
Abstract Interest in psychedelic research in the West is surging, however, clinical trials have almost exclusively studied synthetic compounds such as MDMA, ketamine, DMT, LSD, ibogaine, and psilocybin. To date, few clinical trials have utilized whole mushroom/plant material like Psilocybe mushrooms, Iboga, or Ayahuasca. Individuals participating in the Root...
Neuroinflammation that is caused by microglia, the main immune cells of the brain, contributes to neurodegenerative diseases. Psychedelics, including psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), possess certain anti-inflammatory properties and, therefore, should be considered as drug candidates for treating neuroinflammatory pathologies. When ingested, p...
As clinical trials for psychedelics move into phase III in the USA, Europe must address its lag in integrating professional education around psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and supporting psychedelic drug research. This paper evaluates the necessary frameworks for implementing PAT in Germany, emphasizing the nation's potential leadership role within the E...
Background: Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD are anecdotally associated with the phenomenon of "psychedelic afterglow," a set of predominantly pleasant, temporary psychological effects reported after the acute effects have subsided. Since post-acute effects are crucial for the therapeutic use of psychedelics, an instrument to systematically as...
Background: Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD are anecdotally associated with the phenomenon of "psychedelic afterglow," a set of predominantly pleasant, temporary psychological effects reported after the acute effects have subsided. Since post-acute effects are crucial for the therapeutic use of psychedelics, an instrument to systematically as...
Objective: The aesthetic qualities of psychedelic experiences have long been documented, but their specific contribution to therapeutic outcomes remains unexplored. This study investigates the role of psychedelic-induced aesthetic experiences in predicting positive psychological outcomes. Methods: Using a cross-sectional naturalistic survey, participants who...
This study is an open-label, single-arm, proof-of-concept study, wherein treatment resistant bipolar depression (TRBD) participants will receive one 25 mg dose of oral psilocybin accompanied by preparatory, monitoring, and integration psychotherapy sessions (psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, or PAP). Using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), the f...
Objective: The aesthetic qualities of psychedelic experiences have long been documented, but their specific contribution to therapeutic outcomes remains unexplored. This study investigates the role of psychedelic-induced aesthetic experiences in predicting positive psychological outcomes. Methods: Using a cross-sectional naturalistic survey, participants who...
Objective: The aesthetic qualities of psychedelic experiences have long been documented, but their specific contribution to therapeutic outcomes remains unexplored. This study investigates the role of psychedelic-induced aesthetic experiences in predicting positive psychological outcomes. Methods: Using a cross-sectional naturalistic survey, participants who...
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...
Psychedelics have recently (re)emerged as therapeutics of high potential for multiple mental health conditions, including substance use disorders (SUDs). Despite early mid-20th century anecdotal reports and pilot studies demonstrating the possibility of these substances in efficaciously treating conditions such as alcohol and opioid use disorders, legal rest...
This study surveyed researchers to assess the contents and funding success of federal grant applications for research into therapeutic applications of psychedelics in the United States. The author emailed an anonymous survey to the corresponding authors of the 50 most-cited articles on psychedelics published after 2000 and disseminated it via Twitter. Ten re...
The distinct subjective effects that define psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin or DOI as drug class are causally linked to activation of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2A R). However, some aspects of 5-HT2A R pharmacology remain elusive, such as what molecular drivers differentiate psychedelic from non-psychedelic 5-HT2A R agonists. We developed an ex vivo...
Different study designs of psychedelic trials may impact the blinding and expectance, leading to biased treatment effects. This study aimed to examine the association between antidepressant efficacy and study designs in psychedelic trials. Six databases were systematically searched. Eligible trials were required to investigate the efficacy of psychedelics (p...
Over the past decade there has been a surge in interest in placebo-controlled trials using non-classical 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and classical psychedelics such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) to treat neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the success and reliability of these trials depend on t...
Psychedelics have recently re-emerged as potential treatments for various psychiatric conditions that impose major public health costs and for which current treatment options have limited efficacy. At the same time, personalized medicine is increasingly being implemented in psychiatry to provide individualized drug dosing recommendations based on genetics. T...
