Threatening events and stressful experiences can lead to maladaptive memories and related behaviors. Existing treatments often fail to address these issues linked to anxiety/stress-related disorders effectively. This review identifies dose ranges associated with specific actions across various psychedelics. We examined psilocybin/psilocin, lysergic acid diet...
Abstract Background and Aims This naturalistic mixed methods field study, aimed to assess the potential of a psilocybin induced experience, to help Emergency Medical Service Workers (EMSW) to address psychological and stress related symptoms stemming from a challenging working environment, known to contribute to occupational burnout (OB). Methods This explor...
One of the main causes of misery and incapacity is chronic pain, which is frequently linked to psychological issues. Psychedelic substances are drugs that can exert a psychological effect on patients. Psychedelic drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin, exert their action mainly via activation of the serotonin-2A (5-HT2A).1 In a trial to u...
Background: In controlled, clinical studies of the impact of psilocybin on patients with life-threatening cancers, Johns Hopkins and NYU researchers found that the “intensity of the mystical experience” induced by psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy was directly correlated with the alleviation of cancer-related mental distress. Objective: The purpose of this ...
OBJECTIVE: Patterns of psilocybin use in nonclinical settings are not well described in the literature. Psilocybin use can involve infrequent, large (i.e., macro) doses that produce hallucinogenic effects. In addition, some people report psilocybin use at particularly small (i.e., micro), sub-perceptual doses. Given the heterogeneity in reported use metrics,...
With its catchy title, historian Benjamin Breen's Tripping on Utopia brings together controversial findings about the human mind, social engineering, and professional responsibility. He delineates the time frame and focus of an inquiry into psychoactive drug research by stating that “Timothy Leary and the Baby Boomers did not usher in the first psychedelic e...
Abstract Background Psychedelic use and its impact on well-being is garnering a lot of research attention, however, little has been done to understand the potential associations between multiple characteristics of the psychedelic experience and psychological flexibility (PF), which encompasses a conscious awareness of thoughts and behavior, allowing individu...
This work utilized fMRI to assess the influence of the psychedelics, Psilocybin, a serotonergic agonist, and Salvinorin-A, a kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) agonist, on functional connectivity (FC) in non-human primates. We used a seed-based FC analysis, probing regions of interest associated with psychedelic hallucinogens. Our findings highlight the overlapping...
Background: Research investigating high-dose, high-support psilocybin-assisted therapy reports significant psychological benefits, increased consciousness, and an enhanced socio-cognitive niche, resulting in empathy, connection, creativity, and overall well-being. These qualities lend themselves well to the bonding, emotional regulation, and attachment requi...
Background: How the human psyche interacts with the theme of death is fundamental to individual and societal life, profoundly influencing cognition, affect, and behavior. Death-related psychological phenomena, such as death anxiety and acceptance, have been shown in clinical studies to be influenced by psychedelic (LSD and psilocybin) interventions. However,...
Background: How the human psyche interacts with the theme of death is fundamental to individual and societal life, profoundly influencing cognition, affect, and behavior. Death-related psychological phenomena, such as death anxiety and acceptance, have been shown in clinical studies to be influenced by psychedelic (LSD and psilocybin) interventions. However,...
Abstract Background and aims Online communities provide insights into psychedelic consumption, assisting in identification of trends, informing both harm reduction provisions and clinical research. This study extracts forum data on psychedelic substances, dosages, and administration routes, categorising and analysing self-reported consumption to inform care ...
. It remains unclear how human brain network changes relate to subjective and lasting effects of psychedelics. Here we tracked individual-specific brain changes with longitudinal precision functional mapping (roughly 18 magnetic resonance imaging visits per participant). Healthy adults were tracked before, during and for 3 weeks after high-dose psilocybin (2...
Abstract Background Previous international clinical trials have indicated that mystical experiences resulting from the consumption of classic psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, may represent a subjective psychological mechanism of action associated with therapeutic effects for various mental disorders. The revised 30-item Mystical Experience Questionnair...
Abstract Psychoactive substances used for recreational purposes have mind-altering effects, but systematic evaluation of these effects is largely limited to self-reports. Automated analysis of expressed language (speech and written text) using Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools can provide objective readouts of mental states. In this pre-registered syst...
The resurgence of interest in psychedelics as treatments for psychiatric disorders necessitates a better understanding of potential sex differences in response to these substances. Sex as a biological variable (SABV) has been historically neglected in medical research, posing limits to our understanding of treatment efficacy. Human studies have provided insi...
Many medicines and treatments for varying levels of ailments were found through natural bioactives before complex separation techniques were available.Ironically, as medicine advances, drastically more people seem to be reverting to a desire for these natural bioactives.Due to this, it is important to discover and research the pharmacology of historically us...
As psychedelic use expands, the number of adverse effects will increase proportionally. New frameworks for monitoring safety outcomes on a population level are required to limit potential harms. Darke et al. characterized 33 lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 10 psilocybin-related deaths in Australia between 2000 and 2023 using the country's sophisticated ...
Several fungi belonging to the genus Psilocybe, also called “magic mushrooms”, contain the hallucinogenic drugs psilocybin and psilocin. They are chemically related to serotonin (5-HT). In addition to being abused as drugs, they are now also being discussed or used as a treatment option for depression. Here, we hypothesized that psilocybin and psilocin may a...