Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 26, 2026
Malin V. Uthaug, Jack G. Allocca, Martha N. Havenith et al.
Abstract Background The Pivotal Mental States (PiMS) construct posits that psychedelics and other stress-inducing practices, such as fasting and hypoxia, can evoke transformative mental states through increased serotonin receptor activation in the brain. These states are associated with enhanced cognitive flexibility, accelerated associative learning, and psychological insights that may...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
April 12, 2026
Ibrahim A. Akkouh, Jordi Requena Osete, N. W. Steen et al.
ABSTRACT Schizophrenia (SCZ) is increasingly linked to neuroimmune dysregulation and impaired synaptic plasticity, yet the cellular mechanisms connecting inflammatory signaling to neural dysfunction remain poorly understood. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cortical spheroids (hCS) and astrocytes from patients with SCZ and matched controls, we investigated the effects of...
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
February 3, 2026
Atanas Tannous, Zsolt Demetrovics, Bhavya Chhabra et al.
Gambling disorder (GD) presents significant psychological, financial, and social consequences. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have emerged as promising adjunctive treatments. However, the evidence base remains heterogeneous. The present systematic review evaluated the current empirical literature on MBIs for GD, focusing on their efficacy, methodological quality, and limitations....
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
September 8, 2025
Malin Vedøy Uthaug, Giancarlo Allocca, Martha N. Havenith et al.
1 citation
AbstractBackgroundResearch has shown that psychedelics may have therapeutic potential in treating mental disorders like depression and anxiety. However, the mechanisms and actions underlying their effects are still not fully understood. Similarly, while the significance of mindset and setting in shaping psychedelic experiences and therapeutic outcomes is well established, information about the...
Science Advances
August 15, 2025
Marcell J László, Judit P Vigh, Anna E Kocsis et al.
9 citations
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychoactive molecule present in the human brain. DMT is under clinical evaluation as a neuroprotective agent in poststroke recovery. Yet, its mechanism of action remains poorly understood. In a rat transient middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model, we previously showed that DMT reduces infarct volume. Here, we demonstrate that this effect is accompanied...
July 3, 2025
Natasha L. Mason, Pablo-Alexandre Mallaroni, Attila Szabo et al.
preprint
Promising results have emerged in the use of psychedelic drugs for treating depression. Despite multiple neural models attempting to elucidate the acute psychedelic experience, and an increased focus on potential mechanisms driving persistent change, the connections between the acute state and the enduring therapeutic outcomes remain elusive. This targeted review aims to bridge this gap by...
International review of neurobiology
2025
Ede Frecska, Attila Kovács, Attila Szabo
2 citations
This paper explores the therapeutic potential of DMT in neuroprotective strategies, particularly concerning ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and neurodegenerative disorders. Besides its potent serotonin receptor actions, DMT is also an endogenous agonist of the sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R). Sigma receptors are a unique family of proteins with high expression in the brain and spinal cord and have...
European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
November 1, 2023
Michael James Winkelman, Attila Szabo, Ede Frecska
26 citations
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a currently incurable but increasingly prevalent fatal and progressive neurodegenerative disease, demanding consideration of therapeutically relevant natural products and their synthetic analogues. This paper reviews evidence for effectiveness of natural and synthetic psychedelics in the treatment of AD causes and symptoms. The plastogenic effects of serotonergic...
Brain Behavior and Immunity
September 7, 2023
Natasha L. Mason, Attila Szabo, Kim P. C. Kuypers et al.
83 citations
Patients characterized by stress-related disorders such as depression display elevated circulating concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a hyperactive HPA axis. Psychedelics are demonstrating promising results in treatment of such disorders, however the mechanisms of their therapeutic effects are still unknown. To date the evidence of acute and persisting effects of psychedelics on...
Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology
February 1, 2023
Daniel Rødbro Burmester, Martin Korsbak Madsen, Attila Szabo et al.
24 citations
Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic that has gained prominent attention recently as a potential therapeutic for neuropsychiatric disorders including Major Depressive Disorder. Pre-clinical and initial studies in humans suggest that serotonin 2A receptor agonists, including serotonergic psychedelics, have anti-inflammatory effects. This may contribute to its therapeutic effects as previous...
medRxiv
November 1, 2022
Natasha L. Mason, Attila Szabo, Kim P. C. Kuypers et al.
6 citations
preprint
Abstract Patients characterized by stress-related disorders such as depression display elevated circulating concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a hyperactive HPA axis. Psychedelics are demonstrating promising results in treatment of such disorders, however the mechanisms of their therapeutic effects are still unknown. To date the evidence of acute and persisting effects of...
Journal of Neurochemistry
February 12, 2022
Johannes T. Reckweg, Malin V. Uthaug, Attila Szabo et al.
108 citations
Abstract 5‐methoxy‐N,N‐dimethyltryptamine (5‐MeO‐DMT) is a naturally occurring tryptamine that primarily acts as an agonist at the 5‐HT1A and 5‐HT2A receptors, whereby affinity for the 5‐HT1A subtype is highest. Subjective effects following 5‐MeO‐DMT administration include distortions in auditory and time perception, amplification of emotional states, and feelings of ego dissolution that...
The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis
2022
Eniko Kasos, Krisztian Kasos, Emese Józsa et al.
This retrospective study was a nonrandomized comparison of exercisers' (runners and participants of a spinning class) states of consciousness with subjects of active-alert hypnosis (AAH) and students in a class (control). Three hundred and seventy-five participants completed the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI). Runners, spinners, and participants of AAH scored higher on the...
Immunology Letters
October 6, 2020
Caitlin Thompson, Attila Szabo
69 citations
With a rise in the incidence of autoimmune diseases (AiD), health care providers continue to seek out more efficacious treatment approaches for the AiD patient population. Classic serotonergic psychedelics have recently been gaining public and professional interest as novel interventions to a number of mental health afflictions. Psychedelics have also been shown to be able to modulate immune...
Experimental Neurology
February 14, 2020
Sándor Nardai, Marcell J László, Attila Szabo et al.
91 citations
Background and purposeN,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous ligand of the Sigma 1 receptor (Sig-1R) with documented in vitro cytoprotective properties against hypoxia. Our aim was to demonstrate the in vivo neuroprotective effect of DMT following ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat brain.MethodsTransient middle cerebral occlusion (MCAO) was induced for 60 min in male Wistar rats...
Psychopharmacology
December 10, 2019
Malin V. Uthaug, Rafael Lancelotta, Attila Szabo et al.
116 citations
Abstract Rationale 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine is a psychotropic substance found in various plant and animal species and is synthetically produced. 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine is used in naturalistic settings for spiritual exploration, recreation, or to address negative affect and mood problems. However, scientific knowledge on the effects of 5- methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine in...
Frontiers in Neuroscience
September 14, 2016
Attila Szabo, Attila Kovács, Jordi Riba et al.
18 citations
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a potent endogenous hallucinogen present in the brain of humans and other mammals. Despite extensive research, its physiological role remains largely unknown. Recently, DMT has been found to activate the sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R), an intracellular chaperone fulfilling an interface role between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. It ensures the...
Neural Regeneration Research
2016
Attila Szabo, Ede Frecska
42 citations
The inflammatory theory of many neuropsychiatric illnesses has become an emerging trend in modern medicine. Various immune mechanisms – mainly via the activity of microglia – may contribute to the etiology and symptomatology of diseases, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or Alzheimer's disease (Deleidi et al., 2015; Khandaker et al., 2015). Unwanted and excess inflammation is...
Frontiers in Immunology
July 14, 2015
Attila Szabo
153 citations
Classical psychedelics are psychoactive substances, which, besides their psychopharmacological activity, have also been shown to exert significant modulatory effects on immune responses by altering signaling pathways involved in inflammation, cellular proliferation, and cell survival via activating NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinases. Recently, several neurotransmitter receptors...
PLoS One
2014
Attila Szabo, Attila Kovács, Ede Frecska et al.
191 citations
The orphan receptor sigma-1 (sigmar-1) is a transmembrane chaperone protein expressed in both the central nervous system and in immune cells. It has been shown to regulate neuronal differentiation and cell survival, and mediates anti-inflammatory responses and immunosuppression in murine in vivo models. Since the details of these findings have not been elucidated so far, we studied the effects...
J Neural Transm (Vienna)
April 26, 2013
Ede Frecska, Attila Szabo, Michael J. Winkelman et al.
107 citations
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is classified as a naturally occurring serotonergic hallucinogen of plant origin. It has also been found in animal tissues and regarded as an endogenous trace amine transmitter. The vast majority of research on DMT has targeted its psychotropic/psychedelic properties with less focus on its effects beyond the nervous system. The recent discovery that DMT is an...