Biological Psychiatry
February 1, 2026
Jin Zhang, Cong Lin, Xinyou Lv et al.
1 citation
Classic psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD, and DMT modulate neuroplasticity and metaplasticity in the adult brain beyond their transient psychotropic effects. They activate serotonin 5-HT2A receptors and signaling cascades involving CaMKII, ERK, mTOR, and BDNF pathways, inducing synaptogenesis, dendritic spine remodeling, and immediate early gene transcription. The brain's extracellular matrix, particularly perineuronal nets (PNNs), regulates synaptic stability and is a key target of psychedelic action. Psychedelics transiently disrupt ECM integrity by loosening PNNs, reopening critical periods of plasticity and restoring circuit flexibility. These ECM-mediated metaplastic effects appear essential for sustained therapeutic outcomes in psychedelic-assisted therapy for depression, PTSD, addiction, and potentially neurodegenerative diseases.
IntechOpen eBooks
May 28, 2026
Li Wang (15202), Sedine Marie Desiree Nina Agbo, Jin Zhang et al.
Recreational use of nitrous oxide (NO) has increased among young people, and while medical use at controlled doses is generally safe, abuse can cause toxicity. The most common consequence is subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord, often presenting as myeloneuropathy (spinal cord demyelination and peripheral nerve injury). Other reported effects include cognitive, psychiatric, dermatological, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and pulmonary disorders. This chapter reviews major neurological impairments from NO abuse—myelopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and cognitive/psychiatric conditions—to raise awareness and help clinicians recognize, investigate, and manage NO-related neurotoxicity.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
January 1, 2026
Cancan Zhang, Jin Zhang, Lei Sun
An 8-week mindfulness-based intervention added to standard medication for generalized anxiety disorder led to greater reductions in anxiety severity and improvements in mindfulness, sleep quality, cognitive bias, and psychosocial functioning compared to medication plus psychoeducation. In a randomized trial of 106 adults on stable pharmacotherapy, the mindfulness group showed significantly lower clinician-rated anxiety scores (18.6 vs. 22.5) and better outcomes on all self-reported measures. The findings suggest that integrating structured mindfulness training into routine care can enhance functional recovery alongside symptom management for medicated GAD patients.
Dreaming (New York, N.Y.)
April 13, 2023
Dengle Yang, Wenyuan Wu, Yiyun Xia et al.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, dream themes among Chinese older adults were linked to death anxiety. In interviews and questionnaires with 264 participants from four Chinese cities, 48.48% recalled dreams. The most common emotion in dreams was fear. Two dream themes—flooding and seeing oneself die—were more frequent among those with high death anxiety. The findings support the dream continuity hypothesis and threat simulation theory, suggesting dreams may help cope with death anxiety.