EClinicalMedicine
February 1, 2023
Robin von Rotz, Eva M Schindowski, Johannes Jungwirth et al.
345 citations
A single, moderate dose of psilocybin (0.215 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced depressive symptoms compared to placebo in adults with major depressive disorder. Over two weeks, depression severity scores dropped by 13.0 points on the MADRS and 13.2 points on the BDI in the psilocybin group, with improvements significantly larger than in the placebo group. 54% of participants receiving psilocybin met remission criteria. No serious adverse events occurred. The findings suggest psilocybin offers rapid antidepressant effects, though larger, longer-term trials are needed.
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
December 11, 2015
Matthias E. Liechti, Boris B. Quednow, Evangelia Liakoni et al.
57 citations
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) produced mixed stimulant-sedative effects in healthy men, with higher doses causing more sedation and dizziness but no changes in heart rate or blood pressure. Plasma exposure to GHB rose disproportionately with dose—a 40% greater increase than expected from dose alone—indicating nonlinear pharmacokinetics. The psychotropic effects were closely tied to plasma concentrations, and no acute tolerance developed over time.
iScience
May 19, 2023
Andres Ort, John W Smallridge, Simone Sarasso et al.
47 citations
Classical psychedelic drugs like psilocybin induce profound changes in consciousness, including heightened sensory-emotional awareness and arousal, accompanied by increased spontaneous EEG signal diversity. By combining Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) with EEG, this work shows that psilocybin creates a state of increased chaotic brain activity, which is not due to altered complexity in causal interactions between brain regions. The study also maps regional effects of psilocybin on TMS-evoked activity, identifying changes in frontal brain structures that may relate to the phenomenology of psychedelic experiences.
EClinicalMedicine
March 14, 2025
Raoul Bitar, Simon Halm, Christina Rossgoderer et al.
42 citations
A randomized controlled trial investigated whether psilocybin-assisted therapy could reduce relapse in patients with alcohol use disorder. The study compared psilocybin therapy against a control condition, finding that the psilocybin group showed a significantly lower rate of heavy drinking days over the follow-up period. The results suggest that psilocybin, when combined with psychotherapy, may be a promising intervention for relapse prevention in alcohol dependence, though further research is needed to confirm these findings.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
July 17, 2015
Oliver G. Bosch, Christoph Eisenegger, Jürg Gertsch et al.
42 citations
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a GHB-/GABAB-receptor agonist, produces euphoric, disinhibiting, and vitality-enhancing effects in healthy men. In a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial with 16 males, a single 20 mg/kg dose increased charitable donations and prosocial money distributions among participants who initially showed low prosociality. However, GHB did not alter emotion recognition, empathy, theory-of-mind, or basic cognitive functions. The drug raised plasma progesterone levels but left oxytocin, testosterone, cortisol, aldosterone, DHEA, and ACTH unchanged. These findings suggest that GHB's mood and prosocial effects may involve GHB-/GABAB-receptors and progesterone rather than typical social hormones like oxytocin or testosterone.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
January 1, 2023
Helena Aicher, Michael J Mueller, Dario Dornbierer et al.
34 citations
A standardized formulation combining the monoamine oxidase inhibitor harmine (100 mg orodispersible tablet) with incremental intranasal N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT, up to 100 mg) produced a psychedelic experience in 31 healthy male subjects, as measured by the 5D-ASC rating scale. The experience was characterized by psychological insights, emotional breakthroughs, and low scores on challenging experiences. Participants reported personal and spiritual significance and mainly positive persisting effects at 1- and 4-month follow-ups. No changes in trait personality, psychological flexibility, general well-being, or increases in psychopathology were observed. The formulation appears well tolerated and may support psychotherapy, but further studies in patients are needed.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
January 1, 2023
Dario Dornbierer, Laurenz Marten, Jovin Mueller et al.
32 citations
Ayahuasca, an Amazonian plant medicine containing DMT and harmine, shows promise for mental health disorders but its oral use causes gastrointestinal side effects and unpredictable drug levels. This study tested new ayahuasca-analogue formulations in 10 healthy men: an oral capsule of purified DMT and harmine versus a combined oromucosal harmine tablet with intranasal DMT spray. The combined buccal/intranasal route significantly reduced variations in systemic exposure and attenuated common side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea compared to traditional oral ayahuasca. All preparations were well tolerated. This approach may enable safer, patient-friendly DMT/harmine administration for affective disorders.
European Neuropsychopharmacology
March 8, 2017
Oliver G. Bosch, Michael M. Havranek, A Baumberger et al.
22 citations
Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a drug used for narcolepsy and abused recreationally, has prosexual effects in healthy men. In two double-blind, placebo-controlled experiments, GHB increased subjective sexual arousal and desire, and made sexually neutral images of people seem arousing. Brain scans showed that GHB boosted activity in reward regions like the nucleus accumbens when viewing erotic pictures, and increased connectivity between the nucleus accumbens and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. The findings indicate GHB enhances hedonic sexual functioning and lowers the threshold for perceiving erotic cues by sensitizing mesolimbic reward pathways.
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
March 1, 2025
Klemens Egger, Javier Jareño Redondo, Jovin Müller et al.
14 citations
Ayahuasca contains DMT and harmine, but their interactions are not fully understood. In a single-blind, randomized, two-arm, factorial dose-finding study with 16 healthy participants, each received six dose combinations of DMT (0-120 mg) and harmine (0-180 mg) via a transmucosal delivery system. All combinations produced dose-dependent subjective effects lasting 4-5 hours, with peak DMT and harmine levels reaching 33 ng/mL and 49 ng/mL, respectively. The interaction was bidirectional: harmine reduced DMT metabolism, while DMT altered harmine pharmacokinetics. The formulation had a favorable safety profile, supporting further testing for affective disorders.
EClinicalMedicine
February 1, 2023
Robin von Rotz, Eva M Schindowski, Johannes Jungwirth et al.
8 citations
correction
A correction was issued for a figure in a clinical trial on psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depressive disorder. The colors representing the Psilocybin and Placebo conditions were swapped in Fig. 2; the correction aligns them with the caption and other figures. The error does not affect the results. The trial found that a single, moderate dose of psilocybin significantly reduces depressive symptoms compared to placebo for at least two weeks, with no serious adverse events. Larger, multi-centric trials with longer follow-up are needed to optimize this treatment.
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
July 9, 2025
Angela Äbelö, John W Smallridge, Robin von Rotz et al.
3 citations
The psychedelic compound DMT is often taken with harmine, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, as in ayahuasca, but how harmine alters DMT's effects was not well understood. In a study of 16 healthy adults, six combinations of buccal DMT (0-120 mg) and harmine (0-180 mg) were given. Harmine increased DMT's bioavailability and prolonged its absorption, leading to higher and more sustained blood levels. The intensity of subjective psychedelic effects rose with dose, and harmine potentiated these effects at higher DMT doses. A mathematical model captured these relationships and individual variability, offering a foundation for more personalized dosing in psychedelic therapy.