Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 27, 2024
Daniel Meling, Klemens Egger, Jovin Mueller et al.
15 citations
Background: In recent years, both meditation and psychedelics have attracted rapidly increasing scientific interest. While the current state of evidence suggests the promising potential of psychedelics, such as psilocybin, to enhance meditative training, it remains equivocal whether these effects are specifically bound to psilocybin or if other classical psychedelics might show synergistic...
Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS
September 10, 2024
Klemens Egger, Helena Aicher, Paul Cumming et al.
30 citations
The potent hallucinogen N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) has garnered significant interest in recent years due to its profound effects on consciousness and its therapeutic psychopotential. DMT is an integral (but not exclusive) psychoactive alkaloid in the Amazonian plant-based brew ayahuasca, in which admixture of several β-carboline monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitors potentiate the activity...
Swiss Archives of Neurology Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
May 18, 2024
Helena Aicher, Peter Gasser
17 citations
Switzerland's early contributions to the 'psychedelic renaissance', the revival of psychedelic science starting in the early 21st century, might be particularly noteworthy given the growing global interest in using psychedelics for research and therapy.In 2023, the Swiss Interest Group for Psychedelic-assisted Therapy was established to provide a clear and widely accepted framework for work...
Psychoactives
April 16, 2024
Daniel Meling, Rebecca Ehrenkranz, Sandeep M. Nayak et al.
26 citations
Rationale: Psychedelic research re-emerged from a period of suppression into the so-called psychedelic renaissance. In parallel, most media reporting has shifted from the overstatement of the risks of psychedelics to overly positive hype. As the empirical evidence is more equivocal than frequently portrayed, the conclusions about the effectiveness of psychedelics should be considered...
Die Psychotherapie
February 15, 2024
Helena Aicher, Yasmin Schmid, Peter Gasser
20 citations
Zusammenfassung Seit den späten 1990er-Jahren erfahren Psychedelika eine Renaissance und ziehen international vermehrt die Aufmerksamkeit auf sich. Es gibt zunehmend wissenschaftliche Studien, die sich mit den Möglichkeiten und Risiken der Psychedelika-assistierten Therapie (PAT) befassen. Seit 2014 werden auf der Grundlage von Ausnahmebewilligungen der Schweizer Gesundheitsbehörde (Bundesamt...
Die Psychotherapie
February 8, 2024
Helena Aicher, Peter Gasser
3 citations
Zusammenfassung Erste Studienergebnisse zeigen ein Potenzial von Psychedelika und 3,4-Methylendioxy-N-methylamphetamin (MDMA) für die Behandlung von affektiven Störungen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird argumentiert, dass die Ausbildung von Therapeut*innen von entscheidender Bedeutung ist, um diese Substanzen in der Psychedelika-assistierten Therapie (PAT) sicher und wirksam einzusetzen....
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2023
Helena Aicher, Michael J Mueller, Dario Dornbierer et al.
34 citations
There is growing scientific evidence for the therapeutic benefits of the Amazonian plant-based psychedelic "ayahuasca" for neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, there are certain challenges when incorporating botanical ayahuasca into biomedical research and clinical therapy environments. Formulations inspired by ayahuasca, which contain specific and standardized...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
2023
Dario Dornbierer, Laurenz Marten, Jovin Mueller et al.
32 citations
Recently, the Amazonian plant medicine "ayahuasca"-containing the psychedelic compound N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and numerous β-carboline alkaloids, such as harmine-has been suggested to exhibit beneficial effects in patients with affective and other mental health disorders. Although ayahuasca ingestion is considered safe, its pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics and tolerability profile pose...
Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
February 6, 2021
Jerome Sarris, Daniel Perkins, Lachlan Cribb et al.
72 citations
Background\nAyahuasca is a psychoactive Amazonian brew which has emerging data indicating that it has antidepressant and anxiolytic properties.\n\nMethods\nThis paper uses data from the Global Ayahuasca Project (GAP), which was undertaken across 2017-2020 and involved 11912 people, to examine the perceived effects of ayahuasca consumption on affective symptoms. The study focused on the...
Neuropharmacology
November 1, 2018
Henrik Jungaberle, Sascha Thal, Andrea Zeuch et al.
70 citations
RationaleWe reviewed the concepts and empirical findings in studies with psychedelics and entactogens related to positive psychology - the study of healthy human functioning, well-being and eudaemonia. It is an unresolved question how beneficial effects of psychedelics and entactogens are related to the potential risks of these substances - particularly in non-clinical settings.MethodsWe...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
November 8, 2017
Rainer Kraehenmann, Dan Pokorný, Helena Aicher et al.
115 citations
Rationale: Stimulation of serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptors by lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and related compounds such as psilocybin has previously been shown to increase primary process thinking – an ontologically and evolutionary early, implicit, associative, and automatic mode of thinking which is typically occurring during altered states of consciousness such as dreaming. However, it is...