Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
October 1, 2024
Jessica L Ables, Leah Israel, Olivia Wood et al.
17 citations
Harmine, a component of the hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca, was tested in a phase 1 clinical trial to determine its safety, tolerability, and psychoactive effects when taken alone. Twenty-five healthy adults received single oral doses of 100 to 500 mg of pharmaceutical-grade harmine hydrochloride. The maximum tolerated dose was between 100 and 200 mg, and doses above 2.7 mg/kg caused vomiting, drowsiness, and limited psychoactive effects in 90% of participants. No serious adverse events occurred. Harmine alone can be safely administered at low doses, but higher doses produce dose-limiting side effects and only mild psychoactivity.
Journal of Affective Disorders
October 1, 2025
Shuang Zhu, Peng Wang, Qingxia Liu et al.
8 citations
A randomized controlled trial with 183 adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder tested whether adding mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to standard treatment (TAU) improves cognitive function and reduces inflammatory markers. The MBCT group showed a noteworthy reduction in suicidal thoughts and greater improvement in depressive symptoms compared to the TAU-only group. Levels of the inflammatory marker IL-6 were significantly lower in the MBCT group after treatment. The results indicate that MBCT is effective and safe for reducing suicidal thoughts, alleviating depressive symptoms, and lowering serum IL-6 levels in depressed adolescents.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2025
Jian Peng, Longjun Jing, Peng Wang et al.
1 citation
Among 315 novice athletes in Changsha, China, mindfulness was negatively correlated with cognitive anxiety, while flow and self-rated performance also showed negative links to cognitive anxiety. Cognitive anxiety mediated the relationship between flow and self-rated performance, and together flow and cognitive anxiety acted as a chain mediator between mindfulness and self-rated performance. The findings suggest that for novice athletes, flow and reduced cognitive anxiety may be key mechanisms through which mindfulness improves how they perceive their own performance. Coaches can use mindfulness practices to help novices in suboptimal competitive states enhance performance perception, aiding their transition to elite roles.
Psychiatry Research
June 1, 2026
Peng Wang, Tong Wang, Yanling Wang et al.
Adolescents with bipolar depression who also engage in non-suicidal self-injury showed greater improvement in impulsivity, mood, and cognitive function when mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was added to treatment as usual (TAU) compared with TAU alone. After 4 and 8 weeks, the MBCT group had lower scores on measures of impulsiveness, depression, and anxiety, and higher scores on tests of immediate and delayed memory, attention, language, and visuospatial ability. Serum levels of proBDNF, a protein linked to brain plasticity, were also lower in the MBCT group at both time points. The findings suggest that MBCT may reduce self-injurious behavior and improve cognitive function in this population.