Background: Epidemiological data on psychedelic use in Italy is limited. In this study, Italian responders in the Global Psychedelic Survey 2025 were subanalyzed to describe patterns of use, motivations, subjective experiences, and health correlates. Methods: Adults (≥21 years) with lifetime psychedelic exposure, residing in or born in Italy or San Marino, were surveyed in a web-based,...
Background Ketamine exerts potent but transient antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Combinations of ketamine and psychotherapy have attracted interest, but no trial has investigated a psychedelic model of ketamine–psychotherapy for TRD to our knowledge. Aims This secondary analysis of a randomised clinical trial (RCT) explores the therapeutic effects and experiential...
Psychedelic substances exhibit complex interactions with the 'set and setting' of use, that is, the mental state of the user and the environment in which a psychedelic experience takes place. Despite these contextual variables' known importance, psychedelic research has lacked methodological rigor in reporting extra-pharmacological factors. This study aimed to generate consensus-based...
Since its synthesis in 1962, ketamine has been widely used in diverse medical contexts, from anesthesia to treatment-resistant depression. However, interpretations of ketamine's subjective effects remain polarized. Biomedical frameworks typically construe the drug's experiential effects as dissociative or psychotomimetic, while psychedelic paradigms emphasize the potential therapeutic merits of...
A sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, produces robust antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). The mismatch negativity (MMN) is reliant on glutamatergic neurotransmission and reduced by NMDAR antagonists. The MMN may characterise the neural mechanisms underlying ketamine's effects. This study examined the...
Background: The resurgent interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy for conditions like depression, end-of-life anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder is generating highly promising results. Within this therapeutic context, music's role is multifaceted, seen as a critical environmental component and even akin to a hidden therapist. Contemporary clinical protocols often advocate for music...
Recent clinical trials have found that the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin effectively alleviates anxiodepressive symptoms in patients with life-threatening illnesses when given in a supportive environment. These outcomes prompted Canada to establish legal pathways for therapeutic access to psilocybin, coupled with psychological support. Despite over one-hundred Canadians receiving...
OBJECTIVE: Despite strong evidence for the safety and efficacy of ketamine in the treatment of mood disorders, the enrollment of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) has not been a focus of this research. Health disparities in the treatment of mood disorders in BIPOC indicate a strong need to understand the clinical, social, and pharmacological aspects of this novel treatment in...
Deficits in early auditory sensory processing in schizophrenia have been linked to N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction, but the role of NMDARs in aberrant auditory sensory gating (SG) in this disorder is unclear. This study, conducted in 22 healthy humans, examined the acute effects of a subanesthetic dose of the NMDAR antagonist ketamine on SG as measured electrophysiologically...
Impairments in auditory information processing in schizophrenia as indexed electrophysiologically by P300 deficits during novelty (P3a) and target (P3b) processing are linked to N -methyl- D -aspartate receptor (NMDAR) dysfunction. This study in 14 healthy volunteers examined the effects of a subanesthetic dose of the NMDAR antagonist ketamine on P300 and their relationship to psychomimetic...
Abstract Background Few studies have assessed the epidemiology of hallucinogenic substance use among racial and ethnic groups of varying age cohorts. Use of psychedelic substances may differ among people of color (POC), due to factors such as stigma and discriminatory drug enforcement practices against POC. The lack of inclusion of POC in psychedelic research further underscores the importance...
There is a growing resurgence in the study of psychedelic medicines for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. However, certain early investigations are marred by questionable research methods, abuses against research participants, and covert Central Intelligence Agency financial involvement. The purpose of this study was to understand how and to what extent people of...
Emerging evidence from randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials suggests psychedelic compounds such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), when administered as an adjunct to psychotherapy, that is, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP), may be beneficial for treating substance use disorders, posttraumatic stress...
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists administered to healthy humans results in schizophrenia-like symptoms, which are thought in part to be related to glutamatergically altered electrophysiological connectivity in large-scale intrinsic functional brain networks. Here, we examine resting-state source electroencephalographic (EEG) connectivity within and between the default mode...
N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists administered to healthy humans results in schizophrenia-like symptoms, which preclinical research suggests are due to glutamatergically altered brain oscillations. Here, we examined resting-state electroencephalographic activity in 21 healthy volunteers assessed in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study involving administration of...