Psychedelic Medicine
July 24, 2026
Matthew C. Company, Dylan J. Lifshitz, M. Farris Sawaya et al.
This narrative review traces how the scientific understanding of psychedelics has intersected with “reward processing” from before the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) era to the present, emphasizing how cultural and regulatory climates shaped what was viewed as an acceptable research question. Reward processing is treated as a family of partially overlapping phenomena: (1) reward-linked...
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
March 13, 2026
Bo Jarrett Wood, M Frances Vest, Catharine Carfagno et al.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely prescribed for mood and anxiety disorders, the same conditions under which psychedelic-assisted therapies are gaining renewed interest. However, it remains unclear how SSRI treatment may influence sensitivity to psychedelics, particularly through the shared engagement of serotonergic pathways. Here, we used the head-twitch response...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 19, 2025
Amanda Husein, Madalynn Traylor, M. Frances Vest et al.
Background: Psilocybin has been granted breakthrough therapy status in the United States, speeding its advancement from research to clinical care. Due to the controversial nature of psilocybin, psychiatrists may not be fully prepared to incorporate it into clinical practice. The current study aimed to evaluate the opinions toward psilocybin among practicing psychiatrists in Louisiana. Louisiana...
Psychopharmacology
2025
Brian S. Barnett, M Frances Vest, Marcus S Delatte et al.
20 citations
There is increasing interest in establishing psychedelic research programs at academic medical centers. However, psychedelics are intensely psychoactive, carry considerable sociopolitical baggage, and most are Schedule I drugs, creating significant potential impediments to implementation. There is little formal guidance for investigators on navigating the complex on-the-ground obstacles...
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine
November 7, 2024
Andrew Gribben, Tara Burke, Colm Harrington et al.
5 citations
Abstract Objectives: Understanding variations in knowledge and attitudes of psychiatrists to psilocybin therapy is important for the collective discourse about the potential impact on clinical practice and public health in Ireland. Methods: A 28-item questionnaire was designed based on previous studies and distributed to psychiatrists in Ireland via online mailing lists and at in-person...
2024
Jo-Hanna Ivers, Katy Tobin, Colm Harrington et al.
OBJECTIVES Understanding variations in knowledge and attitudes of psychiatrists to psilocybin therapy is important for the collective discourse about the potential impact on clinical practice and public health in Ireland. METHODS A 28-item questionnaire was designed based on previous studies and distributed to psychiatrists in Ireland via online mailing lists and at in-person academic events....
Psychedelic Med (New Rochelle)
September 13, 2023
Jacob S. Aday, Brian S. Barnett, Dan Grossman et al.
56 citations
Background: In the wake of positive clinical trial outcomes of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, there has been an influx of financial investment into psychedelic drug development from the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. Psychedelics are now a multibillion dollar industry, with hundreds of companies that are seeking to commercialize...
Neurology International
March 28, 2023
Amber N. Edinoff, Saveen Sall, Colby B. Koontz et al.
5 citations
While driving under the influence of drugs, drivers are more likely to be involved in and cause more accidents than drivers who do not drive under the influence. Ketamine is derived from phencyclidine and acts as a noncompetitive antagonist and allosteric modulator of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Ketamine has been used to treat a variety of psychiatric disorders, with the most notable being...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
March 14, 2023
Jonathan Brett, Elizabeth Knock, Paul Liknaitzky et al.
16 citations
Methamphetamine use disorder is a chronic relapsing condition associated with substantial mental, physical, and social harms and increasing rates of mortality. Contingency management and psychotherapy interventions are the mainstays of treatment but are modestly effective with high relapse rates, while pharmacological treatments have shown little to no efficacy. Psilocybin-assisted...
Health Psychology Research
October 6, 2022
Amber N. Edinoff, Natalie W. Wu, Bryce Bonin et al.
11 citations
Even as prescription opioid dispensing rates have begun to decrease, the use of illicit opioids such as heroin and fentanyl has increased. Thus, the end of the opioid epidemic is not in sight, and treating patients that are addicted to opioids remains of utmost importance. Currently, the primary pharmacotherapies used to treat opioid addiction over the long term are the opioid antagonist...
Neurology International
May 18, 2022
Amber N. Edinoff, Juliana M. Fort, Christina Singh et al.
15 citations
With emerging information about the potential for morbidity and reduced life expectancy with long-term use of opioids, it is logical to evaluate nonopioid analgesic treatments to manage pain states. Combinations of drugs can provide additive and/or synergistic effects that can benefit the management of pain states. In this regard, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) modulate...
The FASEB Journal
April 1, 2011
Kevin S. Murnane, Leonard L. Howell
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a substituted amphetamine derivative that is widely abused as the street drug “ecstasy”. Despite its high abuse liability, the neuropharmacology of MDMA remains poorly understood. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in fully conscious rhesus monkeys to characterize the neuroactivational effects of MDMA and its...
The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
November 1, 2009
K S Murnane, N Murai, Leonard L. Howell et al.
34 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a substituted phenethylamine more commonly known as the drug of abuse "ecstasy." The acute and persistent neurochemical effects of MDMA in the mice are distinct from those in other species. MDMA shares biological effects with both amphetamine-type stimulants and mescaline-type hallucinogens, which may be attributable to distinct effects of its two...