Advances in TherapyOctober 14, 2026Ahmed I Anwar, Abdul-Rahman A Hegazi, M Farris Sawaya et al.
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a major global health burden, and psychedelic-assisted therapies are now gaining scientific interest, with ibogaine being considered as a candidate for anti-addictive effects across multiple substance classes. Ibogaine is a multi-target indole alkaloid acting on opioid, glutamatergic, serotonergic, and sigma systems with potential to rapidly reduce withdrawal...
Psychedelic medicine has gained rapid popularity for the treatment of a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. As novel psychedelic analogues and treatment regimes emerge, increasing numbers of variables are being tested. Here, we review various approaches and considerations for novel psychedelic therapies, including the...
Psychedelic MedicineJuly 24, 2026Matthew 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...
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 MedicineDecember 19, 2025Amanda 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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) recently achieved breakthrough status from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, evidence indicates that exposure to toxic doses of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can lead to long-lasting dysregulation of brain monoaminergic neurotransmitters, primarily from studies conducted in young adult...
Approximately 20 million adults in the USA have an alcohol use disorder (AUD). There are clinical and preclinical data suggesting that psychedelics may have benefits for AUD. To investigate the effects of the synthetic psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) on the behavioral effects of ethanol. The effects of DOI were examined using ethanol-induced place conditioning (1.8 g/kg...
Human research with psychedelics is making groundbreaking discoveries. Psychedelics modify enduring elements of personality and seemingly reduce anxiety, depression, and substance dependence in small but well-designed clinical studies. Psychedelics are advancing through pharmaceutical regulatory systems, and neuroimaging studies have related their extraordinary effects to select brain networks....
Classic hallucinogens share pharmacology as serotonin 5-HT 2A , 5-HT 2B , and 5-HT 2C receptor agonists. Unique among most other Schedule 1 drugs, they are generally non-addictive and can be effective tools in the treatment of addiction. Mechanisms underlying these attributes are largely unknown. However, many preclinical studies show that 5-HT 2C agonists counteract the addictive effects of...
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...
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...
Until very recently, comparatively few scientists were studying hallucinogenic drugs. Nevertheless, selective antagonists are available for relevant serotonergic receptors, the majority of which have now been cloned, allowing for reasonably thorough pharmacological investigation. Animal models sensitive to the behavioral effects of the hallucinogens have been established and exploited....