Subanesthetic doses of ketamine, similar to those used in antidepressant studies, increase anterior theta and gamma power but decrease posterior theta, delta, and alpha power, as shown by magnetoencephalographic recordings. Dynamic causal modeling revealed a decrease in NMDA and AMPA-mediated frontal-to-parietal connectivity, with AMPA-mediated changes persisting up to 50 minutes after infusion ceased, even after perceptual distortions had ended. A decrease in gain of parietal pyramidal cells correlated with participants' self-reports of blissful state. These alterations in frontoparietal connectivity patterns may be important in generating the antidepressant response to ketamine.
A single dose of vaporized bufotoxin from the Sonoran Desert Toad, containing an estimated 10-15 mg of 5-MeO-DMT, produced clinically significant improvements in chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD in a 23-year-old female. Next-day effects included marked reductions in hopelessness and suicide risk, with improvements sustained at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. The subject reported a complete mystical experience, which may underlie the therapeutic activity. No serious adverse events occurred, but acute nausea, overwhelming subjective effects, and late-onset night terrors were reported. Results suggest 5-MeO-DMT is generally tolerable and effective for PTSD, though the findings are non-generalizable and rely on methods not clinically accepted.
A 28-year-old woman with complex dissociative posttraumatic stress disorder (D-PTSD) underwent ten sessions of cannabis-assisted psychotherapy (CAP) over five months, combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. After treatment, her pathological dissociation score, measured by the Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation, dropped by 98.5%, and she no longer met criteria for D-PTSD. She also experienced reduced cognitive distractibility, less emotional suffering, and improved psychosocial functioning. The patient has maintained these gains for over two years. The authors suggest CAP, which produced subjective effects similar to psychedelics like psilocybin and ketamine, warrants further research as a potential treatment for D-PTSD.