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David Erritzøe

Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital

131 papers in the library · 12,556 citations · publishing 2011-2026

Papers

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Psychedelics and the ‘inner healer’: Myth or mechanism?

Journal of Psychopharmacology April 12, 2024 Joseph Peill, Miriam Marguilho, David Erritzøe et al. 16 citations

Background: Reference to an intrinsic healing mechanism or an ‘inner healer’ is commonplace amongst psychedelic drug-using cultures. The ‘inner healer’ refers to the belief that psychedelic compounds, plants or concoctions have an intrinsically regenerative action on the mind and brain, analogous to intrinsic healing mechanisms within the physical body, for example, after sickness or injury....

Effects of discontinuation of serotonergic antidepressants prior to psilocybin therapy versus escitalopram for major depression

Journal of Psychopharmacology March 22, 2024 Tommaso Barba, David Erritzøe, Meg J. Spriggs et al. 26 citations

Background: There is growing evidence for the therapeutic effects of the psychedelic drug psilocybin for major depression. However, due to the lack of safety data on combining psilocybin with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and concerns that there may be a negative interaction on efficacy, participants enrolling in...

Unique Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Psilocybin Therapy Versus Escitalopram Treatment in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction March 7, 2024 Brandon Weiss, Leor Roseman, Bruna Giribaldi et al. 26 citations

Abstract The mechanisms by which Psilocybin Therapy (PT) improves depression remain an important object of study, with scientists actively exploring acute psychological experiences and neurobiological processes as candidates. In a phase 2, double-blind, randomized, active comparator controlled trial involving patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder, we investigated whether...

Psychiatric risks for worsened mental health after psychedelic use.

J Psychopharmacol March 4, 2024 Alessia Marrocu, Hannes Kettner, Brandon Weiss et al. 51 citations

Background: Resurgent psychedelic research has largely supported the safety and efficacy of psychedelic therapy for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. As psychedelic use and therapy increase in prevalence, so does the importance of understanding associated risks. Cases of prolonged negative psychological responses to psychedelic therapy seem to be rare; however, studies are limited...

Predicting the outcome of psilocybin treatment for depression from baseline fMRI functional connectivity.

J Affect Disord February 27, 2024 Debora Copa, David Erritzøe, Bruna Giribaldi et al. 31 citations

BackgroundPsilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic drug under assessment as a potential therapy for treatment-resistant and major depression. Heterogeneous treatment responses raise interest in predicting the outcome from baseline data.MethodsA machine learning pipeline was implemented to investigate baseline resting-state functional connectivity measured with functional magnetic resonance...

Effects of DMT on mental health outcomes in healthy volunteers

Scientific Reports February 7, 2024 Christopher Timmermann, Richard J. Zeifman, David Erritzøe et al. 37 citations

Abstract Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, is being increasingly researched in clinical studies for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The relatively lengthy duration of oral psilocybin’s acute effects (4–6 h) may have pragmatic and cost-effectiveness limitations. Here, we explored the effects of intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a closely related, but faster-acting...

Psychedelics and sexual functioning: a mixed-methods study

Scientific Reports February 7, 2024 Tommaso Barba, Hannes Kettner, Caterina Radu et al. 24 citations

Abstract Do psychedelics affect sexual functioning postacutely? Anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggests they do, but this has never been formally tested. While sexual functioning and satisfaction are generally regarded as an important aspect of human wellbeing, sexual dysfunction is a common symptom of mental health disorders. It is also a common side effect of selective serotonin reuptake...

Membrane Permeation of Psychedelic Tryptamines by Dynamic Simulations.

Biochemistry February 7, 2024 Vito F. Palmisano, Claudio Agnorelli, Andrea Fagiolini et al. 5 citations

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Renewed scientific interest in psychedelic compounds represents one of the most promising avenues for addressing the current burden of mental health disorders. Classic psychedelics are a group of compounds that exhibit structural similarities to the naturally occurring neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT). Acting on the 5-HT type 2A receptors (HT...

Interactions between classic psychedelics and serotonergic antidepressants: Effects on the acute psychedelic subjective experience, well-being and depressive symptoms from a prospective survey study.

J Psychopharmacol January 27, 2024 Jessica Barbut Siva, Tommaso Barba, Hannes Kettner et al. 29 citations

Interactions between classic psychedelics and serotonergic antidepressants: Effects on the acute psychedelic subjective experience, well-being and depressive symptoms from a prospective survey study.

Psychological and physiological effects of extended DMT.

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) 2024 Lisa Luan, Emma Eckernäs, Michael Ashton et al. 41 citations

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a serotonergic psychedelic that induces a rapid and transient altered state of consciousness when inhaled or injected via bolus administration. Its marked and novel subjective effects make DMT a powerful tool for the neuroscientific study of consciousness and preliminary results show its potential role in treating mental health conditions. In a within-subjects,...

Personality change in a trial of psilocybin therapy v. escitalopram treatment for depression.

Psychological Medicine 2024 Brandon Weiss, Induni Ginige, Lu Shannon et al. 38 citations

Psilocybin Therapy (PT) is being increasingly studied as a psychiatric intervention. Personality relates to mental health and can be used to probe the nature of PT's therapeutic action. In a phase 2, double-blind, randomized, active comparator controlled trial involving patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder, we compared psilocybin with escitalopram, over a core 6-week trial...

Psilocybin and Other Classic Psychedelics in Depression.

Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2024 D J Nutt, Joseph Peill, B Weiss et al. 30 citations

Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and ketamine are returning to clinical research and intervention across several disorders including the treatment of depression. This chapter focusses on psychedelics that specifically target the 5-HT2A receptor such as psilocybin and DMT. These produce plasma-concentration related psychological effects such as hallucinations and out of body experiences,...

A role for the serotonin 2A receptor in the expansion and functioning of human transmodal cortex.

Brain 2024 Andrea I. Luppi, Manesh Girn, Fernando E. Rosas et al. 25 citations

Integrating independent but converging lines of research on brain function and neurodevelopment across scales, this article proposes that serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) signalling is an evolutionary and developmental driver and potent modulator of the macroscale functional organization of the human cerebral cortex. A wealth of evidence indicates that the anatomical and functional organization...

Knowledge gaps in psychedelic medicalisation: Preclinical and neuroimaging mechanisms.

Neuroscience Applied 2024 Drummond E-Wen Mcculloch, Juan Pablo Lopez, Christina Dalla et al. 2 citations

Classical psychedelic drugs, e.g., psilocybin and LSD, stimulate the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) and have recently been intensely investigated for their clinical effects in various brain disorders. At the ECNP "New Frontiers meeting" in March 2023, scientific experts in psychedelics met to identify key knowledge gaps in the mechanism of action of psychedelics as investigated using...

Perceptions of psychedelic personality change, determinants of use, setting and drug moderation: Toward a holistic model

Journal of Psychedelic Studies December 8, 2023 Brandon Weiss, Chelsea Sleep, Nicholas M. Beller et al. 11 citations

Abstract Background Studies have shown evidence for long-term effects of psychedelics on personality, but comprehensive models of psychedelic-mediated personality changes have yet to be explored. Aims The present study aims to investigate (1) perceptions of personality change in the general population, (2) moderators of perceived personality change including setting and drug type, and (3)...

Case analysis of long-term negative psychological responses to psychedelics

Scientific Reports September 25, 2023 Rebecka Bremler, Nancy Katati, Parvinder Shergill et al. 102 citations

Abstract Recent controversies have arisen regarding claims of uncritical positive regard and hype surrounding psychedelic drugs and their therapeutic potential. Criticisms have included that study designs and reporting styles bias positive over negative outcomes. The present study was motivated by a desire to address this alleged bias by intentionally focusing exclusively on negative outcomes,...

The Montreal model: an integrative biomedical-psychedelic approach to ketamine for severe treatment-resistant depression

Frontiers in Psychiatry September 19, 2023 Nicolas Garel, Jessica Drury, Julien Thibault Lévesque et al. 32 citations

Background Subanesthetic ketamine has accumulated meta-analytic evidence for rapid antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), resulting in both excitement and debate. Many unanswered questions surround ketamine’s mechanisms of action and its integration into real-world psychiatric care, resulting in diverse utilizations that variously resemble electroconvulsive therapy,...

Neuroimaging in psychedelic drug development: past, present, and future.

Molecular Psychiatry September 1, 2023 Matthew B. Wall, Rebecca Harding, Rayyan Zafar et al. 39 citations

Psychedelic therapy (PT) is an emerging paradigm with great transdiagnostic potential for treating psychiatric disorders, including depression, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, and potentially others. 'Classic' serotonergic psychedelics, such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which have a key locus of action at the 5-HT2A receptor, form the main focus of this...

Co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD may buffer against challenging experiences and enhance positive experiences

Scientific Reports August 22, 2023 Hannes Kettner, Stephen Ross, Richard J. Zeifman et al. 31 citations

Abstract Psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) experiences can range from very positive to highly challenging (e.g., fear, grief, and paranoia). These challenging experiences contribute to hesitancy toward psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy among health care providers and patients. Co-use of 3,4-Methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA) with psilocybin/LSD anecdotally reduces challenging...

The difference between 'placebo group' and 'placebo control': a case study in psychedelic microdosing.

Sci Rep July 26, 2023 Balázs Szigeti, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris et al. 33 citations

In medical trials, 'blinding' ensures the equal distribution of expectancy effects between treatment arms in theory; however, blinding often fails in practice. We use computational modelling to show how weak blinding, combined with positive treatment expectancy, can lead to an uneven distribution of expectancy effects. We call this 'activated expectancy bias' (AEB) and show that AEB can inflate...

Assessing the risk of symptom worsening in psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis

Psychiatry Research July 23, 2023 Otto Simonsson, Per Carlbring, Robin Carhart-Harris et al. 24 citations

We conducted a meta-analysis using individual participant data from three, two-dose psilocybin trials for depression (N = 102) with the aim of assessing the risk of symptom worsening. Clinically significant symptom worsening occurred for a minority of participants in the psilocybin and escitalopram conditions (∼10%) and for a majority of participants in the waitlist condition (63.6%). Using...

Personality Change in a Trial of Psilocybin Therapy vs Escitalopram Treatment for Depression – CORRIGENDUM

Psychological Medicine July 19, 2023 Brandon Weiss, Induni Ginige, Lu Shannon et al. 1 citation

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Psychedelic therapy in the treatment of addiction: the past, present and future

Frontiers in Psychiatry June 12, 2023 Rayyan Zafar, Maxim Siegel, Rebecca Harding et al. 95 citations

Psychedelic therapy has witnessed a resurgence in interest in the last decade from the scientific and medical communities with evidence now building for its safety and efficacy in treating a range of psychiatric disorders including addiction. In this review we will chart the research investigating the role of these interventions in individuals with addiction beginning with an overview of the...

Prevalence and therapeutic impact of adverse life event reexperiencing under ceremonial ayahuasca.

Scientific Reports June 9, 2023 Brandon Weiss, Aleksandra Wingert, David Erritzøe et al. 32 citations

The present study examined the safety and efficacy of the ceremonial use of ayahuasca in relation to reports of heightened life event reexperiencing under psychedelics. The study examined (1) the prevalence of specific types of adverse life event reexperiencing, (2) characteristics predictive of reexperiencing, (3) the psychological character of reexperiencing, and (4) the impact of...

Pharmacokinetics of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in Humans.

European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics May 1, 2023 Meghan Good, Zelah Joel, Tiffanie Benway et al. 54 citations

N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychedelic compound under development for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). This study evaluated the preclinical and clinical pharmacokinetics and metabolism of DMT in healthy subjects. The physiochemical properties of DMT were determined using a series of in vitro experiments and its metabolic profile was assessed using monoamine oxidase (MAO)...