Journal of Psychopharmacology
April 25, 2023
Brandon Weiss, David Erritzøe, Bruna Giribaldi et al.
24 citations
Background: In a recent clinical trial examining the comparative efficacy of psilocybin therapy (PT) versus escitalopram treatment (ET) for major depressive disorder, 14 of 16 major efficacy outcome measures yielded results that favored PT, but the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Self-Report, 16 items (QIDS-SR 16 ) did not. Aims: The present study aims to (1) rationally and...
April 12, 2023
Rebecka Bremler, Nancy Katati, Parvinder Shergill et al.
12 citations
preprint
Background: 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.Aim: The present study was motivated by a desire to address this alleged bias by intentionally focusing exclusively on negative...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
March 28, 2023
Christopher Timmermann, Leor Roseman, Sharad Haridas et al.
217 citations
Psychedelics have attracted medical interest, but their effects on human brain function are incompletely understood. In a comprehensive, within-subjects, placebo-controlled design, we acquired multimodal neuroimaging [i.e., EEG-fMRI (electroencephalography-functional MRI)] data to assess the effects of intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) on brain function in 20 healthy volunteers....
ChemRxiv
February 7, 2023
Vito F. Palmisano, Claudio Agnorelli, David Erritzøe et al.
1 citation
Classic psychedelics are compounds that target the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor type 2A (5-HT2AR), inducing profound changes in consciousness. Although these compounds most closely resemble the natural neurotransmitter serotonin, their therapeutic and psychoactive action is still not well understood. Therefore, a quantitative atomistic description of their interaction in the 5-HT2AR receptor is...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2023
Ellen James, David Erritzøe, Tiffanie Benway et al.
16 citations
Due to their potential impact on mood and wellbeing there has been increasing interest in the potential of serotonergic psychedelics such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of Part A of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profile of escalating doses of SPL026 (DMT fumarate)...
Neuropharmacology
December 27, 2022
Robin Carhart-Harris, Shamil Chandaria, David Erritzøe et al.
106 citations
This theoretical article revives a classical bridging construct, canalization, to describe a new model of a general factor of psychopathology. To achieve this, we have distinguished between two types of plasticity, an early one that we call 'TEMP' for 'Temperature or Entropy Mediated Plasticity', and another, we call 'canalization', which is close to Hebbian plasticity. These two forms of...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 14, 2022
Meg J. Spriggs, Bruna Giribaldi, Taylor Lyons et al.
15 citations
Background: Psilocybin is a serotonin type 2A (5-HT 2A ) receptor agonist and naturally occurring psychedelic. 5-HT 2A receptor density is known to be associated with body mass index (BMI), however, the impact of this on psilocybin therapy has not been explored. While body weight-adjusted dosing is widely used, this imposes a practical and financial strain on the scalability of psychedelic...
Psychedelic Medicine
October 28, 2022
Bruna Giribaldi, Sandeep M. Nayak, Bilal A. Bari et al.
15 citations
Background: A trial of psilocybin (COMP360) versus escitalopram for major depressive disorder (MDD) was reported as negative, as there was no significant difference in the primary outcome, mean change in the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology–Self-Report (QIDS SR-16). However, analyses using three other depression scales (17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAMD-17],...
October 19, 2022
Stefan Baumann, Robin Carhart-Harris, David Nutt et al.
2 citations
preprint
Microdosing is the practice of regularly using very low doses of psychedelic drugs. Anecdotal reports suggest that it may enhance well-being, creativity and cognition. Here, we use data from a self-blinding microdose trial, a large (n=240) placebo-controlled citizen science trial of microdosing to investigate whether tolerance develops during microdosing. We conceptualized tolerance as the...
Neuropharmacology
September 27, 2022
David Nutt, Meg J. Spriggs, David Erritzøe
77 citations
Psychedelic therapy is perhaps the most exciting new development in psychiatry. Not only does it offer a radical new approach to treatment where mainstream approaches have proven ineffective, but the growing evidence for transdiagnostic efficacy is eliciting a re-think of current diagnostic and symptom-specific approaches to psychiatry. This excitement has led to a massive investment in this...
BJPsych Open
September 1, 2022
Tommaso Barba, Sarah Buehler, Hannes Kettner et al.
57 citations
Background Major depressive disorder is often associated with maladaptive coping strategies, including rumination and thought suppression. Aims To assess the comparative effect of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram, and the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin (COMP360), on rumination and thought suppression in major depressive disorder. Method Based on data derived from a...
J Psychopharmacol
August 1, 2022
Victoria Amalie Nygart, Lis Marie Pommerencke, Eline Haijen et al.
73 citations
Background: Over the last two decades, a number of studies have highlighted the potential of psychedelic therapy. However, questions remain to what extend these results translate to naturalistic samples, and how contextual factors and the acute psychedelic experience relate to improvements in affective symptoms following psychedelic experiences outside labs/clinics. The present study sought to...
July 7, 2022
Richard J. Zeifman, Meg J. Spriggs, Hannes Kettner et al.
13 citations
preprint
Background: The Relaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS) model proposes that serotonergic psychedelics decrease the precision weighting of neurobiologically-encoded beliefs, and offers a unified account of the acute and therapeutic action of psychedelics. Although REBUS has received some neuroscientific support, little research has examined its psychological validity. We conducted a...
Nat Med
April 11, 2022
Richard E. Daws, Christopher Timmermann, Bruna Giribaldi et al.
432 citations
Psilocybin therapy shows antidepressant potential, but its therapeutic actions are not well understood. We assessed the subacute impact of psilocybin on brain function in two clinical trials of depression. The first was an open-label trial of orally administered psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg, 7 d apart) in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)...
Frontiers in Pharmacology
March 31, 2022
Roberta Murphy, Roberta Murphy, Hannes Kettner et al.
229 citations
Background: Across psychotherapeutic frameworks, the strength of the therapeutic alliance has been found to correlate with treatment outcomes; however, its role has never been formally assessed in a trial of psychedelic-assisted therapy. We aimed to investigate the relationships between therapeutic alliance and rapport, the quality of the acute psychedelic experience and treatment outcomes....
Frontiers in Psychology
November 25, 2021
Brandon Weiss, Victoria Amalie Nygart, Lis Marie Pommerencke et al.
47 citations
The present study examines prospective changes in personality traits relevant to social functioning as well as perceived social connectedness in relation to the naturalistic use of psychedelic compounds in an online volunteer sample. The study also examined the degree to which demographic characteristics, social setting, baseline personality, and acute subjective factors (e.g., emotional...
Psychopharmacology (Berl)
November 4, 2021
Joanna Kuć, Hannes Kettner, Fernando E. Rosas et al.
37 citations
RATIONALE: Classic psychedelics are currently being studied as novel treatments for a range of psychiatric disorders. However, research on how psychedelics interact with other psychoactive substances remains scarce. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to explore the subjective effects of psychedelics when used alongside cannabis. METHODS: Participants (n = 321) completed a set of online surveys...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
October 20, 2021
Meg J. Spriggs, Hannah Douglass, Rebecca J. Park et al.
78 citations
Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious and life-threatening psychiatric condition. With a paucity of approved treatments, there is a desperate need for novel treatment avenues to be explored. Here, we present (1) an overview of the ways through which Public Patient Involvement (PPI) has informed a trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for AN and (2) a protocol for a pilot study of...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
June 29, 2021
Keri Mans, Hannes Kettner, David Erritzøe et al.
65 citations
In the last 15 years, psychedelic substances, such as LSD and psilocybin, have regained legitimacy in clinical research. In the general population as well as across various psychiatric populations, mental well-being has been found to significantly improve after a psychedelic experience. Mental well-being has large socioeconomic relevance, but it is a complex, multifaceted construct. In this...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 29, 2021
Pedro J. Teixeira, Matthew W. Johnson, Christopher Timmermann et al.
87 citations
Healthful behaviours such as maintaining a balanced diet, being physically active and refraining from smoking have major impacts on the risk of developing cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other serious conditions. The burden of the so-called ‘lifestyle diseases’—in personal suffering, premature mortality and public health costs—is considerable. Consequently, interventions designed...
Research Square
May 20, 2021
Richard E. Daws, Christopher Timmerman, Bruna Giribaldi et al.
11 citations
Abstract Importance Psilocybin therapy shows antidepressant potential; our data link its antidepressant effects to decreased brain network modularity post-treatment. Objective To assess the sub-acute impact of psilocybin on brain activity in patients with depression. Design Pre vs post-treatment resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) was recorded in two trials: 1) Open-label treatment-resistant...
J Psychopharmacol
April 22, 2021
Robin Carhart-Harris, Anne C Wagner, Manish Agrawal et al.
54 citations
Favourable regulatory assessments, liberal policy changes, new research centres and substantial commercial investment signal that psychedelic therapy is making a major comeback. Positive findings from modern trials are catalysing developments, but it is questionable whether current confirmatory trials are sufficient for advancing our understanding of safety and best practice. Here we suggest...
New England Journal of Medicine
April 14, 2021
Robin Carhart-Harris, Bruna Giribaldi, Rosalind Watts et al.
1,372 citations
On the basis of the change in depression scores on the QIDS-SR-16 at week 6, this trial did not show a significant difference in antidepressant effects between psilocybin and escitalopram in a selected group of patients. Secondary outcomes generally favored psilocybin over escitalopram, but the analyses of these outcomes lacked correction for multiple comparisons. Larger and longer trials are...
March 24, 2021
Pedro J. Teixeira, Matthew W. Johnson, Christopher Timmermann et al.
1 citation
preprint
Healthful behaviors such as maintaining a balanced diet, being physically active, and refraining from smoking have major impacts on the risk of developing cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other serious conditions. The burden of the so-called “lifestyle diseases” - in personal suffering, premature mortality, and public health costs - is considerable. Consequently, interventions...
Elife
March 2, 2021
Balázs Szigeti, Laura Kärtner, Allan Blemings et al.
192 citations
Microdosing is the practice of regularly using low doses of psychedelic drugs. Anecdotal reports suggest that microdosing enhances well-being and cognition; however, such accounts are potentially biased by the placebo effect. This study used a 'self-blinding' citizen science initiative, where participants were given online instructions on how to incorporate placebo control into their...