BACKGROUND: Ketamine is an effective rapid-acting treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), producing antidepressant effects within hours of administration. Because it induces states of heightened neuroplasticity and psychological openness, psychotherapy may enhance its therapeutic effects. METHODS: This exploratory, nonrandomized, open-label clinical trial evaluated the adjunctive...
Abstract Dispositional mindfulness, also known as trait mindfulness, refers to an individual dispositional tendency to attend the present moment experiences with openness, curiosity and awareness. It is often associated with well-being, particularly through its role with emotional regulation. Yet, it is not well understood how it may influence the expression of major depression symptoms. This...
Background Ketamine has emerged as an effective rapid-acting treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), producing significant antidepressant effects within hours of administration. Given ketamine’s capacity to induce states of heightened neuroplasticity and psychological openness, psychotherapy may represent a meaningful complement to its pharmacological effects — facilitating...
Introduction The understanding of biological responses to psychedelics with antidepressant potential is imperative. Here we report how a set of acute parameters, namely emotional (depressive symptoms), cognitive (psychedelic experience), and physiological (salivary cortisol), recorded during an ayahuasca dosing session, modulated serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), serum cortisol...
Interoception is a collection of different representations of signals originating within the body. The way of perceiving these signals seems to be related to both emotion regulation and dysregulation, and its dysfunction is implicated across a variety of affective disorders. There is a growing body of research investigating the relationship between mindfulness meditation practices and...
Observational studies of long-term users of ayahuasca, an Amazonian psychedelic brew, suggest an increase in resilience via improvements in emotion and cognition. Ayahuasca has also demonstrated clinical antidepressant effects in human and animal studies; however, its potential prophylactic action in depression has not been previously studied. Therefore, this experimental study sought to...
BACKGROUND: Psychological distress in University settings has grown and became a public health concern. In this context, contemplative practices such as mindfulness have been proposed as a strategy to help students on stress management. METHODS: Forty university students (20 female), aged between 18 to 30 years (mean = 24.15; SD = 3.56), with no previous experience with meditation or yoga were...
OBJECTIVE: The incidence rate of major depression in adolescents reaches approximately 14%. This disorder is usually recurrent, without remission of symptoms even after pharmacological treatment, and persists throughout adult life. Since the effects of antidepressants take approximately 2 weeks to begin, new pharmacological therapies are under continuous exploration. Recent evidence suggests...
ABSTRACT The incidence of major depression in adolescents, aged between 15 to 18 years, reaches approximately 14%. Usually, this disorder presents a recurrent way, without remission of symptoms even after several pharmacological treatments, persisting through adult life. Due to the relatively low efficacy of commercially available antidepressant, new pharmacological therapies are under...