Contemporary Clinical Trials
2026
Christine A Rabinak, Paul E Kilgore, Mark A Lumley et al.
Prolonged exposure (PE) therapy is effective for PTSD, yet dropout and partial response remain concerning. Preclinical and human studies suggest Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) enhances fear extinction and recall through brain cannabinoid receptor activation in fear processing. Examine whether synthetic THC (dronabinol) augments PE effectiveness. Double-blind, placebo-controlled, trial with...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
October 23, 2024
Jessica L Maples-Keller, Courtland S Hyatt, Nathaniel L Phillips et al.
2 citations
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) assisted therapy has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for PTSD and emerging research suggests a change in personality traits may be a factor in treatment response. Most prior research on MDMA and personality has focused on cross-sectional comparisons of MDMA users and non-users; as such, well-controlled research assessing personality and...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 15, 2022
Jessica L Maples-Keller, Seth D. Norrholm, Mark Burton et al.
53 citations
Background: Fear conditioning and extinction are well-characterized cross-species models of fear-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and recent animal data suggest that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) enhances fear extinction retention. Aims: This study investigated the effect of MDMA on fear learning, extinction training, and retention in healthy humans. Methods:...
Psychopharmacology
July 24, 2017
Matthew B Young, Seth D. Norrholm, Lara M. Khoury et al.
103 citations
We validate enhancement of fear memory extinction by MDMA in a translational behavioral model, and reveal the importance of 5-HTT and 5-HT2A receptors to this effect. These observations support future clinical research of MDMA as an adjunct to exposure therapy, and provide important pharmacological considerations for clinical use in a population frequently treated with 5-HTT inhibitors.
Depression and Anxiety
April 1, 2016
Anthony P. King, Stefanie R Block, Rebecca K Sripada et al.
Recent studies suggest that mindfulness may be an effective component for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. Mindfulness involves practice in volitional shifting of attention from "mind wandering" to present-moment attention to sensations, and cultivating acceptance. We examined potential neural correlates of mindfulness training using a novel group therapy (mindfulness-based...
Depression and Anxiety
April 17, 2013
Anthony P. King, Thane M. Erickson, Nicholas D. Giardino et al.
258 citations
BACKGROUND: "Mindfulness-based" interventions show promise for stress reduction in general medical conditions, and initial evidence suggests that they are accepted in trauma-exposed individuals. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) shows substantial efficacy for prevention of depression relapse, but it has been less studied in anxiety disorders. This study investigated the feasibility,...