Neuropharmacology
May 1, 2025
Jakub Schimmelpfennig, Kamila Jankowiak-Siuda
47 citations
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring amine and psychedelic compound, found in plants, animals, and humans. While initial studies reported only trace amounts of DMT in mammalian brains, recent findings have identified alternative methylation pathways and DMT levels comparable to classical neurotransmitters in rodent brains, calling for a re-evaluation of its biological role and...
Neuropharmacology
May 1, 2025
Michael Noback, Johnny A Kenton, Adam K. Klein et al.
2 citations
Treating amotivated states remains difficult. Classical psychedelic drugs (5-HT2A receptor agonists) such as LSD and psilocybin have shown therapeutic potential in treating such symptoms, but their development has been hindered by their undesirable hallucinogenic effects. There is increasing evidence that administration of psychedelics at dose levels too low to evoke a hallucinogenic effect...
Neuropharmacology
March 7, 2025
Stefan Modzelewski, Anna Stankiewicz, Napoleon Waszkiewicz et al.
5 citations
This review is limited by the heterogeneity in reporting side effects and the short duration of many studies. Future studies should transparently and systematically present a description of side effects.
Neuropharmacology
2025
James J Gattuso, Carey Wilson, Anthony J. Hannan et al.
10 citations
Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic compound which shows promise for treating compulsive behaviours. This is particularly pertinent as compulsive disorders require research into new pharmacological treatment options as the current frontline treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, require chronic administration, have significant side effects, and leave almost half of the...
Neuropharmacology
December 24, 2024
Chloé Galipeau, Zsolt Lenkei, Miguel Farinha‐ferreira et al.
17 citations
There is renewed interest in psychedelics, such as psilocybin, as therapies for multiple difficult-to-treat psychiatric disorders. Even though psychedelics can induce highly pleasant or aversive experiences, depending on multiple personal and environmental factors, there is little research into how such experiences impact post-acute mood-altering actions. Here we aimed at offsetting this gap....
Neuropharmacology
December 15, 2024
Canyu Yang, Tahir Ali, Axiang Li et al.
11 citations
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating illness with a high global burden. While Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, offers rapid-acting antidepressant effects, its mechanism remains incompletely understood. Recent research suggests that dysregulation of mRNA translation via the Eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) pathway might contribute to depression...
Neuropharmacology
December 15, 2024
Okko Alitalo, Samuel Kohtala, Marko Rosenholm et al.
Recent studies indicate that nitrous oxide (N2O), a gaseous anesthetic and an NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonist, produces rapid antidepressant effect in patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression. Our recent work implies that hypothermia and reduced energy expenditure are connected with antidepressant-induced activation of TrkB neurotrophin receptors - a key regulator...
Neuropharmacology
November 1, 2024
M C Acero-Castillo, M B M Correia, F V Caixeta et al.
7 citations
Ketamine is an NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartate) glutamate receptor antagonist, which has a myriad of dose-dependent pharmacological and behavioral effects, including anesthetic, sedative, amnestic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Intriguingly, ketamine at subanesthetic doses displays a relevant profile both in mimicking symptoms of schizophrenia and also as the first fast-acting...
Neuropharmacology
November 1, 2024
Thi Mai Loan Nguyen, Jean-Philippe Guilloux, Céline Defaix et al.
3 citations
(R,S)-ketamine (ketamine) has rapid and sustained antidepressant (AD) efficacy at sub-anesthetic doses in depressed patients. A metabolite of ketamine, including (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine ((6)-HNKs) has been reported to exert antidepressant actions in rodent model of anxiety/depression. To further understand the specific role of ketamine's metabolism in the AD actions of the drug, we evaluated...
Neuropharmacology
October 1, 2024
Carolyn J Stopera, Mitchell J Bartlett, Chenxi Liu et al.
9 citations
Sub-anesthetic ketamine treatment has been shown to be an effective therapy for treatment-resistant depression and chronic pain. Our group has previously shown that sub-anesthetic ketamine produces acute anti-parkinsonian, and acute anti-dyskinetic effects in preclinical models of Parkinson's disease (PD). Ketamine is a multifunctional drug and exerts effects through blockade of...
Neuropharmacology
October 1, 2024
Randall J. Olson, Lowell Bartlett, Alex Sonneborn et al.
3 citations
Administration or consumption of classic psychedelics (CPs) leads to profound changes in experience which are often described as highly novel and meaningful. They have shown substantial promise in treating depressive symptoms and may be therapeutic in other situations. Although research suggests that the therapeutic response is correlated with the intensity of the experience, the neural circuit...
Neuropharmacology
September 26, 2024
J. Alfred Bonilla, Giuseppe Giannotti, Nathaniel P. Kregar et al.
12 citations
There has been a recent renewed interest in the potential use of psychedelic drugs as therapeutics for certain neuropsychiatric disorders, including substance use disorders. The psychedelic drug 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in preclinical models of opioid use disorder (OUD). Alcohol is commonly co-used in individuals with OUD, but preclinical...
Neuropharmacology
September 1, 2024
Devin P Hagarty, Adam Dawoud, Alfonso Brea Guerrero et al.
6 citations
Ketamine (KET), a non-competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, has rapid onset of antidepressant effects in Treatment-Resistant Depression patients and repeated infusions are required to sustain its antidepressant properties. However, KET is an addictive drug, and so more preclinical and clinical research is needed to assess the safety of recurring treatments in both sexes....
Neuropharmacology
July 1, 2024
Kevin T Krupp, Jazmine D W Yaeger, Leighton J Ledesma et al.
11 citations
Psychedelic compounds have potentially rapid, long-lasting anxiolytic, antidepressive and anti-inflammatory effects. We investigated whether the psychedelic compound (R)-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine [(R)-DOI], a selective 5-HT2A receptor partial agonist, decreases stress-related behavior in male mice exposed to repeated social aggression. Additionally, we explored the likelihood that these...
Neuropharmacology
December 1, 2023
Adam Wojtas, Monika Herian, Marzena Maćkowiak et al.
6 citations
2-(4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)etanoamine (25B-NBOMe) is a highly selective 5-HT2A receptor agonist, exhibiting a potent hallucinogenic activity. In the present study, we investigated the effect of a 7-day treatment with 25B-NBOMe in a dose of 0.3 mg/kg on the following: the neurotransmitter release in vivo using microdialysis in freely moving animals, hallucinogenic...
Neuropharmacology
July 1, 2023
Joanna Dabrowska
6 citations
Available pharmacotherapies for anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress-disorder (PTSD) have limited efficacy, but no new anxiolytic drug has been approved for treatment since the 1980s. In this issue of Neuropharmacology on "Fear, anxiety and PTSD: from cellular mechanisms to translational approaches", we review the currently recommended pharmacotherapy for PTSD and discuss promising...
Neuropharmacology
June 1, 2023
Dan Xi, Ann Berger, David Shurtleff et al.
11 citations
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened a seminal first ever psychedelic drug substance-focused speaker series, from April 22 to June 10, 2021, titled the "NIH Psilocybin Research Speaker Series." This speaker series provided evidence-based scientific information to the public and the scientific community. Its aims were to assess the current state of the science, the regulatory...
Neuropharmacology
May 27, 2023
David J Heal, Sharon L. Smith, Sean J Belouin et al.
50 citations
This Special Issue of Neuropharmacology on psychedelics provides a timely and comprehensive update on progress following the previous Neuropharmacology Special Issue "Psychedelics: New Doors, Altered Perceptions". Remarkable advances have been made in basic and clinical research on psychedelics in the five years since 2018. It is partly based on the seminar series focused on psilocybin...
Neuropharmacology
May 1, 2023
Xiayun Wan, Akifumi Eguchi, Lijia Chang et al.
Patients with depression exhibit reduced bone mineral density (BMD). We previously reported that the new antidepressant arketamine improved the reduced BMD seen in chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) susceptible mice and ovariectomized mice. Considering the role of the gut microbiota in maintaining bone health, the current study investigated whether the gut microbiota, along with metabolites...
Neuropharmacology
April 2, 2023
Farah Z Zia, Michael H. Baumann, Sean J Belouin et al.
28 citations
Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability, reduced productivity, healthcare seeking behavior, and a contributor to opioid overdose in the United States. For many people, pain can be satisfactorily managed by existing medicines and comprehensive psychosocial treatments. For others, available treatments are either ineffective or not acceptable, due to side effects and concerns about risks....
Neuropharmacology
April 1, 2023
Zhi-Peng Yu, Qiong Li, Zhou-Xiao Wu et al.
7 citations
Serotoninergic psychedelics induced extensive alterations in perception and cognition, which has been attributable to its disruptive effect on oscillatory rhythms of prefrontal cortex. However, there is a lack of information how serotoninergic psychedelics affect the intra-prefrontal network, which intrinsically interact to accomplish perceptual processing. Uncovering the altered neural network...
Neuropharmacology
March 13, 2023
Andreas B. Wulff, Charles D. Nichols, Scott M. Thompson
30 citations
Psychedelic compounds have shown extraordinary potential in treating a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Psilocybin, for example, has now been shown in several clinical trials to induce a rapid (within days) and persistent (3-12 months) improvement in human treatment-resistant depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Here we review the preclinical models and experimental...
Neuropharmacology
February 1, 2023
Marco Aqil, Leor Roseman
59 citations
Psychedelics are undergoing a major resurgence of scientific and clinical interest. While multiple theories and frameworks have been proposed, there is yet no universal agreement on the mechanisms underlying the complex effects of psychedelics on subjective experience and brain dynamics, nor their therapeutic benefits. Despite being prominent in psychedelic phenomenology and distinct from those...
Neuropharmacology
February 1, 2023
Shigeyuki Chaki, Mai Watanabe
The efficacy of currently available medications for depression is unsatisfactory, and that has spurred the development of novel antidepressants based on a hypothesis other than the monoamine hypothesis. Recent studies have revealed the importance of the glutamatergic system as a drug target for depression, and the validity of this hypothesis has been underpinned by the discovery of the...
Neuropharmacology
February 1, 2023
Yu-Jung Cheng, Chieh-Hsin Lin, Hsien-Yuan Lane
Studies have demonstrated the beneficial therapeutic effects of sarcosine, benzoate, and ketamine (including esketamine and arketamine) on depression. These drugs mainly act by modulating N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate receptors (NMDARs) and reducing inflammation in the brain. Although ketamine, benzoate, and sarcosine act differently as the antagonists or coagonists of NMDARs, they all have...