Background: Several early phase studies have demonstrated that psilocybin-assisted therapy has rapid-acting and persisting antidepressant effects from just one or two doses. However, methodological limitations (e.g., placebo-control, blinding) limit interpretability of the existing literature. Methods: In an exploratory placebo-controlled, within-subject, fixed-order study, individuals with...
Background: Growing numbers of people are using psychedelics for personal psychotherapy outside clinical settings, but research on such use is scarce. Aims: This study investigated the patterns of use, self-reported outcomes and outcome predictors of psychedelic ‘self-treatment’ of mental health conditions or specific worries/concerns in life. Methods: We use data from the Global Drug Survey...
Numerous new agents with rapid onset antidepressant effects are entering clinical trials and clinical practice. Studies focus on either first-line treatment of major depressive disorder or on patients whose major depressive disorder is resistant to prior antidepressant drugs. Novel agents target three very different central nervous system sites: as antagonists of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)...
BACKGROUND: Despite the growth of psychedelic research, psychedelic-assisted group psychotherapy (PAGP) has received little attention in comparison to individual psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy models. METHODS: In this article, we aim to discuss the therapeutic potential of PAGP, as well as outline existing models and the challenges of this approach. Using Irvin Yalom's 11 therapeutic...
Background: Cannabis use suppresses the endocannabinoid system in healthy individuals. However, the association between cannabis use with the endocannabinoid system is understudied in individuals with psychosis despite the high rate of cannabis use in these individuals. Methods: We enrolled 83 individuals who were admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit with psychotic presentations, and...
Psychedelic use is anecdotally associated with belief changes, although few studies have tested these claims. Characterize a broad range of psychedelic occasioned belief changes. A survey was conducted in 2374 respondents who endorsed having had a belief changing psychedelic experience. Participants rated their agreement with belief statements Before and After the psychedelic experience as well...
Psychedelic research is proceeding rapidly, despite ongoing legal and regulatory barriers and lingering questions about study design, such as the difficulty of ensuring adequate blinding, the relative overrepresentation in studies of participants who have previously used psychedelics, and the importance of personal experience with psychedelics for those who provide psychedelic-assisted therapy....
Background: Past research reports a positive relationship between experience with classic serotonergic psychedelics and nature relatedness (NR). However, these studies typically do not distinguish between different psychedelic compounds, which have a unique psychopharmacology and may be used in specific contexts and with different intentions. Likewise, it is not clear whether these findings can...
Background: Psychedelics are an increasingly active area of research and pharmaceutical development. This includes abuse potential assessment to better understand their pharmacological mechanisms and effects and guide controlled substance regulation. Psychedelics pose challenges to abuse assessments to ensure valid, reliable, and generalizable outcomes and safe study conduct. Findings: Key...
Ketamine is an N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist which is increasingly being researched and used as a treatment for depression. In low doses, it can cause a transitory modification in consciousness which was classically labelled as ‘dissociation’. However, ketamine is also commonly classified as an atypical psychedelic and it has been recently reported that ego dissolution experiences during...
Background: Psilocybin, the primary psychoactive component of psychedelic ‘magic mushrooms’, may have potential for treating depressive symptoms, and consequent applications for bipolar disorder (BD). Knowledge of the risks and benefits of psilocybin in BD is limited to case studies. Aim: To support the design of clinical trials, we surveyed experiences of psilocybin use in people with BD....
BACKGROUND: Clinical use of psychedelics has gained considerable attention, with promising benefits across a range of mental disorders. Current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and eating disorders (EDs) have limited efficacy. As such, other treatment options such as psychedelic-assisted therapies are being explored in these clinical groups....
Cannabis use and HIV are independently associated with decrements in cognitive control. However, the combined effects of HIV and regular cannabis use on the brain circuitry serving higher-order cognition are unclear. Investigate the interaction between cannabis and HIV on neural interference effects during the flanker task and spontaneous activity in regions underlying higher-order cognition....
Background: Music listening is a staple and valued component of psychedelic therapy, and previous work has shown that psychedelics can acutely enhance music-evoked emotion. Aims: The present study sought to examine subjective responses to music before and after psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression, while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data was acquired. Methods:...
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...
Background: Psychedelics are receiving renewed attention within Western medicine as they represent potential treatments for many difficult-to-treat mental health disorders. However, psychedelic science is limited in its focus and inclusion of racial and ethnic minorities. Hence, this study examines whether race and ethnicity moderate the associations that naturalistic...
BACKGROUND: Clinical trials are currently investigating the potential of substance-assisted psychotherapy (SAPT) as treatment for several psychiatric conditions. The potential therapeutic effects of SAPT may be influenced by contextual factors including preparation prior to and integration after the substance-assisted therapy sessions. AIMS: This systematized review outlines recommendations for...
INTRODUCTION: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA/"ecstasy") is an empathogen that can give rise to increased pleasure and empathy and may effectively treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Although prior research has demonstrated associations between ecstasy use and favorable mental health outcomes, the associations between ecstasy and physical health have largely been unexplored. Thus, the...
Amid a reappraisal of the medicinal and societal worth of psychedelics in many countries, regulatory and financial barriers to conducting clinical research with these compounds appear to be receding. Still, there remains a strong need for a clearer understanding of naturalistic psychedelic use and its associated epidemiology, since this type of psychedelic use, which is growing in many places,...
Introduction: Small-scale clinical studies with psychedelic drugs have shown promising results for the treatment of several mental disorders. Before psychedelics become registered medicines, it is important to know the full range of adverse events (AEs) for making balanced treatment decisions. Objective: To systematically review the presence of AEs during and after administration of...
BACKGROUND: In 1967, concerns about the carcinogenic potential of psychedelics arose after a study reported chromosomal damage in human leukocytes following in vitro lysergic acid (LSD) exposure. Worries were further heightened by subsequent reports of leukemia and other cancers in LSD users. Additional investigations of psychedelics' effects on chromosomes were published over the next decade,...
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...
Background: Psychedelics are able to acutely alter emotional reactivity and self-consciousness. However, whether the regular naturalistic use of psychedelics can be linked to more persistent trait-level changes in these domains remains an open question. Aim: To test the hypotheses that (1) using psychedelics is related to higher positive and lower negative emotional reactivity; and (2) an...
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a potent psychedelic naturally produced by many plants and animals, including humans. Whether or not DMT is significant to mammalian physiology, especially within the central nervous system, is a debate that started in the early 1960s and continues to this day. This review integrates historical and recent literature to clarify this issue, giving special attention...
Background: Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a frequently used anaesthetic. Since the year 2000, recreational use of N 2 O, also known as ‘laughing gas’, became popular as a recreational drug due to its mild psychedelic effect. In the 1980s, several reports warned against N 2 O-induced reproductive risks among healthcare personnel, questioning the occupational safety of N 2 O in health care. Methods:...