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Pharmacological Reviews

ISSN 0031-6997

9 papers in the library · 2,949 citations · publishing 1986-2025

Papers

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Safety in treatment: Classical pharmacotherapeutics and new avenues for addressing maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy.

Pharmacological Reviews May 1, 2025 Merel Dagher, Catherine M Cahill, Anne M. Andrews 10 citations

We aimed to review clinical research on the safety profiles of antidepressant drugs and associations with maternal depression and neonatal outcomes. We focused on neuroendocrine changes during pregnancy and their effects on antidepressant pharmacokinetics. Pregnancy-induced alterations in drug disposition and metabolism impacting mothers and their fetuses are discussed. We considered evidence...

5-HT2A receptors: Pharmacology and functional selectivity.

Pharmacological Reviews April 23, 2025 Benjamin R. Cummins, Gerald Billac, David E Nichols et al. 62 citations

Serotonin 5-HT2A receptors were one of the first serotonin receptors to be pharmacologically characterized. In mammals, they are expressed throughout the body in nearly every cell and tissue type, with the highest density in cortical layer V of the brain. They are involved in several aspects of normal physiological processes and behaviors and have been implicated in the etiology of...

Animal Behavior in Psychedelic Research.

Pharmacological Reviews October 1, 2022 Anna U. Odland, Jesper L. Kristensen, Jesper T. Andreasen 23 citations

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy holds great promise in the treatment of mental health disorders. Research into 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist psychedelic compounds has increased dramatically over the past two decades. In humans, these compounds produce drastic effects on consciousness, and their therapeutic potential relates to changes in the processing of emotional,...

Neural Mechanisms and Psychology of Psychedelic Ego Dissolution

Pharmacological Reviews September 9, 2022 Devon Stoliker, Adeel Razi, Gary F. Egan et al. 83 citations

Neuroimaging studies of psychedelics have advanced our understanding of hierarchical brain organization and the mechanisms underlying their subjective and therapeutic effects. The primary mechanism of action of classic psychedelics is binding to serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors. Agonist activity at these receptors leads to neuromodulatory changes in synaptic efficacy that can have a profound...

Psychedelics in Psychiatry: Neuroplastic, Immunomodulatory, and Neurotransmitter Mechanisms

Pharmacological Reviews December 16, 2020 Antonio Inserra, Danilo de Gregorio, Gabriella Gobbi 227 citations

Mounting evidence suggests safety and efficacy of psychedelic compounds as potential novel therapeutics in psychiatry. Ketamine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in a new class of antidepressants, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is undergoing phase III clinical trials for post-traumatic stress disorder. Psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are being...

REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics

Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019 R.L. Carhart-Harris, K.J. Friston 1,163 citations

This paper formulates the action of psychedelics by integrating the free-energy principle and entropic brain hypothesis. We call this formulation relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) and the anarchic brain, founded on the principle that-via their entropic effect on spontaneous cortical activity-psychedelics work to relax the precision of high-level priors or beliefs, thereby liberating...

Ketamine and Ketamine Metabolite Pharmacology: Insights into Therapeutic Mechanisms

Pharmacological Reviews June 26, 2018 Panos Zanos, Ruin Moaddel, Patrick J. Morris et al. 1,272 citations

Ketamine, a racemic mixture consisting of (S)- and (R)-ketamine, has been in clinical use since 1970. Although best characterized for its dissociative anesthetic properties, ketamine also exerts analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antidepressant actions. We provide a comprehensive review of these therapeutic uses, emphasizing drug dose, route of administration, and the time course of these...

Neuropharmacology of the naturally occurring kappa-opioid hallucinogen salvinorin A.

Pharmacological Reviews June 1, 2011 Christopher W Cunningham, Richard B Rothman, Thomas E Prisinzano 109 citations

Salvia divinorum is a perennial sage native to Oaxaca, Mexico, that has been used traditionally in divination rituals and as a treatment for the "semimagical" disease panzón de borrego. Because of the intense "out-of-body" experiences reported after inhalation of the pyrolized smoke, S. divinorum has been gaining popularity as a recreational hallucinogen, and the United States and several other...

Cellular effects of cannabinoids.

Pharmacological Reviews March 1, 1986 B. Martin

The many studies that have been included in this review suggest that cannabinoids have ubiquitous effects on biological systems. These results also underscore the intensity to which cannabinoids have been studied. While there are numerous reasons for the prodigious amount of cannabinoid research, a major stimulus has been the desire to identify a specific biochemical event or pathway that is...