International review of neurobiology - The Consciousness Library

Psychedelics and substance use disorder treatment.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Caitlin M. DuPont, Matthew W. Johnson 6 citations

The current chapter presents the literature evaluating the effects of classic psychedelic treatments on five substance use disorders: alcohol, tobacco, opioid, stimulant, and cannabis. Most work on psychedelics and substance use disorders was conducted for alcohol use disorder. A range of classic psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, and ayahuasca) appear to be beneficial for facilitating both reduced...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.03.005 Full text Alcohol use disorder Ayahuasca LSD Psilocybin +10

Psychedelics for the treatment of end-of-life distress in patients with a life-threatening disease.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Stephan Tap, Tijmen Bostoen, Joost J. Breeksema et al. 4 citations

Patients with a life-threatening disease (LTD) sometimes suffer from end-of-life distress (EOLD) which refers to the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual suffering related to chronic illness and the possibility of death. Palliative care interventions seek to improve the quality of life of patients with EOLD and their significant others. Currently, a range of psychological and...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.03.001 Full text End-of-life distress Existential distress LSD Psilocybin +7

Serotonin, immune function, and psychedelics as potent anti-inflammatories.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Charles D. Nichols, Timothy P. Foster 4 citations

Psychedelics are primarily recognized for their profound behavioral effects, leading most research on psychedelics and their primary target, the 5-HT2A receptor, to focus on brain activity. However, these receptors are not only found within the brain and are present in nearly every tissue and cell type throughout the body, playing a significant role alongside serotonin in modulating various...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.04.011 Full text Immune system Psychedelic therapy psychedelics Therapeutic potential New strategy +8

Cognitive and affective models of psychedelics in rodents.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Dasha Anderson, Emma Robinson 3 citations

In recent years, public and academic interest into psychedelics has increased, given the clinical evidence of their potential benefits for treating psychiatric conditions such as major depressive disorder (MDD). While this has been accompanied by several landmark human studies, mechanistic studies in rodents are still relatively few, but such studies are crucial for understanding the...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.02.002 Full text Depression Behaviour Cognition Rodent +12

History of psychedelic drug science and molecular pharmacology.

International review of neurobiology 2025 David E Nichols, Charles D. Nichols 3 citations

Classic psychedelics have been used by various cultures for millennia for healing and religious purposes. The modern era of psychedelic science began with the first empirical experiments by Dr. Arthur Heffter in 1898 to determine just what they are when he discovered the active alkaloid in the peyote cactus responsible for its intoxicating effects and named it mescaline. As with many aspects of...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.02.001 Full text Psychedelic therapy 5-ht2a receptors Classical psychedelics Psychedelic history +12

The protective effect of DMT against neurodegeneration.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Ede Frecska, Attila Kovács, Attila Szabo 2 citations

This paper explores the therapeutic potential of DMT in neuroprotective strategies, particularly concerning ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and neurodegenerative disorders. Besides its potent serotonin receptor actions, DMT is also an endogenous agonist of the sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R). Sigma receptors are a unique family of proteins with high expression in the brain and spinal cord and have...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.04.010 Full text Serotonin DMT Alzheimer’s disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis +8

Molecular brain imaging of psychedelic action.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Paul Cumming, Klemens Egger, Gitte M. Knudsen 2 citations

Molecular brain imaging by positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computer-tomography (SPECT) entails the mapping of the cerebral distribution of radiopharmaceuticals that track physiological processes such as blood perfusion and glucose metabolism, or the abundance in brain of specific molecular targets such as neuroreceptors. PET and SPECT emerged as useful in vivo...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.02.005 Full text LSD Cerebral blood flow Metabolism Psychedelics: psilocybin +4

Clinical pharmacology.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Severin B Vogt, Matthias E. Liechti 1 citation

To design therapeutic trials and select the most appropriate substance and dose for an indication, a detailed understanding of clinical pharmacology is crucial. In recent years, several studies have explored the human pharmacology of different psychedelics and 3,4-methylendioxymethylamphetamin (MDMA). This chapter summarizes pharmacological characteristics of the serotonergic psychedelics...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.02.003 Full text Psychedelic therapy Drug-drug interaction Metabolism Pharmacodynamics +12

Post-traumatic stress disorder in psychedelic research.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Tijmen Bostoen, Stephan Tap, Joost J. Breeksema et al. 1 citation

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric condition that develops after exposure to trauma such as combat, natural disasters, or assault. It is characterized by re-experiencing trauma, avoidance, hyperarousal, and negative alterations in cognition and mood. Since its formal inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-III in 1980, PTSD has...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.02.004 Full text Ketamine Psilocybin Psychedelic-assisted therapy MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy +5

Effects of psychedelics on human oscillatory brain activity.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Kate Godfrey, Lisa Luan, Christopher Timmermann 1 citation

This chapter reviews the effects of classic psychedelics on human oscillatory brain activity, as measured by resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Across moderate to high doses of LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and DMT, a consistent reduction in alpha power (8-13 Hz) emerges, particularly in occipital regions. Below 30 Hz, desynchronization is typical,...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.04.012 Full text Alpha power Complexity Functional connectivity Psychedelic neuroscience +2

Serotonergic psychedelics for depression: A comprehensive overview.

International review of neurobiology 2025 A M Wingert, Claudio Agnorelli, Joseph Peill et al. 1 citation

Depressive disorders continue to pose a major clinical challenge worldwide, particularly given the high prevalence and increasing number of treatment-resistant cases. Over the past decade, advances in research have elucidated the antidepressant potential of psilocybin and other 5-HT₂A receptor agonists in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD)....

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.04.009 Full text Mdd Psilocybin Major depressive disorder Treatment-resistant depression +12

Human neuroimaging: fMRI.

International review of neurobiology 2025 Matthew B. Wall, Robin Carhart-Harris

Human neuroimaging with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging has been a key feature of the current wave of psychedelic research, in both healthy and clinical populations. The available data has suggested that classic psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, DMT) have a characteristic effect of acutely and profoundly disrupting the normal pattern of resting-state connectivity in the human brain, and that...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.04.013 Full text DMT LSD Psilocybin FMRI +13

Potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics in small doses: Is there a role for microdosing in psychiatry?

International review of neurobiology 2025 Iva Totomanova, Eline Haijen, Petra P M Hurks et al.

Clinical trials using full doses of psychedelics have provided preliminary evidence supporting their safety and efficacy in treating a variety of physical and psychological conditions. Anecdotal reports indicate that even very small amounts of these substances may provide therapeutic benefits, though robust clinical studies are still needed. This chapter reviews the current experimental studies...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2025.03.002 Full text Psilocybin Microdosing Cognition Mood +5

Ayahuasca for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.

International review of neurobiology 2024 Eduardo A V Marinho, Yasmim A. Serra, Alexandre J. Oliveira-Lima et al. 6 citations

For decades, psychedelics have been investigated for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Specifically, evidence suggests that psychedelics may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Several studies with classic psychedelics, including LSD and psilocybin, show promising results, with psychedelics decreasing alcohol drinking and promoting abstinence in...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2024.07.007 Full text Alcohol use disorder Ayahuasca Rehabilitation Entheogens +6

Treating Addiction: Perspectives from EEG and Imaging Studies on Psychedelics.

International review of neurobiology 2016 L F Tófoli, D B De Araujo 25 citations

Despite reports of apparent benefits, social and political pressure beginning in the late 1960s effectively banned scientific inquiry into psychedelic substances. Covert examination of psychedelics persisted through the 1990s; the turn of the century and especially the past 10 years, however, has seen a resurgent interest in psychedelic substances (eg, LSD, ayahuasca, psilocybin). This chapter...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2016.06.005 Full text Electroencephalography Neuroimaging Psychedelic agents Substance-related disorders +1

"Addicted to Euphoria": The History, Clinical Presentation, and Management of Party Drug Misuse.

International review of neurobiology 2015 Jenny Bearn, Matthew O'Brien

Eating, drinking, sexual activity, and parenting invoke pleasure, an emotion that promotes repetition of these behaviors, are essential for survival. Euphoria, a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness, is an amplification of pleasure, aspired to one's essential biological needs that are satisfied. People use party drugs as a shortcut to euphoria. Ecstasy...

DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2015.02.005 Full text MDMA Gbh Party drugs

Trait and neurobiological correlates of individual differences in dream recall and dream content.

International review of neurobiology 2010 Mark Blagrove, Edward F Pace-Schott

Individuals differ greatly in their dream recall frequency, in their incidence of recalling types of dreams, such as nightmares, and in the content of their dreams. This chapter reviews work on the waking life correlates of these differences between people in their experience of dreaming and reviews some of the neurobiological correlates of these individual differences. The chapter concludes...

DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7742(10)92008-4 Full text

Neural and cardiac toxicities associated with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).

International review of neurobiology 2009 Michael H Baumann, Richard B Rothman

(+/-)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a commonly abused illicit drug which affects multiple organ systems. In animals, high-dose administration of MDMA produces deficits in serotonin (5-HT) neurons (e.g., depletion of forebrain 5-HT) that have been viewed as neurotoxicity. Recent data implicate MDMA in the development of valvular heart disease (VHD). The present paper reviews...

DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7742(09)88010-0 Full text

Glutamate and schizophrenia: phencyclidine, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, and dopamine-glutamate interactions.

International review of neurobiology 2007 Daniel C Javitt

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects up to 1% of the population worldwide. As of yet, neurochemical mechanisms underlying schizophrenia remain unknown. To date, the most widely considered neurochemical hypothesis of schizophrenia is the dopamine hypothesis, which postulates that symptoms of schizophrenia may result from excess dopaminergic neurotransmission particularly in...

DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7742(06)78003-5 Full text

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