SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Jakub Vohryzek, Elvira Garcia Guzman, Morten L. Kringelbach et al.
1 citation
Despite divergent behavioral and phenomenological profiles, both psychedelic states and reduced states of consciousness have been associated with a flattening of the brain's functional hierarchy. To address this apparent paradox, we developed a more specific definition of hierarchy based on the proximity of the brain to thermodynamic equilibrium and then applied it to investigate the changes to...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Ben Kelemndi, Thomas G. Adams, Terence H. W. Ching et al.
1 citation
Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects 2–3% of the population worldwide, and 40–60% of patients do not respond to first-line treatments. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of a single dose of psilocybin in adults with treatment-resistant OCD.Methods: In this phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at the Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale University...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Amanda Elyse
Psilocybin is the primary psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms”; it has been used by humans for millennia, it is in promising clinical trials with humans and used in legalized psilocybin-assisted therapy, and researchers use and are further developing human-based methods with cutting-edge technologies. However, researchers are still allowed to conduct unreliable and distressing psilocybin...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Mulat Tazebew
This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the nature of consciousness, selfhood, and perceived reality through the lens of the holographic hypothesis-the proposition that all phenomena consist of symbolic information within a self-contained memory system with no external referent. The inquiry begins with an examination of the "self" as a symbolic construction generated by the...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
H. Tamba
Importance Psilocybin simultaneously holds contradictory legal classifications across seven overlapping governance systems—Schedule I under U.S. federal law, FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation, authorized therapeutic use in Oregon and Colorado, operational state-level medical access in New Mexico, national medical rescheduling in Australia, and an active petition for DEA rescheduling. As...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Jake Payne, Arthur Pont, Jacob S. Aday et al.
Background: Emerging adults between 18 and 29, particularly males, are the predominant naturalistic consumers of classic psychedelic substances compared to all other demographics. Previous evidence suggests psychedelic use may interact with positive developmental outcomes and processes. Despite the high prevalence of psychedelic use by emerging adults, limited previous research has...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Dennis Parker Kelley, Gabriel Sturm, Katy Venable et al.
Serotonergic psychedelics produce therapeutic effects in clinical trials of diverse neuropsychiatric disorders, and preclinical models of inflammatory, cardiometabolic, and neuropsychiatric diseases. These effects appear largely mediated by the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR). How could psychedelics elicit transdiagnostic therapeutic effects through a single receptor across tissues as...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Vincent Joralemon
As the psychedelic-medicine sector expands from a fringe area into a substantial commercial industry, stakeholders are increasingly investing in lobbying and public-comment campaigns to shape the regulatory frameworks that will govern psychedelic therapies. This essay revisits the classical concept of "regulatory capture"-as articulated by George Stigler-and applies it to the contemporary...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
Mario Enrique Medina
This paper introduces and formally defines the concept of Connective Trance, an original theoretical contribution to the study of artistic creation, aesthetic experience, and embodied consciousness. Connective Trance designates a liminal state of expanded awareness that precedes or accompanies creative and performative acts, characterized by intensified attention, partial suspension of...
SSRN Electronic Journal
2026
HealerRiz Riz
Breathwork is widely promoted as a regulatory practice capable of calming the nervous system, releasing trauma and restoring emotional balance. While its therapeutic potential is well documented in experiential contexts, the long-term effects of repeated high intensity practice remain insufficiently examined. This paper explores the hypothesis that sustained autonomic activation and repeated...
SSRN Electronic Journal
Robin Sandell, Adele Lafrance, Olivia Gosseries et al.
Current spinal cord injury treatments primarily manage symptoms rather than promote neurological recovery. Psilocybin enhances neuroplasticity through 5-HT2A agonism and brain-derived neurotrophic factor upregulation, suggesting therapeutic potential for spinal cord injury rehabilitation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with three individuals who had incomplete spinal cord injuries...
SSRN Electronic Journal
Michael Alvear
Background: Oral and sublingual ketamine for depression is being prescribed to tens of thousands of patients through telehealth services with no FDA-approved dosing protocol, no clinical guideline covering this route of administration, and no publicly available synthesis of what clinical researchers have actually tested. A prior surveillance study of patient-reported experiences documented a...
SSRN Electronic Journal
Vincent Joralemon
MDMA is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act. But Lykos Therapeutics' (formerly MAPS PBC) pending New Drug Application for MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for PTSD may force the Drug Enforcement Administration's hand: FDA approval supplies the "accepted medical use" that Schedule I drugs are statutorily denied,...
SSRN Electronic Journal
Ken Steiglitz
That we cannot experimentally verify that another being or a machine has private experiences is intuitively obvious. I propose a framework and a set of assumptions that allow us to state this precisely and prove it. The proof is straightforward: A not-conscious agent can mimic a conscious one. I rely on the presence of noise in the universe (so that communication can be assumed digital), and...
SSRN Electronic Journal
Michael Alvear
This white paper reports a stratified evidence synthesis of 31 peer-reviewed studies (2016–2026) examining ketamine and esketamine as rapid-acting treatments for suicidal ideation. Studies were classified by administration route — intravenous racemic ketamine (14 primary studies, N=1,258), intranasal esketamine/Spravato (6 primary studies, N=844), and injection routes combining intramuscular...