Psilocybin is among the serotonergic psychedelics closest to potential FDA approval, with growing evidence of therapeutic benefit across psychiatric conditions. As clinical trials expand, systematic characterization of adverse events (AEs) remains essential. While transient hypertensive responses are well documented, hypotensive events such as neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS) are rarely reported....
Background: Studies have demonstrated that subanesthetic-dose ketamine may modulate the functioning of specific depression-related brain regions, particularly the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex. However, how subanesthetic-dose ketamine alters the global and regional graph theory metrics of resting-state functional connectivity in patients with treatment-resistant depression...
PsychopharmacologyMay 11, 2026Gabrielle Abbott, Lisa-Marie Greenwood, Jessica G. Bartschi et al.
Abstract Introduction The regular consumption of cannabis has been associated with changes in cognition. However it is unclear how cognitive performance changes over time with continued cannabis use and whether cognitive alterations predate the onset of cannabis use. We conducted a narrative review of longitudinal observational naturalistic studies of cognition in people who use cannabis....
PsychopharmacologyMay 7, 2026Emillie Beyer, Martine Skumlien, Govinda Poudel et al.
Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) affects ~ 50 million individuals worldwide and is associated with alterations in brain reward pathways. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise in reducing substance use and aberrant brain function in substance use disorders (SUD), but the effects on CUD or brain reward function have not been investigated. To examine whether a 2-week MBI vs. active...
PsychopharmacologyMay 2, 2026Rose Chesworth, Georgia Watt, Jaime Howard et al.1 citation
BACKGROUND: Cannabis abuse rates are up to ten times higher in individuals with schizophrenia than the general population, but it is unclear what is driving this high level of comorbidity. Genetic predisposition for schizophrenia may increase the risk of cannabis abuse; however, there is limited empirical support for this. METHODS: We investigated this question using a well-established genetic...
Animal models of cannabinoid self-administration are critical for advancing our understanding of the neurobiology of cannabis use and for developing medications for Cannabis Use Disorder. Use of vapor inhalation models have translational relevance, as the majority of humans who use cannabis do so by inhalation (e.g., smoking, vaporization). Adult male and female Sprague Dawley rats (N = 96,...
RATIONALE: Reports of resurfaced repressed memories during psychedelic experiences have circulated for decades and still emerge today. However, the veracity of repressed memories remains debated, and the mechanisms through which psychedelics might recover alleged repressed memories are unclear. OBJECTIVES: This scoping review aimed to provide an overview of the literature on repressed memory in...
Whole plants and mushrooms have been used in systems of traditional medicine and health around the globe for millennia, and these more wholistic approaches are increasingly being embraced in modern Western societies. Cannabis and psilocybin are perhaps two of the most salient examples given current public and academic interests. Greater accessibility, along with expanding socioeconomic and...
RATIONALE: Social withdrawal in the sub-chronic phencyclidine (PCP) rat model—a behavioral correlate of schizophrenia’s negative symptoms—is well characterized, yet the psychological mechanisms underlying this deficit remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: Despite the complexity of social behavior, assessments often rely on a single metric (e.g., total interaction time) that has limited explanatory power,...
PsychopharmacologyApril 23, 2026Josephine Sena Lumor, Henriette Nyberg, Elisabeth Nerem et al.
Abstract Rationale As cannabis legalization and decriminalization have expanded, it is increasingly perceived as a low-risk substance. Concurrently, the potency of cannabis products and the number of young adults seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder have risen markedly. A growing body of research links early onset, frequent use, and high potency cannabis products to a range of adverse...
Abstract Rationale Many cannabis users claim that one reason they use cannabis is to relieve stress or dampen effects of stressful memories. However, the processes by which cannabis or its primary constituent, Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alleviate stressful experiences remains unclear. Objective Here, we assessed whether low oral doses of THC reduce emotional or physiological responses to...
BACKGROUND: Chronic stress is a risk factor for the development of anxiety, depression, and comorbid systemic conditions. Ayahuasca (AYA) has been used for hundreds of years and it elicits antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. However, it remains unknown whether AYA elicits a behavioral and biochemical protective effect in chronic stress. AIM OF THE STUDY: Therefore, we evaluated the...
RATIONALE: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a global public health burden, with traditional monoaminergic antidepressants facing critical limitations including slow onset, adverse side effects, and high rates of treatment resistance (TRD). Ketamine, a rapid-acting agent with sustained antidepressant effects, has revolutionized depression treatment paradigms but challenges conventional...
PsychopharmacologyMarch 4, 2026Ava M. Mac, Srinivasu Kallakuri, Alixandria T. Mascarin et al.
MDMA (3–4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) assisted psychotherapy has gained considerable attention as a potential adjuvant therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Reports of the nonmedical use of MDMA suggest its adverse effects may include anxiety and anhedonia. However, the time course of these signs and symptoms and the potential alterations in neurotransmitter levels that may...
Smoked cannabis is known to have effects on cognitive function. The use of edibles is on the rise yet there are few studies of the effects of edibles on cognitive function. Further, most studies of cannabis used fixed laboratory doses which may not capture some of the nuances of more naturalistic doses. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive component of cannabis yet the...
PsychopharmacologyMarch 1, 2026Taren Mieran, Andrew Hill, Mark S Horswill et al.
Medicinal cannabis use is increasing worldwide, yet its impacts on driving safety in frequent users are not clearly understood. A more comprehensive understanding of the effects of THC on driving behaviour in frequent users is needed to guide drug driving policy and evidence-based advice for medicinal cannabis consumers. This study investigated the acute effects of orally ingested THC oil on...
PsychopharmacologyFebruary 20, 2026Monica S Carbajal, Rebecca C Crenshaw, Victoria E Williams et al.
Cannabis use during 2021pregnancy is common as many pregnant women consider cannabis as a safe way to alleviate symptoms associated with pregnancy because it is "natural". However, clinical evidence links perinatal cannabis exposure to externalizing behavior in offspring. In preclinical research, most studies focus on exposure to the psychoactive constituent of cannabis,...
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a common and debilitating condition. Current treatments fail to provide adequate relief in roughly one-third of individuals, resulting in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Ketamine has emerged as a promising intervention for TRD, offering rapid and sustained antidepressant effects. However, benefits often require maintenance dosing, and long-term outcomes...
Major Depressive Disorder is a common and disabling psychiatric illness whose pharmacological treatment options have historically been characterized by relatively low response rates. "Treatment-resistant depression" has emerged to describe patients whose depressive symptoms fail to respond to multiple courses of oral antidepressant medications. In 2019, the FDA approved intranasal esketamine as...
Stimulant drugs such as methamphetamine (MA) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) can impact neurobiological systems implicated in stress, reward processing, and drug use. Although recent preclinical evidence implicates the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in these processes, little is known about the acute effects of stimulants on eCB levels in humans. The aim of the present study was to...
Prior work from our lab and others demonstrates that the endocannabinoid system is a promising avenue for improving fear memory deficits in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specifically, 7.5 mg of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) decreases fear responding in healthy adults and increases prefrontal cortex activation during extinction learning and fear renewal in adults with PTSD. The...
PsychopharmacologyFebruary 1, 2026Savannah H M Lightfoot, Andrei S Nastase, Gabriela Costa Lenz Cesar et al.
Current treatment options for PTSD have unreliable efficacy, with many individuals unable to achieve complete remission. Cannabis and cannabinoids that act through the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system to help promote trauma recovery by means of enhanced extinction learning are potential therapeutic, pharmacological candidates. Using a preclinical model of translationally-relevant...
Individual variability in psilocybin response is a major challenge for psychedelic-assisted therapy, with structural brain features potentially serving as predictive biomarkers. (Lewis et al. Biomedicines 8(2):34 2020) reported that rostral anterior cingulate cortex thickness predicted emotional experiences under psilocybin, suggesting cortical morphometry as a marker of psychedelic...
PsychopharmacologyDecember 12, 2025Ilenia Salsano, Giorgia Picci, Nathan M Petro et al.
Cannabis is one of the most widely used psychoactive drugs in the United States, yet its long-term effects on brain function remain poorly understood. Prior resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) studies have yielded inconsistent findings, likely due to variability in cannabis use thresholds, a predominant focus on younger populations, and region-of-interest (ROI)-based approaches limited...
RATIONALE: Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal intoxicant in cannabis, is a highly lipophilic substance that is readily stored in fat. Preclinical research suggests that fat-stored THC can be released into circulation under lipolytic conditions, such as stress. However, compelling evidence of this phenomenon is lacking in humans. OBJECTIVES: Here, we investigated the effects of acute...