4 Psychedelics: therapeutic mechanisms
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry July 20, 2020 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2020-bnpa.4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Psychoanalysis Psychotherapist |
| Key points | Proposes the 'REBUS' hierarchical predictive processing model to explain how psychedelics work in the brain and how their acute effects relate to therapeutic outcomes. |
Abstract
Robin Carhart-Harris moved to Imperial College London in 2008 after obtaining a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol and an MA in Psychoanalysis from Brunel University. At Imperial, he has designed and/or carried out brain imaging studies involving LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT, plus a clinical trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and an ongoing study comparing psilocybin with escitalopram for major depressive disorder. In 2019, he set-up the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial and he also an honorary position with the University of Oxford. The talk takes a multi-level approach to the question of how psychedelics work in the brain. Key themes include: the pharmacology of classic serotonergic psychedelics, what this tells us about the function and evolutionary purpose of the serotonin 2A receptor, the acute brain effects of psychedelics as determined by functional brain imaging, the entropic brain hypothesis, current evidence for psychedelic therapy, the ‘REBUS’ hierarchical predictive processing model of the action of psychedelics, and how this maps on to the phenomenology of the acute psychedelic experience and therapeutic outcomes.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm General population | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Theorizing that Psychedelic Assisted Therapy May Play a Role in the Treatment of Trauma-Induced Personality Disorders. | 2024 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| What Geometric Visual Hallucinations Tell Us about the Visual Cortex | 2002 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psilocybin-assisted therapy of major depressive disorder using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a therapeutic frame | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |