The psychedelic renaissance: the next trip for psychiatry?
John R. Kelly, Annie Baker, Mona Babiker, Lisa M. Burke, Christine Brennan, Veronica O’keane
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine September 23, 2019 DOI: 10.1017/ipm.2019.39 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Randomized Double-blind Open-label Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Psilocybin with psychological support |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Mood The renaissance Clinical psychology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 22 |
| Key findings | Preliminary clinical studies suggest psilocybin with psychological support improves mood, anxiety, and quality of life, with a seminal open-label study showing marked reductions in depression symptoms in treatment-resistant depression. |
Abstract
The psychedelic research renaissance is gaining traction. Preliminary clinical studies of the hallucinogenic fungi, psilocybin, with psychological support, have indicated improvements in mood, anxiety and quality of life. A seminal, open-label study demonstrated marked reductions in depression symptoms in participants with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The associated neurobiological processes involve alterations in brain connectivity, together with altered amygdala and default mode network activity. At the cellular level, psychedelics promote synaptogenesis and neural plasticity. Prompted by the promising preliminary studies, a randomized, double-blind trial has recently been launched across Europe and North America to investigate the efficacy of psilocybin in TRD. One of these centres is based in Ireland – CHO Area 7 and Tallaght University Hospital. The outcome of this trial will determine whether psilocybin with psychological support will successfully translate into the psychiatric clinic for the benefit of patients.