Psychedelic and Entactogenic Drugs in the Treatment of Depression
Thomas J. Riedlinger, June E. Riedlinger
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 1994 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.1994.10472600 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mescaline Serotonin Depression |
| Keywords | Psychotherapist Hallucinogen Modalities Depression economics |
| Citations | 39 |
| Key findings | Entactogens or empathogens, which cause less distortion of normative consciousness than classic psychedelics, could be useful in psychotherapy to reduce fear, improve communication, and accelerate the therapeutic alliance. |
Abstract
CNS deficiency of 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) has been implicated as a biochemical basis in some forms of depression. Existing drug modalities for treating depression include some with serotonergic effects. Studies suggest that psychedelic drugs are also serotonergic. This may indicate a role for psychedelics in the treatment of depression. Such treatment has already been attempted using psychedelic drugs in both the indoleamine and phenylalkylamine categories. Encouraging results seem to recommend further research, with special emphasis on drugs in the phenylisopropylamine subgroup of phenylalkylamines that are only peripherally psychedelic. Certain of these, called entactogens or empathogens, cause substantially less distortion of normative consciousness than classic psychedelics, such as LSD or mescaline. They could therefore be more easily assimilated into existing psychotherapy approaches, where their function would be to enhance the normal psychotherapeutic process rather than serving a maintenance role as chemotherapeutic agents. Their usefulness in such an application would be mainly at the start of psychotherapy in order to (1) reduce the client's "fear response" that often inhibits ability to deal with repressed traumatic material; (2) facilitate the client's interpersonal communications with the therapist, spouse or significant others; and (3) accelerate formation of a therapeutic alliance between client and therapist.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synaptic Dysfunction in Depression: Potential Therapeutic Targets | 2012 | Review | |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse | 2003 | Review | |
| Synthesizing the Evidence for Ketamine and Esketamine in Treatment-Resistant Depression: An International Expert Opinion on the Available Evidence and Implementation Adults with treatment-resistant depression | 2021 | Review | |
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Part II—Clinical Applications and Guidelines | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 34
- Psilocybin-Induced Decrease in Amygdala Reactivity Correlates with Enhanced Positive Mood in Healthy Volunteers Biological Psychiatry April 26, 2014
- Antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive effects of ayahuasca, psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD): a systematic review of clinical trials published in the last 25 years Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology March 18, 2016
- Psychedelics in Psychiatry: Neuroplastic, Immunomodulatory, and Neurotransmitter Mechanisms Pharmacological Reviews December 16, 2020
- Developing Guidelines and Competencies for the Training of Psychedelic Therapists Journal of Humanistic Psychology June 29, 2017
- MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Using Low Doses in a Small Sample of Women with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Journal of Psychoactive Drugs September 1, 2008
and 29 more in the library
Cites 20
- Differences Between the Mechanism of Action of MDMA, MBDB, and the Classic Hallucinogens. Identification of a New Therapeutic Class: Entactogens Journal of Psychoactive Drugs October 1, 1986
- The molecular mechanism of "ecstasy" [3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA)]: serotonin transporters are targets for MDMA-induced serotonin release. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences March 1, 1992
- Neurotoxicity of the psychedelic amphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 1987
- Subjective Reports of the Effects of MDMA in a Clinical Setting Journal of Psychoactive Drugs October 1, 1986
- Hallucinogenic Amphetamine Selectively Destroys Brain Serotonin Nerve Terminals Science September 6, 1985
and 15 more in the library