Classic psychedelics and alcohol use disorders: A systematic review of human and animal studies
Elena Giné, Javier Calleja‐conde, José Á. Morales-García, Víctor Echeverry‐alzate, Kora‐mareen Bühler, Jose Antonio López‐moreno
Addiction Biology August 31, 2022 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13229 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 27 |
| Population | Human and preclinical studies on classic psychedelics and alcohol consumption |
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Human studies Animal studies |
| Citations | 49 |
| Key findings | Classic psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, show promise in reducing alcohol consumption, but methodological concerns and conflicting preclinical data limit conclusions. |
Abstract
Abstract Classic psychedelics refer to substances such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, ayahuasca, and mescaline, which induce altered states of consciousness by acting mainly on 5‐HT 2A receptors. Recently, the interest of psychedelics as pharmacological treatment for psychiatric disorders has increased significantly, including their use on problematic use of alcohol. This systematic review is aimed to analyse the last two decades of studies examining the relationship between classic psychedelics and alcohol consumption. We searched PubMed and PsycInfo for human and preclinical studies published between January 2000 to December 2021. The search identified 639 publications. After selection, 27 studies were included. Human studies ( n = 20) generally show promising data and seem to indicate that classic psychedelics could help reduce alcohol consumption. Nevertheless, some of these studies present methodological concerns such as low number of participants, lack of control group or difficulty in determining the effect of classic psychedelics in isolation. On the other hand, preclinical studies ( n = 7) investigating the effect of these compounds on voluntary alcohol consumption are scarce and show some conflicting data. Among these compounds, psilocybin seems to show the most consistent data indicating that this compound could be a potential candidate to treat alcohol use disorders. In the absence of understanding the biological and/or psychological mechanisms, more studies including methodological quality parameters are needed to finally determine the effects of classic psychedelics on alcohol consumption.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ketamine use: a review Ketamine users | 2011 | Systematic review | |
| Mindfulness Meditation for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review Individuals with substance use disorders | 2009 | Systematic review | |
| Mindfulness-Based Interventions for the Treatment of Substance and Behavioral Addictions: A Systematic Review | 2018 | Systematic review | |
| Ketamine for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: comprehensive systematic review | 2021 | Systematic review | |
| Therapeutic Use of LSD in Psychiatry: A Systematic Review of Randomized-Controlled Clinical Trials Patients with psychiatric disorders, primarily alcoholism | 2020 | Systematic review | n = 567 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 39
- Therapeutic effect of psilocybin in addiction: A systematic review Frontiers in Psychiatry February 9, 2023
- Psychedelic therapy in the treatment of addiction: the past, present and future Frontiers in Psychiatry June 12, 2023
- Mini-review: The neurobiology of treating substance use disorders with classical psychedelics Frontiers in Neuroscience April 17, 2023
- The Bright Side of Psychedelics: Latest Advances and Challenges in Neuropharmacology International Journal of Molecular Sciences January 10, 2023
- Psychedelic Targeting of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 2 and Its Implications for the Treatment of Alcoholism Cells March 22, 2023
and 34 more in the library
Cites 54
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
- Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study Journal of Psychopharmacology January 13, 2015
- Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for alcoholism: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Journal of Psychopharmacology March 8, 2012
- Therapeutic effects of classic serotonergic psychedelics: A systematic review of modern‐era clinical studies Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica October 30, 2020
- The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act Neuropharmacology June 5, 2018
and 49 more in the library