Abstract Objectives School-based mindfulness programs (SBMPs) are increasingly implemented to support adolescent mental health, yet evidence for their effectiveness remains mixed. Recent research suggests that average effects may obscure meaningful variability in outcomes across individuals. The present study aimed to examine both the overall effectiveness of a 6-week SBMP and the role of...
Despite the rapid global implementation of school-based mindfulness trainings (SBMTs), empirical findings regarding their effectiveness in children and adolescents remain inconsistent. Large-scale trials and recent meta-analyses have challenged early optimism, raising critical questions about for whom, under what conditions, and through which mechanisms SBMTs may be beneficial. This paper...
bioRxivJuly 9, 2026Christine Liu, Ellie M. Ho, Alexander S. Enos et al.
preprint
Psychedelic drugs show remarkable potential for treating psychiatric disorders, but the mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects remain relatively unknown. Here, we demonstrate that psilocybin can powerfully ameliorate deficits in cognitive flexibility, but this effect depends on the specific circuit-level cause of those deficits. Using optogenetic models of cognitive inflexibility in...
Stress exposure during periods of neurodevelopment is an established risk factor for the onset of stress-related mental illnesses in adulthood, which have differences in presentation and treatment response depending on an individual’s sex, and are difficult to treat due to a lack of complete biological understanding. A more holistic biological perspective of the adult brain after stress...
The serotonergic psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) produces rapid antidepressant effects in preclinical and early clinical studies. Therapeutic benefits have been linked to sustained neural plasticity, including adult neurogenesis in rodents. Whether brief DMT exposure engages proliferative responses in human neural stem cells (NSCs) remains unresolved. Using human iPSC-derived NSCs, we...
Anxiety and stress-related disorders affect over 280 million individuals worldwide and remain inadequately treated by current pharmacotherapies, which are often limited in efficacy and tolerability. Ketamine produces rapid therapeutic effects in mood and anxiety disorders, but its clinical use is constrained by dissociative side effects and abuse liability. Ketamine metabolites, particularly (2...
Abstract: This chapter explores two distinct domains within psychopharmacology: alternative psychoactive substances and therapeutic medications. Alternative psychoactive substances, including synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, hallucinogens, and opioids; herbal supplements; and inhalants, often fall outside traditional drug classifications. In contrast, therapeutic medications play a vital...
BACKGROUND Cannabis-induced psychosis presents complex sex-based disparities that challenge traditional epidemiological patterns. While males demonstrate higher cannabis use rates, emerging evidence reveals paradoxical vulnerability patterns where females may show heightened susceptibility to cannabis-related psychotic outcomes despite lower consumption rates. OBJECTIVE To map evidence for...
Abstract Study Objectives Sensory stimulation during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been proposed as a method to induce lucidity, yet most approaches rely on distal sensory modalities such as light and sound. We explored whether bodily stimulation targeting the muscle and vestibular systems differentially influences dream incorporation and lucid awareness during REM sleep. Methods 28...
Background Zoletil 50, mixed with tiletamine and zolazepam, a veterinary anesthetic, has increasingly been used as a substitute drug by substance abusers in recent years. Recently, it has been found in China that tiletamine has been added to electronic cigarettes as a stimulant, highlighting the need for further evaluation of its safety. Case presentation A 22-year-old, previously healthy,...