Dissociative amnesia refers to the inability to recall life events triggered by stressors, in the absence of a medical condition or substance use. Dissociative fugue, in contrast, is characterized by this amnesia accompanied by purposeless and bewildered wandering. Because the condition is rare and may present with psychosis-like features, dissociative fugue can easily be overlooked in clinical...
CureusJanuary 31, 2026Lukasz Siwek, Marta Nowocien, Barbara Balajewicz et al.
Psilocybin is a psychoactive chemical compound that exerts its effects through the activation of serotonergic receptors. It occurs naturally in mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe. Despite its potential medical applications, this substance is regarded as a drug with no recognized medical use. Depression constitutes a psychiatric disorder of substantial global burden, affecting millions of...
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a serotonin receptor agonist, in clinical development for the treatment of major depression and other psychiatric disorders. A critical safety concern for serotonergic compounds is their potential to induce seizures, as a severe manifestation of serotonin toxicity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the seizure liability of 5-MeO-DMT in a...
Race and Social ProblemsJanuary 30, 2026Katie Rodriguez, Grace Kinsky, Theresa Ngan Nguyen et al.
Abstract Interethnic relations are often characterized by power asymmetries, reduced empathy and compassion, and less favorable intergroup attitudes. This study examined whether brief mindfulness instruction could improve the quality of a dyadic perspective-giving and perspective-taking interaction. In a virtual setting, power-asymmetric dyads (Latinx and White non-Latinx participants) were...
January 30, 2026Makaela Weeda, Valeria Gazzola, Christian Keysers et al.
preprint
Besides its widespread recreational use, MDMA attracted the attention of many researchers and clinicians for its therapeutic potential for various mental disorders. Although recent clinical studies yielded promising results, MDMA has not been approved for medical use, partially due to the lack of clear insight into its neurobiological effects. In fact, although some suggest that MDMA’s...
Repeated exposure to ketamine leads to mental behavioral disorders and cognitive deficits in mice. As a neurotransmitter receptor, dopamine receptor 1 (DRD1) is involved in mental regulation and memory formation. However, the role of DRD1 in ketamine's behavioral disorder and neurotoxicity remains unclear. We found that seven-day ketamine exposure induced anxiety-like, depressive-like behavior...
PainJanuary 29, 2026Nicole Richter, Stefanie Schmidt, Glauce Regina Pigatto et al.
Pain perception involves somatosensory-discriminative and affective-motivational components, mediated by separate brain circuits. Traditional mouse behavioral assays lack the resolution to disentangle this complexity. Recent studies using subanesthetic ketamine doses in the hot-plate test revealed a dissociation between paw lifts (somatosensory) and bites & licks (affective). In this study, we...
Recreational ketamine use has increased globally and is associated with psychiatric and cognitive concerns. The hippocampus in preclinical models shows damage and working-memory disruption with repeated dosing. However, whether specific hippocampal subregions may differ in people with chronic ketamine use remains unclear. In Taiwan, ketamine is predominantly consumed by smoking ketamine mixed...
American Journal on AddictionsJanuary 28, 2026Mariana C De Oliveira, Cláudia C De Araujo Palmeira, André B Negrão et al.1 citation
Opioid use disorder (OUD) presents major challenges, especially when combined with chronic pain and psychiatric comorbidities. A 25-year-old woman with OUD, chronic pain, and major depressive disorder underwent an 8-week protocol of intravenous ketamine infusions (0.5 mg/kg weekly) as an adjunct to opioid tapering. Methadone dosage was reduced by 50%, with improved pain and craving control,...
Intranasal esketamine has demonstrated efficacy and safety for treatment-resistant depression in randomized controlled trials, however the generalizability of these findings to clinical practice remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize real-world evidence of intranasal esketamine in patients with treatment-resistant depression. A systematic search was...