Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents a major public health problem for which currently available treatments are modestly effective. We report the findings of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-site phase 3 clinical trial (NCT03537014) to test the efficacy and safety of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy for the treatment of patients with...
In his paper "Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science," Andy Clark seminally proposed that the brain's job is to predict whatever information is coming "next" on the basis of prior inputs and experiences. Perception fundamentally subserves survival and self-preservation in biological agents, such as humans. Survival however crucially depends on...
The use of psychedelics is evolving for the treatment of a variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression, post‐traumatic stress disorder and other related uses, Financial News Media reported May 25. Some psychedelic drugs are extracted from plants or mushrooms, and some are synthetic (human‐made). These drugs are now considered effective for patients with treatment‐resistant...
Cannabis is one of the most widely used recreational drugs among people with clinical psychosis, after nicotine and alcohol. There has been a debate in psychiatry about whether or not we can infer a cause-and-effect relationship between the use of cannabis and psychotic disorders. In this editorial, we first present and critically discuss the evidence to date of the association between heavy...
If one accepts that decisions are made by the brain and that neuronal mechanisms obey deterministic physical laws, it is hard to deny what some brain researchers postulate, such as "We do not do what we want, but we want what we do" and "We should stop talking about freedom. Our actions are determined by physical laws." This point of view has been substantially supported by spectacular...
Abstract Psychological stress affects a wide spectrum of brain functions and poses risks for many mental disorders. However, effective therapeutics to alleviate or revert its deleterious effects are lacking. A recently synthesized psychedelic analog tabernanthalog (TBG) has demonstrated anti-addictive and antidepressant potential. Whether TBG can rescue stress-induced affective, sensory, and...
Impairments in feedback processing, often associated with risk-taking behavior, may have implications for development of substance abuse in adolescents. The most commonly used substances by adolescents include tobacco and cannabis, with some individuals using both substances, potentially heightening risk. Our objective was to examine feedback processing and impulsivity in adolescents who smoke...
Abstract The status of serotonin 5HT 2A receptors (5HT 2A Rs) in schizophrenia has been controversial. In vivo positron emission tomography neuroimaging and in vitro post-mortem binding studies have reported conflicting results about 5HT 2A R density. Radiotracers bind different receptor conformations depending on their agonist, antagonist or inverse agonist properties. This study...
Figure: This month's cover features a colorized magnetic resonance imaging scan of a human brain—a nod to Penn and colleagues' article “Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy,” which presents an overview of a growing field that nurses are positioned to be part of. Photo by Daisy Daisy / Shutterstock.This month's cover features a colorized magnetic resonance imaging scan of a human brain—a nod to Penn and...
A psychedelic drug is one that “produces thought, mood and perceptual changes otherwise rarely experienced except in dreams, contemplative and religious exaltation, flashes of vivid involuntary memory, and acute psychosis”1. It does so “without causing physical addiction, craving, major physiological disturbances, delirium, disorientation or amnesia”1. The “classic psychedelics” include...