Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazonian brew composed of Psychotria viridis, containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and Banisteriopsis caapi, which includes harmala alkaloids such as harmine. Ayahuasca can produce potent psychoactive effects primarily due to DMT, whose metabolism is inhibited by harmine via monoamine oxidase-A enzymes. This inhibition increases DMT's systemic bioavailability,...
Ofatumumab, a fully humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, is the only highly effective disease modifying therapy (DMT) approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in China up to data. Real-world data are necessary to investigate the factors for switching from oral DMTs and to assess the effectiveness and safety of ofatumumab in the Chinese MS population. We conducted a...
This essay presents an overview and analysis of Sam Woolfe's Altered Perspectives: Critical Essays on Psychedelic Consciousness. My critical remarks focus on the naturalistic "explaining away" of stranger psychedelic experiences, such as entity encounters. I conclude that Altered Perspectives is a must-have for anyone interested in the philosophy of altered states of consciousness.
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychedelic gaining interest as a potential mental health treatment. However, a poorly characterized phenomenon termed reactivation (similar to "flashbacks") is commonly reported with 5-MeO-DMT use and merits investigation. This study examined the prevalence, predictors, and emotional valence of reactivations among Spanish-speaking individuals....
Current first-line antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), often present a delayed onset of action and fail to effectively treat a large proportion of patients, leaving a gap in the treatment of mood disorders. Psychedelics have recently emerged as promising alternatives due to their ability to produce fast-acting antidepressant effects through neuroplastic...
This study examines the existence and mechanistic underpinnings of lasting neural, cognitive, and behavioural plasticity in response to N-N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in a hazardous drinking population. It combines behavioural, neuroimaging, ecological momentary and qualitative data to gain a holistic understanding of potential mechanisms of therapeutic change following DMT. Primarily, we test...
Meditation and psychedelics have separately been studied as powerful tools for probing consciousness through their capacity to deconstruct the sense of self. Yet, direct empirical comparisons remain scarce, particularly in expert meditators. Here, we report for the first time a case study in which an advanced meditator and Lama from the Mahāmudrā meditation tradition engaged in a traditional...
Both meditation and psychedelics are widely studied for their therapeutic potential in mental health. Recent research suggests potential synergies between mindfulness practice and psychedelics, though empirical studies have primarily focused on psilocybin. This study investigates the distinct and combined effects of mindfulness practice and an ayahuasca-inspired formulation containing...
Meditation, psychedelics, and brain connectivity: A randomized controlled resting-state fMRI study of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and harmine in a meditation retreat.
Abstract Reward processing is a broad psychological construct that can be parsed into distinct components known as “reinforcement learning” (learning), “reward responsiveness” (liking), and “motivation to obtain a reward” (wanting). Dysfunctions in reward processing in mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways, are a core feature of many pathologies. Psychedelics have been proposed as a treatment...