Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of psychedelics on social perception and cognition may be instrumental to unravel their therapeutic potential. We conducted a pharmacoimaging study to examine ayahuasca's effects on a key theory of mind region, at the core of the third visual pathway (TVP) - the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), which is involved in facial...
This preprint presents The Last Dream, a theoretical model aimed at interpreting the subjective experience that may occur in the seconds immediately following cardiac arrest and preceding irreversible neuronal failure. Drawing on convergent evidence from physics of time, neuroscience, neurochemistry, and psychedelic research, the model explores the plausibility of a transient terminal state...
Psilocybin is a psychoactive tryptamine produced by a phylogenetically discontinuous yet ecologically diverse subset of fungi. Despite decades of chemical, pharmacological, and ethnobiological research, the evolutionary forces driving the emergence and persistence of this compound remain insufficiently explained. Recent hypotheses proposing that psilocybin evolved primarily as a deterrent...
CNS DrugsJanuary 17, 2026Gaëlle Rached, Anna Campana, Dimitri Fiani et al.1 citation
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) remain an important option for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and other psychiatric conditions, despite potentially serious drug-drug interactions and associated dietary tyramine restrictions. However, they are rarely prescribed in patients with comorbid substance use disorders (SUDs) due to concerns about potential drug interactions and...
The last few decades have been characterised by a resurgence in research and clinical interest in classic serotonergic psychedelics including N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin, with a growing body of literature pointing to their treatment potential. Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew commonly composed of plants carrying the psychoactive compound DMT, and...
Abstract Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and cognitive symptoms. Despite current therapeutic strategies, many patients continue to experience the poor outcomes. Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian brew containing N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and β-carboline alkaloids, has shown antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory...
The clinical use of psychedelic substances and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT) is an area of growing interest that also raises significant social concerns and controversy. Despite existing legal restrictions, empirical research on substances such as psilocybin, mescaline, MDMA, LSD, DMT, and ibogaine has been developing, particularly in the treatment of conditions such as treatment-resistant...
Background: Serotonergic psychedelics induce their psychoactive effects by stimulating the brain’s serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). In humans, a cerebral 5-HT2AR occupancy of ≥60% is required to elicit a profound psychedelic experience with psilocybin [1] and for pigs, a dose corresponding to ∼65% 5-HT2AR occupancy elicits headshakes [2]. We posit that in order to assess biochemical and...
AbstractThis chapter delves into the meandrous trajectory of DMT extracted from Mimosa tenuifora (black jurema) along traditional, scientific, and neo-shamanic uses. Chemist Jonathan Ott popularized a recipe of anahuasca (sometimes called juremahuasca or pharmahuasca) mixing the root bark powder from the tree that grows in semi-arid regions of tropical America with Syrian rue as a source of...
Despite divergent behavioral and phenomenological profiles, both psychedelic states and reduced states of consciousness have been associated with a flattening of the brain's functional hierarchy. To address this apparent paradox, we developed a more specific definition of hierarchy based on the proximity of the brain to thermodynamic equilibrium and then applied it to investigate the changes to...