Importance: Psychedelic drugs possess acute psychoactive effects that can compromise blinding integrity in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Functional unblinding, when participants or raters correctly identify treatment allocation based on subjective effects, may bias outcomes through expectancy effects, challenging the validity of efficacy estimates and regulatory acceptance. Objective: To...
Excitement has built recently about new avenues for psychiatric treatment: psychedelic drugs such as Ketamine and psilocybin; trans‐cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We see the revival of older practices such as electro‐convulsive shock therapy (ECT) and therapeutic lesioning, and medicines borrowed from other fields, like GLP‐1s.
Altered states of consciousness (ASC) represent a universal human capacity for accessing and transforming the subconscious mind, employed across cultures and millennia through diverse contemplative, somatic, pharmacological, ritual, and technological modalities. This comprehensive review synthesizes evidence from over 25 distinct disciplines spanning five clusters: (A) contemplative and...
Dissociative agents, such as phencyclidine (PCP) and ketamine, belong to the arylcyclohexylamine class. During illicit synthesis, numerous analogs of PCP can be produced. To date, over 60 psychoactive "designer" derivatives have been identified, and most are undetectable by standard drug testing. This case describes the first laboratory-confirmed use of 3-methyl-PCP, a novel arylcyclohexylamine...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex psychiatric condition associated with alterations in brain neuroplasticity. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a key regulator of neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity, and neurogenesis, has been widely studied as a biological marker of neuroplasticity in depression. This review and meta-analysis evaluated the relationship between BDNF levels...
Molecular PsychiatryApril 1, 2026Zijian Lv, Qifeng Xie, Kecan Li et al.3 citations
Chronic stress induces neurobiological adaptations that manifest as altered behavioral patterns in both humans and animal models. To enhance the translational value of preclinical research, we systematically evaluated chronic restraint stress (CRS) protocols in mice through longitudinal tracking of behavioral outcomes across multiple validated assays. By comparing various CRS parameters, we...
Psilocybin showed a rapid antidepressant response in several clinical trials, which offers new hope for treating depression. Astrocytes were associated with the etiology of depression and might contribute to the onset of psilocybin. In this study, we investigated the fast antidepressant effect of psilocybin and tested variations of GFAP (astrocytic markers) and C3 protein (markers of A1...
Major depressive disorder remains a leading cause of disability worldwide, and current antidepressants are limited by delayed onset and incomplete response. Building on advances driven by ketamine research, renewed interest has focused on classical serotonergic psychedelics—particularly psilocybin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-DMT, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)—which, under...
Abstract Background Determining health information quality on online drug platforms is crucial for revealing and shaping substance use practices. The study aims to assess the scope and quality of health-related information on the largest Polish drug forum, Hyperreal. Ultimately, the goal was to explore how the case of Hyperreal illustrates user-driven knowledge construction around drug use and...
The use of psychedelics in the treatment of psychopathologies has been expanding, highlighting Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) as a promising resource in mental health care. This systematic review investigates. This systematic review investigates whether and how cognitive-behavioral therapies are integrated with psychedelic substances—both classical and atypical—for the treatment of...