Current neuroscience research calls into question the binary model of anesthesia as a state of consciousness shifted by unconsciousness, replacing it with an idea of consciousness as a continuum created by interactions between large-scale cortex and subcortical regions.Meanwhile, psychedelic drugs are making a comeback as potential treatments for treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic...
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAT) presents a promising alternative for addressing mental health challenges, particularly in treatment-resistant conditions, yet little exists in the literature guiding its implementation in an Indigenous context, for Indigenous participants, or describing culturally adapted delivery models. This paper presents insights and lessons learned from a collaborative pilot...
Depression is increasingly recognized as a multifactorial disorder in which immune dysregulation contributes substantially to disease initiation, progression, and treatment response. Among the immune mediators implicated, serum inflammatory cytokines-including IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and C-reactive protein-have emerged as key links between peripheral inflammation and central nervous system...
Burst firing in the lateral habenula (LHb) is enhanced under stress and depression, and ketamine blocks burst firing in LHb to exert a rapid antidepressant effect. Thus, burst firing in LHb may serve as a cellular mechanism of depression and a promising therapeutic target for developing novel antidepressants. However, the mechanisms underlying burst firing in LHb are not fully understood. The...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) continues to pose a major therapeutic challenge due to its clinical heterogeneity. This chapter looks at the development of antidepressant treatments, starting with early interventions such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). Although these treatments targeted the monoaminergic system,...
While tele-mental health has improved access to standard medication management and psychotherapy for rural Veterans, implementation of interventional psychiatry treatments will require in-person care, potentially leading to the exacerbation of rural-urban disparities in access to mental health care. We studied the availability of interventional psychiatry treatments, delivered clinically or in...
Party drugs encompass a broad spectrum of legal and illegal psychoactive substances used in party settings such as clubs, festivals, raves or private gatherings to modulate mood, perception, social interaction and bodily states. Most commonly, alcohol and cannabis are consumed, followed by amphetamine, MDMA (“ecstasy”), cocaine and ketamine. Synthetic cathinones, GHB/GBL (“liquid ecstasy”),...
PsychoactivesDecember 24, 2025Brendan Driscoll, Shaheen E. Lakhan1 citation
Psychedelic-assisted therapy offers rapid and profound benefits for treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions but remains constrained by the need for intensive, clinic-based administration. Concurrently, advances in digital health technologies have introduced scalable tools. This systematic review evaluates the safety, efficacy, and implementation of digitally enabled psychedelic-assisted...
The paper, “Tragic Person Evolved: Transforming Tragedy Into Hope Through New, Alternative Treatments” was presented at the 45th IAPSP International Conference in Rome in October of 2024. The paper explores the integration of relational psychoanalysis and alternative treatments, including ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, for individuals with OCD, ADHD, and ASD. Two case studies illustrate how...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a promising and innovative approach to treating a range of mental health disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders. Once sidelined due to regulatory bans and social stigma, psychedelics such as psilocybin, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and...