Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
April 11, 2016
Robin Carhart-Harris, Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, Leor Roseman et al.
887 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is the prototypical psychedelic drug, but its effects on the human brain have never been studied before with modern neuroimaging. Here, three complementary neuroimaging techniques: arterial spin labeling (ASL), blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) measures, and magnetoencephalography (MEG), implemented during resting state conditions, revealed marked changes in...
Neuropsychologia
April 5, 2016
Devin B. Terhune, David Luke, Mendel Kaelen et al.
45 citations
The induction of synaesthesia in non-synaesthetes has the potential to illuminate the mechanisms that contribute to the development of this condition and the shaping of its phenomenology. Previous research suggests that lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) reliably induces synaesthesia-like experiences in non-synaesthetes. However, these studies suffer from a number of methodological limitations...
Archives of Sexual Behavior
April 2016
Karine Schwarz, Anna Martha Vaitses Fontanari, Andressa Mueller et al.
Gender dysphoria (GD) (DSM-5) or transsexualism (ICD-10) refers to the marked incongruity between the experience of one's gender and the sex at birth. In this case report, we describe the use of LSD as a triggering factor of confusion in the gender identity of a 39-year-old male patient, with symptoms of psychosis and 25 years of substance abuse, who sought psychiatric care with the desire to...
The FASEB Journal
April 1, 2016
Kelly Jean Sherman, Charles D. Nichols
Circadian rhythms modulate biochemical and molecular pathways in living systems. In humans an endogenous clock mechanism is synchronized by a daily light‐dark cycle: sun up and sun down. These external cues from the environment regulate the core‐clock through auto‐regulating circadian genes’ expression levels. These oscillating gene products modulate physiological, biochemical, and molecular...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
March 23, 2016
Saibal Das, Preeti Barnwal, Anand Ramasamy et al.
51 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), described as a classical hallucinogen, began its journey from the middle of the last century following an accidental discovery. Since then, it was used as a popular and notorious substance of abuse in various parts of the world. Its beneficial role as an adjunct to psychotherapy was much unknown, until some 'benevolent' experiments were carried out over time to...
Zebrafish
March 22, 2016
Evan J. Kyzar, Allan V. Kalueff
29 citations
After decades of sociopolitical obstacles, the field of psychiatry is experiencing a revived interest in the use of hallucinogenic agents to treat brain disorders. Along with the use of ketamine for depression, recent pilot studies have highlighted the efficacy of classic serotonergic hallucinogens, such as lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin, in treating addiction, post-traumatic stress...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
March 18, 2016
Rafael G. Dos Santos, Flávia de Lima Osório, José Alexandre S. Crippa et al.
306 citations
To date, pharmacological treatments for mood and anxiety disorders and for drug dependence show limited efficacy, leaving a large number of patients suffering severe and persistent symptoms. Preliminary studies in animals and humans suggest that ayahuasca, psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) may have antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive properties. Thus, we conducted a...
Brain Research Bulletin
March 11, 2016
Elisabet Domínguez‐clavé, Joaquim Soler, Matilde Elices et al.
220 citations
Ayahuasca is the Quechua name for a tea obtained from the vine Banisteriopsis caapi, and used for ritual purposes by the indigenous populations of the Amazon. The use of a variation of the tea that combines B. caapi with the leaves of the shrub Psychotria viridis has experienced unprecedented expansion worldwide for its psychotropic properties. This preparation contains the psychedelic 5-HT2A...
History of Psychiatry
March 10, 2016
Jens Knud Larsen
29 citations
LSD was introduced in psychiatry in the 1950s. Between 1960 and 1973, nearly 400 patients were treated with LSD in Denmark. By 1964, one homicide, two suicides and four suicide attempts had been reported. In 1986 the Danish LSD Damages Law was passed after complaints by only one patient. According to the Law, all 154 applicants received financial compensation for LSD-inflicted harm. The Danish...
European Psychiatry
March 1, 2016
I. Ezquiaga, M. Grifell, Liliana Galindo et al.
IntroductionNovel psychoactive substances (NPS) use is progressively increasing year on year. A new group of phenethylamines sold as legal stimulants and hallucinogens is being reported increasingly since 2012. Within this group, 25I-NBOMe is an outstanding substance with powerful effects and high affinity with the serotonin 2a (5HT2a) receptor. Several toxicity cases have been reported so...
European Psychiatry
March 1, 2016
Laura Orsolini, Alessandro Valchera, Duccio Papanti et al.
3 citations
Introduction Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) is a syndrome characterized by prolonged or reoccurring perceptual symptoms, reminiscent of acute hallucinogen effects. HPPD was associated with a broader range of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)-like substances, including cannabis, MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), psilocybin, mescaline and other psychostimulants....
Canadian Medical Association Journal
February 16, 2016
Wm. Jeptha Davenport
14 citations
Tupper and colleagues highlight reasons for renewed interest in the use of psychedelic drugs as adjuncts to psychotherapy.[1][1] Clinicians have an interest in extending research into headache medicine, especially the treatment of cluster headaches (prevalence roughly 0.1%) when episodes are
Journal of Neuroendocrinology
February 6, 2016
Petra Strajhar, Yasmin Schmid, Evangelia Liakoni et al.
129 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a serotonin 5‐hydroxytryptamine‐2A (5‐HT 2A ) receptor agonist that is used recreationally worldwide. Interest in LSD research in humans waned after the 1970s, although the use of LSD in psychiatric research and practice has recently gained increasing attention. LSD produces pronounced acute psychedelic effects, although its influence on plasma steroid levels...
Psychological Medicine
February 5, 2016
Robin Carhart-Harris, Mendel Kaelen, Mark Bolstridge et al.
301 citations
Background Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent serotonergic hallucinogen or psychedelic that modulates consciousness in a marked and novel way. This study sought to examine the acute and mid-term psychological effects of LSD in a controlled study. Method A total of 20 healthy volunteers participated in this within-subjects study. Participants received LSD (75 µ g, intravenously) on one...
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
January 4, 2016
Michael P. Bogenschutz, Matthew W Johnson
Addictive disorders are very common and have devastating individual and social consequences. Currently available treatment is moderately effective at best. After many years of neglect, there is renewed interest in potential clinical uses for classic hallucinogens in the treatment of addictions and other behavioral health conditions. In this paper we provide a comprehensive review of both...
Behavioural Brain Research
2016
Evan J. Kyzar, Adam Michael Stewart, Allan V. Kalueff
Serotonin (5-HT) plays a crucial role in the brain, modulating mood, cognition and reward. The serotonin transporter (SERT) is responsible for the reuptake of 5-HT from the synaptic cleft and regulates serotonin signaling in the brain. In humans, SERT genetic variance is linked to the pathogenesis of various psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and...
Consciousness and Cognition
2016
Chris Letheby
68 citations
One recent development in epistemology, the philosophical study of knowledge, is the notion of 'epistemic innocence' introduced by Bortolotti and colleagues. This concept expresses the idea that certain suboptimal cognitive processes may nonetheless have epistemic (knowledge-related) benefits. The idea that delusion or confabulation may have psychological benefits is familiar enough. What is...
Perspectives in biology and medicine
2016
Jonathan D Moreno
15 citations
Henry Knowles Beecher, an icon of human research ethics, and Timothy Francis Leary, a guru of the counterculture, are bound together in history by the synthetic hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Both were associated with Harvard University during a critical period in their careers and of drastic social change. To all appearances the first was a paragon of the establishment and a...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2016
Jana Speth, Clemens Speth, Mendel Kaelen et al.
119 citations
This paper reports on the effects of LSD on mental time travel during spontaneous mentation. Twenty healthy volunteers participated in a placebo-controlled crossover study, incorporating intravenous administration of LSD (75 μg) and placebo (saline) prior to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Six independent, blind judges analysed mentation reports acquired during structured...