LSD is a hallucinogen with complex neurobiological and behavioral effects. Underlying these effects are changes in brain neuroplasticity. This is the first study to follow the developmental changes in brain structure and function following LSD exposure in periadolescence. We hypothesized LSD given during a time of heightened neuroplasticity, particularly in the forebrain, would affect cognitive...
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a synthetic psychedelic compound with potential therapeutic value for psychiatric disorders. This study aims to establish Caenorhabditis elegans as an in vivo model for examining LSD's effects on locomotor behavior. Our results demonstrate that LSD is absorbed by C. elegans and that the acute treatment reduces animal speed, similar to the role of endogenous...
Currently, documentation on the effects of psychedelics on psychosis appears scarce. In the present case, a higher-dose LSD experience during acute paranoid psychosis before the initiation of antipsychotics induced feelings of love, which resolved the majority of the symptoms of the paranoid psychosis in one session, leading the person to reconnect with his family and seek treatment in a...
The continuous emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) attracted a great deal of attention within recent years. Lately, the two hallucinogenic NPS 1cP-LSD and 4-AcO-DET have appeared on the global market. Knowledge about their metabolism to identify potential metabolic targets for analysis and their cytotoxic properties is lacking. The aim of this work was thus to study their in vitro...
The recreational use of LSD, a synthetic psychedelic drug, has surged in recent years, coinciding with a renewed research focus on its potential psychotherapeutic properties. This study aims to describe the experiences and perceptions of individuals engaging in LSD use for the first time, derived from a large international sample. This study utilised 2018 Global Drug Survey data collected from...
Increasing global concerns about psychoactive substance addiction and psychotic disorders highlight the need for comprehensive research into the structure-function relationship governing ligand recognition between these substances and their receptors in the brain. Recent studies indicate the significant involvement of trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) in the signaling regulation of the...
The repeated use of small doses of psychedelics (also referred to as "microdosing") to facilitate benefits in mental health, cognition, and mood is a trending practice. Placebo-controlled studies however have largely failed to demonstrate strong benefits, possibly because of large inter-individual response variability. The current study tested the hypothesis that effects of low doses of LSD on...
Abstract Background Hallucinogens attract research as alternatives to the commonly used medications to treat major depressive and anxiety disorders. Aims Assess hallucinogens’ efficacy for managing depressive and anxiety symptoms and evaluate their safety profiles. Method In five databases, we searched for randomized controlled trials of hallucinogens targeting depressive and anxiety symptoms....
Electrophysiologic measures provide an opportunity to inform mechanistic models and possibly biomarker prediction of response. Serotonergic psychedelics (SPs) (i.e., psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)) and ketamine represent new investigational and established treatments in mood disorders respectively. There is a need to better characterize the mechanism of action of these agents. We...
Some recent research and commentary have suggested that most or all the effects reported by people who microdose psychedelics may be explained by expectations or placebo effects. In this rapid review, we aimed to evaluate the strength of evidence for a placebo explanation of the reported effects of microdosing. We conducted a PubMed search for all studies investigating psychedelic microdosing...