Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), characterized by abnormally persistent and distressing memories, is a chronic debilitating condition in need of new treatment options. Current treatment guidelines recommend psychotherapy as first line management with only two drugs, sertraline and paroxetine, approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of PTSD. These drugs have...
Schizophrenia and states induced by certain psychotomimetic drugs may share some physiological and phenomenological properties, but they differ in fundamental ways: one is a crippling chronic mental disease, while the others are temporary, pharmacologically-induced states presently being explored as treatments for mental illnesses. Building towards a deeper understanding of these different...
Background: Experiences of intoxication elude scientific research because of their immediate and 'inner' nature for the intoxicated individual. In this chapter, we show how 'trip reports' – reports of psychedelic intoxication – from online drug information forums and libraries allow for further understanding the experience of psychedelic intoxication from LSD, DMT and psilocybin by examining...
Abstract Psychedelic drugs, including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and other agonists of the serotonin 2A receptor (5HT2A-R), induce drastic changes in subjective experience, and provide a unique opportunity to study the neurobiological basis of consciousness. One of the most notable neurophysiological signatures of psychedelics, increased entropy in spontaneous neural activity, is thought...
Microdosing is the practice of regularly using very low doses of psychedelic drugs. Anecdotal reports suggest that it may enhance well-being, creativity and cognition. Here, we use data from a self-blinding microdose trial, a large (n=240) placebo-controlled citizen science trial of microdosing to investigate whether tolerance develops during microdosing. We conceptualized tolerance as the...
Drugs both heal and destroy the human body and mind. Illegal drugs such as heroin, LSD, cocaine and marijuana were often celebrated as means to literary insight. In the 1960s drugs were used by the Beat writers, notably Allen Ginsberg, who referred to them in his poetry as a means to both political and spiritual insight. However, drugs also proved to be a dangerous and destructive addiction....
Classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, and other serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonists evoke acute alterations in perception and cognition. Altered thalamocortical connectivity has been hypothesized to underlie these effects, which is supported by some functional MRI (fMRI) studies. These studies have treated the thalamus as a unitary structure, despite known differential 5-HT2AR...
Dextromethorphan or DXM is an effective and harmless cough and cold suppressant available in many cold and cough preparations. At maximum dosage, it mimics hallucinogenic and psychoactive effects in human body and hence it is appealing for abuse. In this work, a detailed study of an antitussive agent i.e. Dextromethorphan which is a semi-synthetic opioid and a replacement of codeine and...
Human subjects’ protections have exponentially improved since the days of the military’s secret LSD research, but the federal government must tread carefully to avoid repeating previous ethical lapses.
Acta Médica PortuguesaOctober 5, 2022Diogo Frasquilho Guerreiro, Ana Lisa Carmo, Joaquim Alves da Silva et al.2 citations
Club drugs are the following substances: Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA); Methamphetamine; Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD); Ketamine; Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and Flunitrazepam. These substances are mainly used by adolescents and young adults, mostly in recreational settings like dance clubs and rave parties. These drugs have diverse psychotropic effects, are associated with several...