Research, Society and Development
December 13, 2023
Caíque Gois Cardoso, Milena de Barros Viana
2 citations
Introduction: With the progressive advancement of clinical and experimental trials aimed at investigating the pharmacotherapeutic potential of psychedelic substances, there is also the development of other conceptions of use, not only for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, but also for the improvement of emotional/cognitive functions. Objective: The present study is a systematic review of...
Molecules
December 5, 2023
Marjolein Doesburg-Van Kleffens, Amy Marisa Zimmermann-Klemd, Carsten Gründemann
13 citations
Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is a cactus that contains various biologically active alkaloids—such as pellotine, anhalonidine, hordenine and mescaline. Here, mescaline induces the psychoactive effects of peyote through the activation of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor and the subsequent release of calcium (Ca2+) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Moreover, an evaluation of the therapeutic...
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe)
December 1, 2023
Zoë Dubus, Elise Grandgeorge, Vincent Verroust
International audience
The MIT Press eBooks
November 21, 2023
Gautier Dassonneville
1 citation
In this chapter, I examine the undocumented history of mescaline in medical and psychiatric circles in France by reconstructing the scientific context in which Jean-Paul Sartre's famous bad trip took place in February 1935. 1 In this way, we can first consider that the very term "bad trip," sometimes ascribed to the experience retrospectively 2 on the basis of accounts by Simone de Beauvoir...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 20, 2023
Andreas Halman, Geraldine Kong, Jerome Sarris et al.
42 citations
Classic psychedelics, including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, mescaline, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), are potent psychoactive substances that have been studied for their physiological and psychological effects. However, our understanding of the potential interactions and outcomes when using these substances in combination with...
The Plant Journal
November 1, 2023
Jacinta L Watkins, Qiushi Li, Sam Yeaman et al.
23 citations
Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is an entheogenic and medicinal cactus native to the Chihuahuan desert. The psychoactive and hallucinogenic properties of peyote are principally attributed to the phenethylamine derivative mescaline. Despite the isolation of mescaline from peyote over 120 years ago, the biosynthetic pathway in the plant has remained undiscovered. Here, we use a transcriptomics and...
The Plant Journal
October 20, 2023
Gwendolyn K. Kirschner
2 citations
The small, globular cactus peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is known for its ability to produce mescaline, a phenethylamine protoalkaloid (Figure 1). Consuming the mescaline-containing dried tops or “buttons” of peyote has a psychedelic effect that has been used in religious ceremonies by Indigenous communities for over 5800 years (Cassels & Sáez-Briones, 2018). Nowadays, psychedelic drugs are...
Research Directions Depression
October 13, 2023
Ian B. Hickie, F. Markus Leweke, Allan H. Young
1 citation
In recent years, there has been considerable enthusiasm among research groups focused on developing novel therapies for treatment-resistant depression, and a wider community that has had experiences using recreational drugs, in more systematic evaluation of the therapeutic value of these compounds (Goodwin et al., 2022; Young, 2023). This has also been associated with advocacy for...
The British Journal of Criminology
October 7, 2023
Heith Copes, Jared Ragland
8 citations
Narrative criminology prioritizes personal narratives for explaining past behaviours and shaping future decisions. Using this perspective, we rely on data from a photo-ethnography with people who use peyote in religious ceremonies to understand how their discourses about peyote shape their experiences with it. We find that participants define peyote as an ‘earth medicine’ that helps with...
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
October 5, 2023
Robert H. Dworkin, Michael P McDermott, Sandeep M. Nayak et al.
16 citations
Clinical trials of psychedelics have provided support for their potential efficacy and safety.Although most combined a psychedelic with psychological support akin to psychotherapy, providing psychotherapy is costlier and more difficult to scale than providing only support to reduce harms.Trials with factorial designs can evaluate the individual effects of a psychedelic and psychotherapy and any...
Neuropsychopharmacology
October 1, 2023
Laura Ley, Friederike Holze, Denis Arikci et al.
127 citations
Mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and psilocybin are classic serotonergic psychedelics. A valid, direct comparison of the effects of these substances is lacking. The main goal of the present study was to investigate potential pharmacological, physiological and phenomenological differences at psychoactive-equivalent doses of mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin. The present study used a...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
September 3, 2023
Vitamin D3, omega-3s show no protection against late-life depression Some older adults with subthreshold depression or at high risk for depression might have elevated inflammation or poor vascular and metabolic health, suggesting that supplementation could improve mood in these individuals. An ancillary study to a trial of vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids examined the effects of these...
American Literature
September 1, 2023
Sylvie Boulette
Abstract This article follows the transsensory pathways opened by peyote, a mood-altering entheogen, as it diffused among Native peoples living under and along the edges of colonial occupation around the turn of the twentieth century. It traces that movement through the pulsions of temporal and sensorial animacy created in the episodic narration of The Autobiography of a Winnebago Indian...
Frontiers in Psychology
September 1, 2023
Zoë Dubus, Elise Grandgeorge, Vincent Verroust
3 citations
This article reviews the historical protocols for the administration of “classic” psychedelics in France, from the 1920s to the 1960s. Taking a chronological approach, it investigates the way mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin were administered, the subjects involved, the route of administration, the dosage, and the epistemological context of the research. From the 1930s, the Sainte-Anne school...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 31, 2023
Alexsandra Kovacevich, Jeremy Weleff, Benjamin Claytor et al.
6 citations
Cultural awareness of anosmia and microsmia has recently increased due to their association with COVID-19, though treatment for these conditions is limited. A growing body of online media claims that individuals have noticed improvement in anosmia and microsmia following classic psychedelic use. We report what we believe to be the first three cases recorded in the academic literature of...
Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology
August 29, 2023
Xuehan Du
1 citation
Psilocybin, a psychoactive alkaloid with hallucinogenic properties, exists in a variety of hallucinogenic mushrooms. As a study tool to imitate psychosis, psilocybin has aroused a lot of interest in the biological community due to its various possible therapeutic benefits. It is also a very popular and widely misused natural hallucinogens with distinct metabolism pathways and toxicity. In this...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 24, 2023
Stanley Wong, An Yi Yu, Nicholas Fabiano et al.
11 citations
There has been a resurgence of interest in the use of psychedelic therapies for several mental and substance use disorders. Psilocybin, a "classic" serotonergic psychedelic, has emerged as one of the primary compounds of interest in clinical research. While research on psilocybin's potential mental health benefits has grown, data on the safety and efficacy of other serotonergic psychedelics...
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
August 19, 2023
Liam Engel, Monica J Barratt, Jason Ferris et al.
7 citations
Abstract Background and Aims Both Peyote and San Pedro cacti contain mescaline, a classical psychedelic eliciting mystical and visual effects, but only Peyote is a vulnerable species. We sought to address the questions 1; do people who use Peyote substitute with San Pedro, and vice versa, and; 2. how popular is the use of wild harvested mescaline cactus compared with the use of cultivated...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
August 12, 2023
Michael Tagen, Daniel Mantuani, Alex Holstein et al.
39 citations
Psychedelic microdosing is the practice of taking very low doses of psychedelic substances, typically over a longer period of time. The long-term safety of chronic microdosing is relatively uncharacterized, but valvular heart disease (VHD) has been proposed as a potential risk due to activation of the serotonin 5-HT 2B receptor. However, this risk has not yet been comprehensively assessed. This...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
August 7, 2023
Alexander Pilozzi, Simmie Foster, David Mischoulon et al.
16 citations
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of senile dementia, is poised to place an even greater societal and healthcare burden as the population ages. With few treatment options for the symptomatic relief of the disease and its unknown etiopathology, more research into AD is urgently needed. Psychedelic drugs target AD-related psychological pathology and symptoms such as depression. Using...