The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
September 9, 2026
Friederike Holze, F Müller, Peter Gasser et al.
Abstract Background Anxiety disorders are a major health burden and current treatment options yield unsatisfactory results. Psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) that act via agonism on serotonin 2A receptors, have recently been shown to be effective in the treatment of anxiety symptoms. Aims & Objectives Here, we determine the relationship between the acute experience and...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
September 9, 2026
Lisa Harada, K Yonezawa, K Kusudo et al.
Abstract Background Despite sequential treatments with conventional antidepressants, many patients with depression experience insufficient clinical improvement, referred to as treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic acting as a 5-HT2A receptor agonist, has attracted increasing attention as a novel treatment, with clinical trials demonstrating rapid and...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
September 9, 2026
Orla Mallon
Abstract Background Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, with relapse remaining common despite the availability of opioid agonist and antagonist pharmacotherapies. Scotland continues to experience a disproportionate burden of drug-related deaths relative to other parts of the United Kingdom and Europe, reflecting the ongoing clinical and public...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
September 9, 2026
Mario F Juruena
Abstract Background Ketamine has rapid antidepressant and anti-suicidal effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but optimal implementation, route selection, and longer-term maintenance strategies remain areas of active clinical development. At the Maudsley Advanced Treatment Service (MATS), ketamine and esketamine are delivered within a specialist governance framework, using multiple...
Biosystems
September 8, 2026
Emiliano Bruner
Frequently, the terms self and ego are employed as synonyms. From the one hand, this can obscure and confound different experiences related to consciousness. On the other hand, this can limit the use of these concepts when trying to express the human potential, and enhance well-being. Following the principles of ecology, system theory, and extended cognition, I propose an operational definition...
MELINTAS
September 7, 2026
Alfathri Adlin, Yasraf Amir Piliang, Bambang Sugiharto et al.
Scholars commonly understand the creation of artworks through images and imagination as creative processes that transform sensory experience. However, previous studies have discussed the concept of the imaginal primarily in the context of mystical experience and have rarely connected it to artistic creation. This study analyzes the role of imaginal experience in the creative processes of three...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
September 7, 2026
Christian Alexander Brown
preprint
This research essay/article argues that cannabis can reasonably be described as psychedelic in a phenomenological sense, even though it is not pharmacologically classified as a classic serotonergic psychedelic such as LSD or psilocybin. The central distinction is between pharmacology and phenomenology: THC acts primarily through the endocannabinoid system, especially CB1 receptor signaling, yet...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
September 7, 2026
Rebekka Waldesruh
preprint
This chapter examines one of the central misunderstandings surrounding the phenomenon traditionally referred to as the “Dark Night of the Soul”: its frequent reduction to clinical depression. Building on the introductory chapter, the present section develops a differentiated comparison between depressive states and the transformative process described in mystical traditions, particularly in the...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
September 7, 2026
Rebekka Waldesruh
preprint
This chapter focuses on the central core of the so-called “Dark Night of the Soul” and unfolds its inner structure through the classical distinction between the night of the senses and the night of the spirit, as described by John of the Cross. In contrast to a schematic or linear model, the Dark Night is not understood here as a step-by-step developmental sequence, but as a dynamic and...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 7, 2026
Torsten Passie, Michiel van Elk
Common wisdom in the psychedelic literature suggests that early controlled trials of psychedelic therapy were methodologically flawed. In this review we challenge this view and discuss 11 controlled studies that were conducted in the United States and Canada between 1965 and 1977 to evaluate psychedelic (peak) therapy for individuals suffering from alcohol and opioid use disorder and...