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Neuroplasticity research published in 2021

32 studies whose primary subject is neuroplasticity were published in 2021, up from 16 in 2020. Newest first. Back to the neuroplasticity overview

Studies

The Hallucinogenic Serotonin2A Receptor Agonist, 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Iodoamphetamine, Promotes cAMP Response Element Binding Protein-Dependent Gene Expression of Specific Plasticity-Associated Genes in the Rodent Neocortex

Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience December 24, 2021 Lynette A. Desouza, Madhurima Benekareddy, Sashaina E. Fanibunda et al. 46 citations

Psychedelic compounds that target the 5-HT 2A receptor are reported to evoke psychoplastogenic effects, including enhanced dendritic arborization and synaptogenesis. Transcriptional regulation of neuronal plasticity-associated genes is implicated in the cytoarchitectural effects of serotonergic psychedelics, however, the transcription factors that drive this regulation are poorly elucidated....

Beating pain with psychedelics: Matter over mind?

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 16, 2021 Igor Elman, Amanda C. Pustilnik, David Borsook 26 citations

Basic pain research has shed light on key cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying nociceptive and phenomenological aspects of pain. Despite these advances, we still yearn for the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies to address the unmet needs of about 70 % of chronic neuropathic pain patients whose pain fails to respond to opioids as well as to other conventional analgesic agents....

Implications on hypnotherapy: Neuroplasticity, epigenetics and pain.

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 2021 Noémi Császár, Felix Scholkmann, István Bókkon

We provide a brief review about the significance of hypnosis with respect to applications and physiological processes in hypnotherapy. Our review concludes that hypnosis is a promising method to manage acute and chronic pain. In addition, we discuss indications pointing toward the view that hypnosis can induce changes in neuroplasticity possibly involving epigenetic mechanisms.

Cognition as a process in dynamic systems

Pensamiento. Revista de Investigación e Información Filosófica November 30, 2021 Francisco Arenas-Dolz

The purpose of this article is to show the importance of the neurophenomenological approach for education, specifically in the digital society, where, more than ever, learning requires the co-development of our observation and analysis skills in conjunction with our abilities to design and implement actions in our surroundings in order to reduce complexity and increase our capacity for action....

Ketamine as a Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa: A Narrative Review

Nutrients November 20, 2021 Johanna Louise Keeler, Janet Treasure, Mario F Juruena et al. 55 citations

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a highly complex disorder to treat, especially in severe and enduring cases. Whilst the precise aetiology of the disorder is uncertain, malnutrition and weight loss can contribute to reductions in grey and white matter of the brain, impairments in neuroplasticity and neurogenesis and difficulties with cognitive flexibility, memory and learning. Depression is highly...

Psilocybin therapy increases cognitive and neural flexibility in patients with major depressive disorder.

Translational Psychiatry November 8, 2021 Manoj K. Doss, Michal Považan, Monica D Rosenberg et al. 343 citations

Psilocybin has shown promise for the treatment of mood disorders, which are often accompanied by cognitive dysfunction including cognitive rigidity. Recent studies have proposed neuropsychoplastogenic effects as mechanisms underlying the enduring therapeutic effects of psilocybin. In an open-label study of 24 patients with major depressive disorder, we tested the enduring effects of psilocybin...

Molecular targets of psychedelic‐induced plasticity

Journal of Neurochemistry November 6, 2021 Alaina M Jaster, Mario de la Fuente Revenga, Javier González-Maeso 28 citations

Abstract Psychedelic research across different disciplines and biological levels is growing at a remarkably fast pace. In the prospect of a psychedelic drug becoming again an approved treatment, much of these efforts have been oriented toward exploring the relationship between the actual psychedelic effects and those manifestations of therapeutic interest. Considering the central role of the...

Serotonergic Psychedelics in Neural Plasticity

Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience October 12, 2021 Kacper Łukasiewicz, Jacob J. Baker, Yi Zuo et al. 32 citations

Psychedelics, compounds that can induce dramatic changes in conscious experience, have been used by humans for centuries. Recent studies have shown that certain psychedelics can induce neural plasticity by promoting neurite growth and synapse formation. In this review, we focus on the role of classical serotonergic psychedelics in neural plasticity and discuss its implication for their...

Ketamine triggers rapid antidepressant effects by modulating synaptic plasticity in a new depressive-like mouse model based on astrocyte glutamate transporter GLT-1 knockdown in infralimbic cortex.

Revista de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental October 1, 2021 M. N. Fullana, Verónica Paz, Francesc Artigas et al.

OBJECTIVE Recently, we reported on a new MDD-like mouse model based on a regionally selective knockdown of astroglial glutamate transporters, GLAST/GLT-1, in infralimbic cortex (IL) which evokes widespread changes in mouse brain associated with the typical alterations found in MDD patients. To further characterize this new MDD-like mouse model, here we examine some transcriptional elements of...

Prolonged epigenomic and synaptic plasticity alterations following single exposure to a psychedelic in mice

Cell Reports October 1, 2021 Mario de la Fuente Revenga, Bohan Zhu, Christopher A. Guevara et al.

SUMMARY Clinical evidence suggests that rapid and sustained antidepressant action can be attained with a single exposure to psychedelics. However, the biological substrates and key mediators of psychedelics’ enduring action remain unknown. Here, we show that a single administration of the psychedelic DOI produces fast-acting effects on frontal cortex dendritic spine structure and acceleration...

Neuroplasticity as a convergent mechanism of ketamine and classical psychedelics

TIPS - Trends in Pharmacological Sciences September 24, 2021 Lily R. Aleksandrova, Anthony G. Phillips 255 citations

The emerging therapeutic efficacy of ketamine and classical psychedelics for depression has inspired tremendous interest in the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. We review preclinical and clinical evidence supporting neuroplasticity as a convergent downstream mechanism of action for these novel fast-acting antidepressants. Through their primary glutamate or serotonin receptor targets,...

Critical Period Plasticity as a Framework for Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy

Frontiers in Neuroscience September 20, 2021 Lauren Lepow, Hirofumi Morishita, Rachel Yehuda 70 citations

As psychedelic compounds gain traction in psychiatry, there is a need to consider the active mechanism to explain the effect observed in randomized clinical trials. Traditionally, biological psychiatry has asked how compounds affect the causal pathways of illness to reduce symptoms and therefore focus on analysis of the pharmacologic properties. In psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP),...

DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.710004 (opens in new tab) Neuroplasticity Psychotherapist Intervention counseling Mechanism biology

Psychedelics and Neuroplasticity: A Systematic Review Unraveling the Biological Underpinnings of Psychedelics

Frontiers in Psychiatry September 10, 2021 Cato M. H. de Vos, Natasha L. Mason, Kim P. C. Kuypers 259 citations

Clinical studies suggest the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, including ayahuasca, DMT, psilocybin, and LSD, in stress-related disorders. These substances induce cognitive, antidepressant, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive effects suggested to arise from biological changes similar to conventional antidepressants or the rapid-acting substance ketamine. The proposed route is by inducing brain...

Ayahuasca, a psychedelic beverage, modulates neuroplasticity induced by ethanol in mice

Behavioural Brain Research August 23, 2021 Carolina Aparecida Faria Almeida, Antônio Alves Pereira-Júnior, Jéssica Gonçalves Rangel et al. 33 citations

Alcohol use disorder needs more effective treatments because relapse rates remain high. Psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, have been used to treat substance use disorders. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of ayahuasca on ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization (EIBS). Swiss mice received 2.2 g/kg ethanol or saline IP injections every other day across nine days (D1, D3, D5, D7, and D9),...

Neuroplasticity within and between Functional Brain Networks in Mental Training Based on Long-Term Meditation.

Brain Sciences August 18, 2021 Roberto Guidotti, Cosimo Del Gratta, Mauro Gianni Perrucci et al. 27 citations

(1) The effects of intensive mental training based on meditation on the functional and structural organization of the human brain have been addressed by several neuroscientific studies. However, how large-scale connectivity patterns are affected by long-term practice of the main forms of meditation, Focused Attention (FA) and Open Monitoring (OM), as well as by aging, has not yet been...

Neuroplasticity and depression: Rewiring the brain's networks through pharmacological therapy (Review)

Experimental and therapeutic medicine August 5, 2021 Ioana Rădulescu, A. Drăgoi, S. Trifu et al.

In modern society, depression is one of the most common mental illness; however, its pathophysiology is not yet fully understood. A great body of evidence suggests that depression causes changes in neuroplasticity in specific regions of the brain which are correlated to symptom severity, negative emotional rumination as well as fear learning. Depression is correlated with atrophy of neurons in...

Psychedelics for Brain Injury: A Mini-Review.

Frontiers in Neurology July 29, 2021 Mia Khan, Gregory Carter, Sunil K Aggarwal et al. 33 citations

Objective: Stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are among the leading causes of disability. Even after engaging in rehabilitation, nearly half of patients with severe TBI requiring hospitalization are left with major disability. Despite decades of investigation, pharmacologic treatment of brain injury is still a field in its infancy. Recent clinical trials have begun into the use of...

Does Psychedelic Therapy Have a Transdiagnostic Action and Prophylactic Potential?

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 19, 2021 Rita Kočárová, Jiřı́ Horáček, Robin Carhart-Harris 95 citations

Addressing global mental health is a major 21st-century challenge. Current treatments have recognized limitations; in this context, new ones that are prophylactic and effective across diagnostic boundaries would represent a major advance. The view that there exists a core of transdiagnostic overlap between psychiatric disorders has re-emerged in recent years, and evidence that psychedelic...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.661233 (opens in new tab) Neuroplasticity Context archaeology Action physics Psychotherapist +3

LSD induces increased signalling entropy in rats’ prefrontal cortex

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) June 23, 2021 Aurora Savino, Charles D. Nichols 2 citations preprint

Abstract Psychedelic drugs are gaining attention from the scientific community as potential new compounds for the treatment of psychiatric diseases such as mood and substance use disorders. The 5-HT 2A receptor has been identified as the main molecular target, and early studies pointed to an effect on the expression of neuroplasticity genes. Analysing RNA-seq data from the prefrontal cortex of...

How do serotonergic psychedelics treat depression: The potential role of neuroplasticity

World Journal of Psychiatry June 19, 2021 Hewa Artin, S. Zisook, Dhakshin Ramanathan

Depression is a common mental disorder and one of the leading causes of disability around the world. Monoaminergic antidepressants often take weeks to months to work and are not effective for all patients. This has led to a search for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of depression as well as to the development of novel antidepressants. One such novel antidepressant is ketamine, which...