Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
December 2016
Rafael G. Dos Santos, Flávia L. Osório, José Alexandre S. Crippa et al.
Serotonergic hallucinogens produce alterations of perceptions, mood, and cognition, and have anxiolytic, antidepressant, and antiaddictive properties. These drugs act as agonists of frontocortical 5-HT2A receptors, but the neural basis of their effects are not well understood. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of neuroimaging studies analyzing the effects of serotonergic hallucinogens in...
Asian Journal of Psychiatry
December 1, 2016
Suravi Patra
Psilocybin, the clinically most researched classic psychedelic has recently been tested for its safety and efficacy in a clinical population of treatment resistant depression. The efficacy of psilocybin in clinical depression previously demonstrated in the elecrophysiologic and neuroimaging findings as also in neuropsychological assessments is further validated by the findings of this...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 30, 2016
Stephen Ross, Anthony P. Bossis, Jeffrey Guss et al.
1,699 citations
Background: Clinically significant anxiety and depression are common in patients with cancer, and are associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes. Historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin to treat cancer-related anxiety and depression. Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression were...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 30, 2016
Annie Umbricht, Mary P Cosimano, Roland R. Griffiths et al.
2,174 citations
Cancer patients often develop chronic, clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest that psilocybin may decrease depression and anxiety in cancer patients. The effects of psilocybin were studied in 51 cancer patients with life-threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. This randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial investigated the...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 18, 2016
James Rucker, Luke A. Jelen, Sarah Kalen Flynn et al.
187 citations
Unipolar mood disorders, including major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), confer high rates of disability and mortality and a very high socioeconomic burden. Current treatment is suboptimal in most cases and there is little of note in the pharmaceutical development pipeline. The psychedelic drugs, including lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin, were used...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 18, 2016
Frederick S. Barrett, Matthew P. Bradstreet, Jeannie‐marie Leoutsakos et al.
364 citations
Acute adverse psychological reactions to classic hallucinogens (“bad trips” or “challenging experiences”), while usually benign with proper screening, preparation, and support in controlled settings, remain a safety concern in uncontrolled settings (such as illicit use contexts). Anecdotal and case reports suggest potential adverse acute symptoms including affective (panic, depressed mood),...
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
November 4, 2016
De Nichols, Mw Johnson, Cd Nichols
366 citations
Scientific interest in serotonergic psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin and LSD; 5‐HT 2A receptor agonists) has dramatically increased within the last decade. Clinical studies administering psychedelics with psychotherapy have shown preliminary evidence of robust efficacy in treating anxiety and depression, as well as addiction to tobacco and alcohol. Moreover, recent research has suggested that...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
October 27, 2016
Ananya Mahapatra, Rishi Gupta
37 citations
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring alkaloid, pharmacologically similar to the classic hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Although primarily used as a recreational drug or an entheogen in particular cultural settings, recent population based studies have shown that it does not lead to serious physical or mental health problems or dependent use. In view of recent work demonstrating...
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
October 16, 2016
Michael P. Bogenschutz, Alyssa A. Forcehimes
96 citations
Research activity on the potential clinical value of classic hallucinogens and other psychedelics has increased markedly in the past two decades, and promises to continue to expand. Experimental study of hallucinogen-assisted treatment, and any future clinical use, requires the development of psychotherapeutic models that are appropriate to the disorder being treated and effectively integrated...
Psychopharmacology
October 7, 2016
Matthias E. Liechti, Patrick C. Dolder, Yasmin Schmid
203 citations
Mystical-type experiences were infrequent after LSD, possibly because of the set and setting used in the present study. LSD may produce greater or different alterations of consciousness at 200 μg (i.e., a dose that is currently used in psychotherapy in Switzerland) compared with 100 μg (i.e., a dose used in imaging studies). Ego dissolution may reflect plasma levels of LSD, whereas more...
Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna
September 30, 2016
Karolina Dydak, Mariola Śliwińska‐mossoń, Halina Milnerowicz
2 citations
Psylocybina jest substancją psychodysleptyczną pochodzenia naturalnego, występuje w grzybach rodzaju Psilocybe. Psychodysleptyki są środkami psychoaktywnymi, które silnie wpływają na percepcję, nastrój i procesy poznawcze człowieka. Psychodeliczne działanie psylocybiny opiera się na pobudzaniu receptorów serotoninergicznych, co prowadzi do wzrostu stężenia serotoniny w mózgu oraz przyczynia się...
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
September 29, 2016
William A. Richards
70 citations
Presented at a conference titled “Psychedelic Science 2013,” highlighting the resumption of investigations with psychedelic substances (i.e., psilocybin, DMT, LSD, MMDA, etc.) in the United States and Europe after a dormant period of more than two decades, the author presents insights and perspectives gleaned from his 25 years of clinical research experience. After acknowledging the vastness...
PSYCH up2date
September 8, 2016
Fazit Die vorliegende Studie gibt erste Hinweise auf eine Wirksamkeit von Psilocybin bei chronischen Depressionen. Weitere positive Effekte dieser Substanz konnten bereits in anderen Zusammenhängen nachgewiesen werden. Bei nun nachgewiesener, guter Machbarkeit, motivieren die Autoren zu weiteren kontrollierten Studien mit diesem Wirkstoff.
Folklore
September 1, 2016
Adrastos Omissi
1 citation
The commonest psychedelic mushroom growing naturally in Britain, Psilocybe semilanceata, is known in English as the Liberty Cap. This name, which references an ancient Roman social practice, has caused considerable speculation in modern literature. This article provides a conclusive etymology for how a magic mushroom acquired this obscure name.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
August 31, 2016
Theresa M. Carbonaro, Matthew P. Bradstreet, Frederick S. Barrett et al.
541 citations
Acute and enduring adverse effects of psilocybin have been reported anecdotally, but have not been well characterized. For this study, 1993 individuals (mean age 30 yrs; 78% male) completed an online survey about their single most psychologically difficult or challenging experience (worst “bad trip”) after consuming psilocybin mushrooms. Thirty-nine percent rated it among the top five most...
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
August 24, 2016
Michael P. Bogenschutz
18 citations
In the current issue of the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Johnson et al. (1) provide long-term outcome data from a smoking cessation pilot study of a treatment model using 2–3 doses o...
Current Psychiatry Reviews
August 10, 2016
Cornel N. Stanciu, Thomas M. Penders
3 citations
Hallucinogen Persistent Perception Disorder (HPPD) is considered an “uncommon” disorder described in association with use of hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline and psilocybin. Despite multiple mentions of persistence of visual disturbances reported by users on online forums, clinicians may not be aware of this complication. There have been few descriptions of HPPD in association with use of...
Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics
August 10, 2016
Bas T.h. de Veen, Arnt Schellekens, Michel M. M. Verheij et al.
102 citations
Evidence based treatment for Substance use disorders (SUD) includes psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. However, these are only partially effective. Hallucinogens, such as psilocybin, may represent potential new treatment options for SUD. This review provides a summary of (human) studies on the putative therapeutic effects of psilocybin, and discusses the receptor systems, brain regions and...
Oxford University Press eBooks
August 1, 2016
15 citations
Abstract Chapter 15 of Addiction Medicine covers hallucinogens and dissociative drugs. Hallucinogens are a large and diverse group of substances, some of which occur in fungi and plants and some which are chemically synthesized. Psychostimulants described in this chapter include psilocybin, mescaline, ayahuasca, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and NBOMes and tryptamines. Dissociative drugs...
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
July 21, 2016
Matthew W. Johnson, Albert Garcia‐romeu, Roland R. Griffiths
702 citations
BACKGROUND: A recent open-label pilot study (N = 15) found that two to three moderate to high doses (20 and 30 mg/70 kg) of the serotonin 2A receptor agonist, psilocybin, in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for smoking cessation, resulted in substantially higher 6-month smoking abstinence rates than are typically observed with other medications or CBT alone. OBJECTIVES: To...