Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology
July 10, 2020
Justin P. Reinert, Kayla N. Colunga, Alexandria Etuk et al.
11 citations
Salvia, kratom, and psilocybin mushrooms may not be an initial consideration when healthcare practitioners are triaging an overdose scenario; however, data from around the world demonstrate an increased use of these agents. While not typically fatal, clinicians must be prepared to assess these as a potential etiology of overdoses and provide appropriate supportive care.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
July 7, 2020
Michael Specka, Thomas Kuhlmann, Jürgen Sawazki et al.
42 citations
Background About 15 years ago, a diverse group of new recreational psychotropic substances began to emerge, which were marketed for example as “legal highs,” “research chemicals,” or “designer drugs.” These substances were later subsumed under the label “Novel Psychoactive Substances” (NPS). Important NPS classes are cathinones, synthetic cannabimimetics, phenethylamines, and herbal drugs. The...
ACS Omega
July 1, 2020
Jessica Sable, Tura Patterson, Gary Tarpley et al.
41 citations
A second-generation kilogram-scale synthesis of the psychedelic tryptamine psilocybin has been developed. The synthesis was designed to address several challenges first encountered with the scale-up of previously described literature procedures, which were not optimized for providing consistent yield and purity of products, atom economy, or being run in pilot plant-scale reactors. These...
Neuroimage
June 30, 2020
Thomas F. Varley, Robin Carhart-Harris, Leor Roseman et al.
91 citations
Psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin and LSD, represent unique tools for researchers investigating the neural origins of consciousness. Currently, the most compelling theories of how psychedelics exert their effects is by increasing the complexity of brain activity and moving the system towards a critical point between order and disorder, creating more dynamic and complex patterns of neural...
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
June 23, 2020
Edward James, Thomas L Robertshaw, Mathew Hoskins et al.
29 citations
Abstract Objective Research into psychedelic therapy models has shown promise for the treatment of specific psychiatric conditions. Mystical‐type experiences occasioned by psilocybin have been correlated with therapeutic benefits and long‐term improvements in positive mental outlook and attitudes. This article aims to provide an overview of the topic, highlight strengths and weaknesses in...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
June 12, 2020
Jason B. Luoma, Christina Chwyl, Geoff J. Bathje et al.
206 citations
After a two-decade hiatus in which research on psychedelics was essentially halted, placebo-controlled clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health conditions have begun to be published. We identified nine randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy published since 1994. Studies examined psilocybin, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide),...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
June 11, 2020
Tim Hirschfeld, Timo Torsten Schmidt
8 citations
preprint
Abstract Psilocybin is the active component of magic mushrooms and is well known for its psychoactive properties. Different questionnaires have been developed to systematically quantify altered states of consciousness induced by psychoactive drugs. The aim of this study was to obtain the dose-response relationships of the subjective experiences induced by psilocybin in healthy study...
Open Repository of the University of Porto (University of Porto)
June 5, 2020
Rui Pedro Leal Andrade
Background: Psilocybin is a naturally occurring serotonin receptor agonist that can be, more commonly, found in the Psilocybe mushrooms. Consumed by indigenous cultures for millenia, Psilocybin, in the 1960s, was marketed in many countries under the trade name Indocybin, and, before its eventual ban, was safely used as an adjunct to psychotherapy in the treatment of depression and anxiety....
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
June 1, 2020
Edward Jacobs
12 citations
Abstract The recent revivification of interest in the therapeutic use of psychedelics has had a particular focus on mood disorders and addiction, although there is reason to think these drugs may be effective more widely. After outlining pertinent aspects of psilocybin and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the current review summarizes the evidence indicating that there may be a role for...
Journal of Medical Ethics
May 27, 2020
William Smith, Dominic Sisti
142 citations
Despite the fact that psychedelics were proscribed from medical research half a century ago, recent, early-phase trials on psychedelics have suggested that they bring novel benefits to patients in the treatment of several mental and substance use disorders. When beneficial, the psychedelic experience is characterized by features unlike those of other psychiatric and medical treatments. These...
Journal of Addictive Diseases
May 18, 2020
Mathias B. Forrester
6 citations
BACKGROUND: Hallucinogenic mushrooms are fungi that contain the substance psilocybin. When ingested, psilocybin can induce hallucinations, euphoria, and alterations in the perception of space and time. Ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms may result in adverse effects. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe hallucinogenic mushroom misuse reported to poison centers. METHODS:...
The Journal of Antibiotics
May 12, 2020
David E. Nichols
184 citations
Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is an indole-based secondary metabolite produced by numerous species of mushrooms. South American Aztec Indians referred to them as teonanacatl, meaning "god's flesh," and they were used in religious and healing rituals. Spanish missionaries in the 1500s attempted to destroy all records and evidence of the use of these mushrooms. Nevertheless,...
ACS Chemical Neuroscience
May 12, 2020
Kodye L. Abbott, Kristina Gill, Patrick Flannery et al.
7 citations
Modern day research, in an attempt to determine the potential therapeutic and adverse effects of illicit substances, is a growing field, but one that faces many regulatory challenges. Due to the potential abuse of illicit substances such as Cannabis, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin, regulations have been conceived with the intent of...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
May 6, 2020
1 citation
Although research findings to date do not support the use of psychedelic compounds in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, the existing body of research justifies continued investigation, a literature review concludes. The review found the most significant evidence supporting use of psilocybin and 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Both of these drugs have been given “breakthrough...
Neuropsychopharmacology
May 5, 2020
Marcus W. Meinhardt, Cansu Güngör, Ivan Skorodumov et al.
66 citations
For most psychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder (AUD), approved pharmacological treatments are limited in their effectiveness, and new drugs that can easily be translated into the clinic are needed. Currently, great hope lies in the potential of psychedelics to effectively treat AUD. The primary hypothesis is that a single session of psychedelic-guided psychotherapy can restore...
Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2020
Toby Lea, Nicole Amada, Henrik Jungaberle et al.
The regular consumption of very small doses of psychedelic drugs (known as microdosing) has been a source of growing media and community attention in recent years. However, there is currently limited clinical and social research evidence on the potential role of microdosing as therapies for mental and substance use disorders. This paper examined subjective experiences of microdosing...
Neuropharmacology
May 1, 2020
Adam L. Halberstadt, Muhammad Chatha, Adam K. Klein et al.
274 citations
Serotonergic hallucinogens such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) induce head twitches in rodents via 5-HT2A receptor activation. The goal of the present investigation was to determine whether a correlation exists between the potency of hallucinogens in the mouse head-twitch response (HTR) paradigm and their reported potencies in other species, specifically rats and humans. Dose-response...
Psychiatric News
April 13, 2020
Nick Zagorski
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical & ResearchFull AccessPsychedelics for Psychiatric Disorders: More Research NeededNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:13 Apr 2020https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.4a14AbstractAPA’s Work Group on Biomarkers and Novel Treatments suggests that psychedelic drug trials need more standard...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
April 13, 2020
Morten L. Kringelbach, Josephine Cruzat, Joana Cabral et al.
326 citations
Significance In a technical tour de force, we have created a framework demonstrating the underlying fundamental principles of bidirectional coupling of neuronal and neurotransmitter dynamical systems. Specifically, in the present study, we combined multimodal neuroimaging data to causally explain the functional effects of specific serotoninergic receptor (5-HT 2A R) stimulation with psilocybin...
April 12, 2020
Rotem Petranker, Thomas Anderson, Larissa J. Maier et al.
14 citations
preprint
Background: Microdosing psychedelics – the practice of taking small, sub-hallucinogenic doses of substances like LSD or psilocybin-containing mushrooms – is becoming increasingly popular. Despite its surging popularity, little is known about the effects of this practice. Aims: This research had three main aims. First, we attempted to replicate previous findings regarding the subjective benefits...