Global Journal of Medical Research
July 31, 2021
Jerry B. Brown, Julie M. Brown
Background: In controlled, clinical studies of the impact of psilocybin on patients with life-threatening cancers, Johns Hopkins and NYU researchers found that the “intensity of the mystical experience” induced by psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy was directly correlated with the alleviation of cancer-related mental distress. Objective: The purpose of this article is to explore the proposition...
Life
July 29, 2021
Dominika Psiuk, Emilia Nowak, Krystian Cholewa et al.
13 citations
Due to an increasing number of depression diagnoses and limited effective treatments, researchers continue to explore novel therapeutic strategies for this disorder. Recently, interest has revolved around the use of serotonergic psychedelics to reduce the symptoms of depression. In this systematic review, we summarize the currently available knowledge on the safety and efficacy of psychedelic...
July 27, 2021
A mood disorder study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is a bullet unto itself. Use of escitalopram, not a placebo, for the comparison group—another rarity! And the results? Well, not better, but equivalent. Here comes big pharmaceutical company money.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
July 23, 2021
David Horton, Blaise Morrison, Judy A. Schmidt
92 citations
This systematized review found important commonalities among clinical trials of PAP published within the past 25 years and revealed key differences among studies in psychotherapy's incorporation into PAP. Additional research is needed to identify the unique effect of psychotherapy in PAP.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
July 16, 2021
Coryn E. Mayer, Virginia Lebaron, Kimberly Acquaviva
17 citations
There is a growing body of research suggesting that palliative care patients coping with existential distress may benefit from psilocybin. However, there is a large gap regarding the perceptions of palliative care providers who may provide education, counseling services, recommendations, and/or prescriptions for psilocybin if it is decriminalized, commercialized, and/or federally rescheduled...
Neuron
July 5, 2021
Ling-Xiao Shao, Clara Liao, Ian Gregg et al.
589 citations
Summary Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic with untapped therapeutic potential. There are hints that the use of psychedelics can produce neural adaptations, although the extent and time scale of the impact in a mammalian brain are unknown. In this study, we used chronic two-photon microscopy to image longitudinally the apical dendritic spines of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the mouse...
The Brown University Psychopharmacology Update
July 5, 2021
A 6‐week study comparing the psychedelic psilocybin with the antidepressant escitalopram found no significant difference in antidepressant effects in patients with moderate to severe depression. Some secondary outcome measures favored psilocybin, but those analyses were not adjusted for multiple comparisons. Study results were published in the April 15, 2021 issue of The New England Journal of...
July 5, 2021
Rosalind Watts
37 citations
preprint
"The Psilocybin for Depression: The ACE Manual '' describes the structure, procedures, and scripts used in the two Imperial College London studies (Psilodep) researching psilocybin treatment for major depression.
Journal of Psychiatric Research
July 1, 2021
Ashley N. Siegel, Shakila Meshkat, Katie Benitah et al.
101 citations
Psychedelics are a hallucinogenic class of psychoactive drugs with the primary effect of activating non-ordinary states of consciousness. Due to the positive preliminary findings of these drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, the number of registered clinical studies has risen significantly. In this paper, clinical studies registered on clinicaltrials.gov that evaluate the treatment...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
June 30, 2021
Drummond E-Wen Mcculloch, Martin Bruun Madsen, Dea Siggaard Stenbæk et al.
79 citations
Background: Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug that has shown lasting positive effects on clinical symptoms and self-reported well-being following a single dose. There has been little research into the long-term effects of psilocybin on brain connectivity in humans. Aim: Evaluate changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) at 1 week and 3 months after one psilocybin dose in 10 healthy...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
June 29, 2021
Keri Mans, Hannes Kettner, David Erritzøe et al.
65 citations
In the last 15 years, psychedelic substances, such as LSD and psilocybin, have regained legitimacy in clinical research. In the general population as well as across various psychiatric populations, mental well-being has been found to significantly improve after a psychedelic experience. Mental well-being has large socioeconomic relevance, but it is a complex, multifaceted construct. In this...
Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature
June 28, 2021
Michael A. Rogawski
While anecdotal evidence suggests that select 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A (5-HT2A) receptor ligands, including psilocybin, may have long-lasting therapeutic effects after limited dosing in headache disorders, controlled investigations are lacking. In an exploratory double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study, adults with migraine received oral placebo and psilocybin (0.143 mg/kg) in 2 test...
Preprints.org
June 28, 2021
Maurizio Coppola, Francesco Bevione, Raffaella Mondola
1 citation
preprint
Psychedelics extracted by plants have been used in religious, spiritual and mystic practices for millennia. In 1957, Dr. Hofmann have identified and synthesized the prodrug psilocybin, a substance present in more than 200 species of psychedelic mushrooms. Although the limitations related to the scientific design of many studies, clinical observations performed during the 1950s and the 1960s...
June 27, 2021
Annie M. Mccartney, Hugh McGovern, Alexander de Foe
preprint
Psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and ketamine may represent the future of antidepressant treatment, due to their rapid and prolonged effects on mood and cognition. The current body of psychedelic research has focused on administration and treatment within a psychiatric context. Here, instead, we put to the test the contention that it is necessary to evaluate the current state of this...
Canadian Journal of Health Technologies
June 24, 2021
Yi‐sheng Chao, Jennifer Horton
5 citations
Two systematic reviews, 3 randomized controlled trials, and 2 single-arm safety trials were identified that evaluated several combinations of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Psilocybin was the psychedelic most tested. Other psychedelics identified in the systematic reviews and primary studies were 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (or MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (or LSD), ayahuasca...
OBM Neurobiology
June 24, 2021
Sarah-Catherine Rodan, Phillip Aouad, Iain S. Mcgregor et al.
10 citations
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a major health problem with one of the highest mortalities and treatment costs of any psychiatric condition. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is currently the most widely used treatment for AN in adults but provides remission rates ≤ 50%. Treatment drop-out is exceedingly high and those that persevere with treatment often relapse, causing increased risk of morbidity...
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
June 23, 2021
Elizabeth M. Nielson
26 citations
The therapeutic use of psilocybin in psychedelic-assisted therapy models is currently being tested for a variety of indications, necessitating the training of hundreds of therapists. At present, training programs do not include the provision of a psilocybin experience for therapists, and the last time such an experience was offered with a similar compound was through the Spring Grove LSD...
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education
June 21, 2021
Andrea Ens
21 citations
In this manuscript, I reflect on how Critical Indigenous theory offers white historians like myself powerful conceptual tools to combat the underlying, historically-rooted colonial assumptions prevalent in their work, specifically within the subfield of psychedelic history. Histories of compounds like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, ayahuasca, and mescaline often center themselves...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
June 16, 2021
Dóra Révész, Genís Ona, Giordano Novak Rossi et al.
42 citations
Background: One of the main public health strategies adopted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic consisted of implementing strict lockdowns to stop the transmission of the virus. Despite being an effective measure, the confinement and the associated social isolation create a stressful, potentially lengthy situations that has been proven to have several psychological consequences. Given...
Irish Journal of Medical Science
June 15, 2021
Kate Corrigan, Maeve Haran, Conor Mccandliss et al.
79 citations
Abstract Introduction Despite the rapid advance of psychedelic science and possible translation of psychedelic therapy into the psychiatric clinic, very little is known about mental health service user attitudes. Objectives To explore mental health service user attitudes to psychedelics and psilocybin therapy. Methods A questionnaire capturing demographics, diagnoses, previous psychedelic and...