Abstract Background and Aims Hallucinogen use is potentially harmful. Information on whether such use has increased in recent decades is lacking. This study assessed overall and age‐specific time trends in the prevalence of 12‐month hallucinogen use in the US general population. Design Cross‐sectional. Setting Data from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2002–19. Participants...
Abstract Objective: Psychedelic-assisted therapies are emerging as safe and effective treatments for some psychological conditions including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. As ketamine therapy is already available in general medicine and 3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin are in late-stage clinical trials, neuropsychologists...
BACKGROUND: In 1967, concerns about the carcinogenic potential of psychedelics arose after a study reported chromosomal damage in human leukocytes following in vitro lysergic acid (LSD) exposure. Worries were further heightened by subsequent reports of leukemia and other cancers in LSD users. Additional investigations of psychedelics' effects on chromosomes were published over the next decade,...
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental illness with limited treatment options and a high treatment dropout rate. Psychedelics, often in combination with psychotherapy, are now under investigation as a potential treatment option for a variety of psychiatric conditions including PTSD. This paper reviews the proposed mechanism of action for 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine...
ABSTRACT The "people of knowledge" of traditional Mazatec medicine have preserved until today the ritual use of psilocybin mushrooms as part of their health care systems. The renewed interest in the effect of psilocybin on human consciousness for both therapeutic and recreational purposes usually obviates the historical and cultural background of indigenous peoples, as well as the legitimation...
ABSTRACT In the past decade, the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms has become a popular therapeutic tool for people looking to deal with mental and emotional health issues. The emerging interest in psilocybin therapy in the global north has led to the development of retreat centers in locations where psilocybin is legal or unregulated. Drawing on ethnographic research at a psilocybin retreat...
Abstract Psilocybin and other serotonergic psychedelics have re-emerged as therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders, including addiction. Psilocybin induces long-lasting effects on behavior, likely due to its profound ability to alter consciousness and augment neural connectivity and plasticity. Impaired synaptic plasticity in obesity contributes to ‘addictive-like’ behaviors, including...
Abstract We present the set and setting of the velada , the Mazatec ritual of divination and healing. We highlight the subjective experiences of individuals who consumed sacred mushrooms and interpret them from their cultural and community contexts, but also from findings derived from experimental and neuroscientific research. We understand that the experiences connected to sacred mushrooms can...
Abstract Rationale A general feeling of disconnection has been associated with mental and emotional suffering. Improvements to a sense of connectedness to self, others and the wider world have been reported by participants in clinical trials of psychedelic therapy. Such accounts have led us to a definition of the psychological construct of ‘connectedness’ as ‘a state of feeling connected to...
Abstract Background and aims There is growing evidence that psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic substance, may be useful in the treatment of substance use disorders. However, there is a lack of data on the beliefs and attitudes towards psilocybin amongst Black individuals diagnosed with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). This study characterized psilocybin use patterns and perception of risk amongst...
Abstract The use of low sub-perceptual doses of psychedelics (“microdosing”) has gained popularity in recent years. Although anecdotal reports claim multiple benefits associated with this practice, the lack of placebo-controlled studies severely limits our knowledge of microdosing and its effects. Moreover, research conducted in standard laboratory settings could fail to capture the motivation...
AD109 Fast Tracked for Obstructive Sleep ApneaThe U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given fast track status to AD109, an investigational oral medication for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, Apnimed announced in June. The FDA fast track is a process designed to facilitate the development of drugs that treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need and to expedite...
Carhart-Harris R, Giribaldi B, Nutt DJ et al. Trial of psilocybin versus escitalopram for depression. N Engl J Med 2021; 384: 1402–1411. doi:10.1056/ NEJMoa2032994
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is a burgeoning treatment with growing interest across a variety of settings and disciplines. Empirical evidence supports PAT as a novel therapeutic approach that provides safe and effective treatment for people suffering from a variety of diagnoses, including treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Within...
Abstract The involvement of certain recreational drugs, namely, hallucinogens, in the development of hyperactive syndromes is well known, but not well studied. In this report, we expand on this relationship by documenting the development of substance-induced psychosis in a young patient who used a large amount of psilocybin and developed symptoms of a first psychotic and manic episode,...
Authors and Affiliations Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada Joseph M. Rootman & Zach Walsh Quantified Citizen Technologies Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada Maggie Kiraga, Kalin Harvey & Eesmyal Santos-Brault Department of Family Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Pamela Kryskow Fungi Perfecti, LLC, MycoMedica Life Sciences,...
<p>Disruptions to the sense of self are dotted across cultures and times in rituals involving hallucinogens, sensory deprivation, trance possession, and meditation. Much of the research on the self or “ego” suggests that the self is a complicated, multi-faceted entity and that there are many aspects that hold together our ego. Yet, current measurements on ego-dissolution focus on a narrow...
Abstract Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic compound that is showing promise in the ability to treat neurological conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. There have been several investigations into the neural correlates of psilocybin administration using non-invasive methods, however, there has yet to be an invasive study of the mechanism of action in awake rodents. Using...
Psilocybin recently received breakthrough status by the FDA for its use in treatment of depression. We therefore investigated mental health professionals' (MHPs) opinions on Psilocybin (n = 155). Overall, attitudes were neutral but self-rated knowledge of Psilocybin was low. The term used in the survey, 'Psilocybin' or 'Magic Mushrooms', did not significantly affect their responses. Some...