Neurology BulletinMarch 23, 2026Azat R. Asadullin, Elvina A. Akhmetova, Ilia S. Efremov et al.
BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders remain a global public health problem. In recent decades, the drug market has undergone substantial changes, with traditional drugs increasingly replaced by new psychoactive substances characterized by high toxicity and strong addictive potential. Their distribution via the Internet and social media impedes control and increases risks to public health. AIM:...
While the limitations of existing treatment options have spurred investigations into the applicability of psychedelic therapies for chronic and treatment-resistant psychological disorders, there remain significant unresolved issues pertaining to how these treatments should be regulated and the implementation of an ethical framework for their widespread delivery in practice. Research...
The prevailing Western perspective pathologizes failure, fostering dependence on egoic success metrics. In contrast, transpersonal psychology views failure as a necessary descent and a catalyst for postegoic identity formation. This review argues that curiosity and awe are the essential mediators that transform the ego-shattering experience of failure into a catalyst for transpersonal...
Aims The recent regulatory approval of esketamine in adults heralded the renaissance of research into psychedelic compounds. However, the relevance of this resurgence for children and adolescents remains unclear. This review examines the rationale for investigating psychedelics in pediatric psychopharmacology. Methods We reviewed recent literature, regulatory documents, and clinical trial...
MDMA and ketamine IV currently have the greatest support in the literature for efficacy in PTSD. Studies suggest treatment with these agents under supervision may lead to improvements in PTSD symptoms, with the medications being generally well tolerated. However, caution should be used when interpreting study results due to limitations such as treatment expectancy effect and the potential for...
Rationale: Ego-dissolution represents a key therapeutic mechanism in psychedelic-assisted therapy, yet current measurement approaches may inadequately capture its multidimensional nature.Objective: To develop and validate the Multidimensional Ego-Dissolution Assessment (MEDA) and examine substance-specific patterns across classical psychedelics.Methods: Items from three validated scales...
Meaning is a primary existential concern in those with advanced illnesses and functions as an important coping mechanism. Loss of meaning contributes to existential distress, and, in particular, may manifest as demoralization, a syndrome of poor coping that is associated with negative outcomes. Psychedelics are unique psychoactive compounds that, among other properties, are proposed to enhance...
This article corrects an idea in psychedelic science and culture that the ancient Eleusynian Mysteries used psychedelics, as claimed by Carl Ruck and co-authors in The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries (1978), revitalized by Brian Muraresku's The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name (2020), and popularized by social media heavyweights such as Joe...
Background: Psychedelic therapies are gaining attention as tools to alleviate anxiety and depression across various clinical populations. However, the mechanisms behind psychedelics' therapeutic efficacy and the potential differences in how patients with certain diagnoses experience their subjective effects remain unknown. One commonly suggested mediator of positive outcomes across psychedelics...
Psychedelics' characteristic acute subjective effects predict therapeutic benefits, such as decreases in depression and anxiety. Thus, optimizing treatment involves better understanding which factors shape subjective effects. Session facilitators, who support participants before, during, and after psychedelic administration sessions, form an important part of the setting of these experiences....