BMC Psychiatry
October 28, 2019
Rafael G. Dos Santos, José Carlos Bouso, Jaime E. C. Hallak
17 citations
In a recent issue of the BMC Psychiatry, the evidence of effectiveness of treatments for psychiatric conditions in end-stage cancer patients was reviewed (Johnson, 2018). The review was comprehensive, and included traditional and non-traditional/alternative treatments, including herbal medicines and spirituality. However, evidence showing that classic or serotonergic hallucinogens/psychedelics...
Psychiatric News
October 28, 2019
Nick Zagorski
1 citation
A total of $17 million in private donations to the Hopkins center is expected to provide five years of operational funding for the center’s researchers and staff. The center will also train graduate students. With the aid of $17 million in private funds, Johns Hopkins University has launched a center to explore the potential of psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and...
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine
September 23, 2019
John R. Kelly, Annie Baker, Mona Babiker et al.
22 citations
The psychedelic research renaissance is gaining traction. Preliminary clinical studies of the hallucinogenic fungi, psilocybin, with psychological support, have indicated improvements in mood, anxiety and quality of life. A seminal, open-label study demonstrated marked reductions in depression symptoms in participants with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The associated neurobiological...
Contemporary Drug Problems
September 1, 2019
Hannes Kettner, Natasha L. Mason, Kim P. C. Kuypers
50 citations
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are compounds designed to mimic the effects of existing recreational drugs (classical psychoactive substances [CPS]), while eluding established legal frameworks. Little is known about their effects and potential harms, rendering the increasing number of NPS a challenge to policy makers and researchers alike. Quantitative studies on the motives underlying NPS...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
July 14, 2019
Livia Ng, Luca Pani, Anaïs Soula et al.
Background: In the past few years, the issue of ‘microdosing’ psychedelics has been openly discussed in the public arena where claims have been made about their positive effect on mood state and cognitive processes such as concentration. However, there are very few scientific studies that have specifically addressed this issue, and there is no agreed scientific consensus on what microdosing is....
Harm Reduction Journal
July 9, 2019
Thomas Anderson, Rotem Petranker, Adam Christopher et al.
130 citations
These mixed-methods results help summarize and frame the experiences reported by an active microdosing community as high-potential avenues for future scientific research. The MDBC taxonomy reported here informs future research, leveraging participant reports to distil the highest-potential intervention targets so research funding can be efficiently allocated. Microdosing research complements...
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
June 30, 2019
David Nutt
131 citations
This article covers the renaissance of classical psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and LSD plus 3,4-methylene dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA-ecstasy) in psychiatric research. These drugs were used quite extensively before they became prohibited. This ban had little impact on recreational use, but effectively stopped research and clinical treatments, which up to that point had looked very...
JAMA Psychiatry
June 26, 2019
Boris D. Heifets, Robert C. Malenka
28 citations
This Viewpoint discusses the potential therapeutic utility of methylenedioxy-methamphetamine and psilocybin and outlines mental health care infrastructures that would need to be put in place should these drugs be approved for treatment.
Pharmacological Reviews
June 20, 2019
R.L. Carhart-Harris, K.J. Friston
1,163 citations
This paper formulates the action of psychedelics by integrating the free-energy principle and entropic brain hypothesis. We call this formulation relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) and the anarchic brain, founded on the principle that-via their entropic effect on spontaneous cortical activity-psychedelics work to relax the precision of high-level priors or beliefs, thereby liberating...
Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment
June 10, 2019
Doreen M. Lewis
2 citations
Objective: The purpose of the present study was to obtain patient information across a wide geography about medical history, drug use, symptoms, and treatments of individuals diagnosed with hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD). Methods: The study was an internet survey that yielded 26 HPPD patients from North America (81%), Europe (12%), and South America (almost 8%),...