We read with interest the study of ketamine psychedelic and analgesic effects by Olofsen et al.1 and the accompanying editorial by Mashour.2 In both articles, the authors refer to the “dissociative” effects of ketamine. Corssen and Domino3 originally used the term “dissociative” in 1966 to describe “patients and subjects who, during recovery from CI-581 [ketamine], felt as though they were in...
Far from being among the hottest scientific topics and a cultural hype, mushrooms have a long history of cultural uses. Food and medicinal uses are the best known and most recorded ones. Who feasted on mushroom-loaded extravagant banquets? Which species are considered among the tastiest? Which ancient texts spoke about mushroom medicine? What is the future of medicinal mushroom use, and how has...
Summary Psilocin, the active compound in Psilocybe sp . mushrooms, is a serotonergic psychedelic that has recently gained renewed interest due to its potential as a therapeutic tool. Despite promising clinical findings, the underlying signaling mechanisms and brain region-specific effects of psilocin and other psychedelic drugs remain unclear. Psilocin, like other psychedelic compounds, is an...
Depression is common at the end of life, and there is longstanding concern that it may affect terminally ill patients' decisions to request physician-assisted death (PAD). However, it is difficult for clinicians to determine the role of depression in a patient's PAD request. A recent case series described rapid responses to intranasal ketamine in three patients with terminal illness and...
Proclaimed as the "new frontier" in psychiatry, the use of Psychedelics, including Psilocybin as a treatment for mental health and wellbeing has gained momentum over the last few years [1,2].The scientific progress and clinical promise of this movement owes much of its success to the history of indigenous healing practices.Though "discovered" in 1956 by Roger Heim [3], the history of Psilocybin...
Background: Experiences of intoxication elude scientific research because of their immediate and 'inner' nature for the intoxicated individual. In this chapter, we show how 'trip reports' – reports of psychedelic intoxication – from online drug information forums and libraries allow for further understanding the experience of psychedelic intoxication from LSD, DMT and psilocybin by examining...
In an interesting and timely editorial, Borgland and Neyens provide a snap shot of preclinical research that could support the development of psyche delic drugs as part of a therapeutic regimen in individuals with obesity or eating disorders (EDs), including an orexia nervosa (AN) and binge eating disorder (BED).1 The role of the sero tonergic system in appetite was key in the development...
Psychedelic therapies have the potential to treat mental illness but there’s still a long way to go. After decades in the wilderness, psychedelic therapies are making a comeback into clinical research and are poised to re-enter medical care. When used alongside psychotherapy, drugs like psilocybin (found in ‘magic mushrooms’) and MDMA (found in ‘ecstasy’) have […]
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a devastating psychiatric disorder afflicting millions of people around the world. Characterized by severe anxiety, intrusive thoughts, pervasive nightmares, an assortment of somatic symptoms, associations with severe long-term health problems, and an elevated risk of suicide, as much as 40–70% of patients suffer from refractory disease....
E-AcadêmicaOctober 10, 2022Roberto Carlos Moreira Kuligowski, Eduarda Maria Schroeder, João Vitor Pelizzari et al.
Introduction: Studies about alternative medicine have multiplied in several countries such as the United States, Norway and England in recent years. Among them, I highlight psychedelic medicine that through randomized clinical trials, has already shown that psilocybin - substance present in the Psilocybe cubensis mushroom, popularly known as "magic mushrooms" - was able to induce remission of...