Hallucinogens mediate many of their psychoactive effects by activating serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT 2A R). Although serotonin is the cognate endogenous neurotransmitter and is not considered hallucinogenic, metabolites of serotonin also have high affinity at 5-HT 2A R and can induce hallucinations in humans. Here we report that serotonin differs from the psychoactive N -methyltryptamines by its...
After a pause of nearly 40 years in research into the effects of psychedelic drugs, recent advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin and ketamine have led to renewed interest in the clinical potential of psychedelics in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. Recent behavioural and neuroimaging data show that...
Trifluoromethylphenyl piperazine (TFMPP) is an active constituent of a relatively new group of recreational drugs known as 'party pills'. TFMPP has been anecdotally reported to induce mild psychedelic effects similar to lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin. There has been no research about the subjective effects of TFMPP in humans. This study aimed to investigate the subjective effects of...
The widely available hallucinogen salvinorin A is a unique example of a plant-derived compound selective for kappa-opioid receptors and may produce effects distinct from those of other compounds with classic hallucinogenic or dissociative properties which are also abused in humans. The objective of this study is to characterize the salvinorin A discriminative cue in nonhuman primates with high...
Magic Mushrooms and Cancer TherapyA study at New York University has found that the controlled use of psychedelic drugs can help doctors treat cancer anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder."I think it made me more aware of what was so important and what was making me either sad or depressed.I think it was revelatory, " said a participant of the study.The therapy aims to help patients enrich...
Cluster headache (CH) is a stereotyped primary headache characterized by strictly unilateral severe orbital or periorbital pain and categorized as either episodic or chronic (1,2). Its prevalence is 0.1% (3). Oxygen and sumatriptan are the treatments of choice for individual attacks, whereas verapamil, lithium, corticosteroids and other neuromodulators can suppress attacks during cluster...
I. Psilocybe cubensis was cultured successfully in two media. Medium A was devised by Catalfomo and Tyler and Medium B was a modification of a medium which has been used for ergot alkaloid production by Claviceps purpurea. Only when the fungus was kept on Sabouraud agar plates.did it subsequently produce psilocybin when transferred to liquid media. A quantitative time-course study of psilocybin...
L'EncephaleDecember 1, 2009Y Morvan, J Rouvier, J-P Olié et al.
Introduction: The use of illicit drugs by students and the possible psychological repercussions in this population of young adults is an important public health issue. While some data in the literature suggest a relationship between cannabis and the occurrence of mental health disorders, and in particular psychotic illnesses, epidemiologic surveys have shown that cannabis is the most consumed...
Pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the cerebral cortex are involved in learning and memory and have complex connections with other neurons through a very large array of dendrites. These dendrites can switch between long term depression and long term potentiation depending on global summation of various inputs. The plasticity of the input into pyramidal neurons makes the neuronal output variable....