There is growing interest in the therapeutic utility of psychedelic compounds that act as serotonin-2 A receptor (5-HT2A) agonists. N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a 5-HT2A agonist that produces intense and short-lived psychedelic subjective effects, but the compound requires non-oral routes of administration that bypass gastrointestinal metabolism. Intranasal (IN) delivery of DMT represents...
Serotonergic psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), are increasingly recognised as powerful tools to advance the understanding of consciousness and its relation to brain activity. Psychedelic research has informed neuroscientific theories that attempt to map neural observations of network connectivity and signal diversity to...
PsychopharmacologyNovember 5, 2025Milad Soltanzadeh, Wang Zheng, Shona G. Allohverdi et al.1 citation
RationaleKetamine and psilocybin have demonstrated therapeutic potential for mental disorders, including major depressive disorder, yet they engage distinct mechanisms of action. Ketamine, a dissociative hallucinogen, acts by blocking N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR), whereas psilocybin primarily targets serotonin receptors. These divergent mechanisms are reflected in their...
Religious and spiritual (R/S) practices and experiences invoke measurable neurocognitive processes that enhance resilience and recovery from affective disorders. Converging evidence from functional neuroanatomy and network studies demonstrate R/S practices recruit brain networks that regulate self-referential processing, salience attribution, executive control, reward, and social bonding....
Major depressive disorder (MDD) causes great physical and mental suffering to patients while also imposing a tremendous economic burden on the global economy. Psychedelics, also known as serotonergic hallucinogens, are potent psychoactive compounds known for their ability to alter mood, perception, and a range of cognitive functions. Increasing evidence suggests that some psychedelics...
Despite a renewed scientific interest in lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), its local neural effects remain underexplored. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study explored and compared LSD-induced changes in local activity (amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations: ALFF) and local connectivity (regional homogeneity: ReHo), assessing their relationship to regional receptor density....
Psychedelics, including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and dimethyltryptamine, and entactogens such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine are being investigated for treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and substance use disorders. These compounds act primarily through serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonism (psychedelics) or monoamine release (MDMA),...
Caderno PedagógicoOctober 31, 2025André Leão Dantas, Lara Moreira Jalles Milani, Saulo Gabriel Moreira Falci et al.
Chronic pain affects millions of people and remains one of the greatest clinical challenges due to limited response to conventional therapies. Psilocybin, a psychedelic found in mushrooms of the Psilocybe genus, has sparked interest due to its potential to modulate serotonergic receptors and promote neuroplasticity, suggesting analgesic and psychotherapeutic effects. The objective of this...
BACKGROUND: Over the past ten years, several psychedelic compounds, including tryptamines like lysergic acid diethylamide/LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and dimethyltryptamine/DMT, have been tested in clinical trials for a range of psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety and depression. While these compounds are relatively available for treatment, ketamine and its S(+) enantiomer, esketamine, are...
Background: Comorbid depressive symptoms are prevalent in patients with breast cancer, which adversely impacts postoperative recovery outcomes. Esketamine has emerged as a promising intervention for perioperative depression due to its rapid and sustained effects. This study aims to investigate the impact of the continuous intravenous infusion of esketamine during the perioperative period on...