Suicidal thoughts and behaviors represent a transdiagnostic dimension independent of traditional psychiatric diagnoses. This specificity is supported by genetic studies, biomarkers, and preclinical research on endophenotypes associated with suicidal behaviors, such as impulsivity, anhedonia, and hopelessness. Clear mechanisms involving inflammation, the stress response, the serotonergic system,...
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring amine and psychedelic compound, found in plants, animals, and humans. While initial studies reported only trace amounts of DMT in mammalian brains, recent findings have identified alternative methylation pathways and DMT levels comparable to classical neurotransmitters in rodent brains, calling for a re-evaluation of its biological role and...
Treating amotivated states remains difficult. Classical psychedelic drugs (5-HT2A receptor agonists) such as LSD and psilocybin have shown therapeutic potential in treating such symptoms, but their development has been hindered by their undesirable hallucinogenic effects. There is increasing evidence that administration of psychedelics at dose levels too low to evoke a hallucinogenic effect...
Psychedelic drugs, known for their perception-altering properties, are gaining popularity in the treatment of mental health and pain disorders. As exploratory studies demonstrate clinical efficacy with few adverse events, it is expected that more patients will ingest psychedelic drugs. For therapeutic reasons, as with any drug, anaesthesiologists must be aware of its physiological effects and...
With very few treatments available, post-comatose disorders of consciousness (DoC) pose one of the hardest challenges in modern neurology. Following promising clinical trial results in psychiatry, and a deepening understanding of their brain mechanisms, psychedelics have been suggested as a novel therapeutic drug for DoC patients, given that they increase the entropy or complexity of...
The serotonergic psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) presumably stimulates neuroplasticity in vitro and in vivo, by which it may exert neuroprotective effects during acute ischemic stroke. Since neuroplasticity has been implicated in the mechanism of action of rehabilitative therapy in stroke recovery, a pharmacological augmentation strategy facilitating neuroplasticity could be...
This chapter explores the profound effects that non-ordinary states, particularly those induced by psychedelics, have on the brain. It highlights how psychedelics influence neural pathways, rerouting them to foster personal growth and address conditions like addiction and depression. Key mechanisms, such as the suppression of the default mode network (DMN), increased brain connectivity, and...
Serotonergic psychedelics induce the head twitch response (HTR) in mice, an index of serotonin (5-HT) 2A receptor (5-HT2A) agonism and a behavioral proxy for psychedelic effects in humans. Existing methods for detecting HTRs include time-consuming visual scoring, magnetometer-based approaches, and analysis of videos using semi-automated commercial software. Here, we present a new automated...
4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) is widely used recreationally and has recently gained interest as a treatment for mental health disorders. In this study, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to quantify 2C-B and its metabolites 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenylacetic acid (BDMPAA) and 4-bromo-2-hydroxy-5-methoxyphenylacetic acid (B-2-HMPAA) in human plasma was developed...
Abstract Psilocybin therapy (PT) is emerging as an effective intervention for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), offering comparable efficacy to conventional treatments like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Music, an emotionally evocative stimulus, provides a valuable tool to explore changes in hedonic and predictive processing mechanisms via expectancy violations, or ‘surprises’....