Psychedelic drugs in the treatment of anxiety, depression and addiction Tor-Morten KVAM, Lowan H. STEWART, Ole A. ANDREASSEN Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening, 2018. Doi : 10.4045/tidsskr.17.1110 B A C K G R O U N D There is growing interest in the use of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of mental disorders. The drugs are considered safe when administered within a clinical framework. Older studies performed prior to 1970 had methodological shortcomings, but studies in recent years have shown promising results regarding the use of psychedelic drugs in unipolar depression, depression in life-threatening illness, anxiety and addiction. The aim of this literature review is [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybine mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects SMIGIELSKI Lukasz, SCHEIDEGGER Milan, KOMETER Michael, VOLLENWEIDER Franz X. NeuroImage, 2019, 196, 207-215 Doi : 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.009 A B S T R A C T Both psychedelics and meditation exert profound modulatory effects on consciousness, perception and cognition, but their combined, possibly synergistic effects on neurobiology are unknown. Accordingly, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 38 participants following a single administration of the psychedelic psilocybin (315 μg/kg p.o.) during a 5-day mindfulness retreat. Brain dynamics were quantified directly pre- and post-intervention by functional magnetic resonance imaging during the resting state and [...]
Lire la suiteClinical potential of psilocybine as a treatment for mental health conditions Jeremy Daniel & Margaret Haberman Mental Health Clinician, 2017, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 24-28 https://doi.org/10.9740/mhc.2017.01.024 Abstract Psilocybin, a classic hallucinogen, is a chemical produced by more than 100 species of mushrooms worldwide. It has high affinity for several serotonin receptors, including 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT2C, located in numerous areas of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and thalamus. With legislation introduced in 1992, more work is being done to further understand the implications of psilocybin use in a number of disease states. Certain mental health disease states and symptoms have been studied, including [...]
Lire la suiteMultiple receptors contribute to the behavioral effects of indoleamine hallucinogens Adam L. Halberstadt & Mark A. Geyer Neuropharmacology, 2011, 61, (3), 364–381. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.01.017. Abstract Serotonergic hallucinogens produce profound changes in perception, mood, and cognition. These drugs include phenylalkylamines such as mescaline and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM), and indoleamines such as (+)-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin. Despite their differences in chemical structure, the two classes of hallucinogens produce remarkably similar subjective effects in humans, and induce cross-tolerance. The phenylalkylamine hallucinogens are selective 5-HT2 receptor agonists, whereas the indoleamines are relatively nonselective for serotonin (5-HT) receptors. There is extensive evidence, from both animal and human studies, that the [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin-Induced Deficits in Automatic and Controlled Inhibition are Attenuated by Ketanserin in Healthy Human Volunteers Boris B Quednow, Michael Kometer, Mark A Geyer and Franz X Vollenweider Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012, 37, 630–640 doi:10.1038/npp.2011.228 The serotonin-2A receptor (5-HT2AR) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and related inhibitory gating and behavioral inhibition deficits of schizophrenia patients. The hallucinogen psilocybin disrupts automatic forms of sensorimotor gating and response inhibition in humans, but it is unclear so far whether the 5-HT2AR or 5-HT1AR agonist properties of its bioactive metabolite psilocin account for these effects. Thus, we investigated whether psilocybin-induced deficits in automatic and controlled inhibition in healthy [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, Mescaline, and Drug-Induced Synesthesia Berit Brogaard, Dimitria Electra Gatzia Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse, 2016, Volume 2, chapter 83, 890-905. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800212-4.00083-2 Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved INTRODUCTION Synesthesia typically involves either the stimulation of one sensory modality giving rise to an experience in a different sensory modality (such as when a smell or taste gives rise to a color experience) or the stimulation of a single sensory modality giving rise to an unusual qualitative experience (such as when an achromatic grapheme appears colored) (Baron-Cohen, Wyke, & Binnie, 1987; Brogaard, 2012; Cytowic, 1989; Day, 2005; Rich & Mattingley, [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic drug use in healthy individuals : a review of benefits, costs, and implications for drug policy James W.B. Elsey Drug Science, Policy and Law, 2017, Vol 3, 1-11 DOI: 10.1177/2050324517723232 Abstract The potential of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of mental health problems is increasingly being recognized. However, relatively little thrust has been given to the suggestion that individuals without any mental health problems may benefit from using psychedelic drugs, and that they may have a right to do so. This review considers contemporary research into the use of psychedelic drugs in healthy individuals, including neurobiological and subjective effects. In line with findings [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin – Summary of knowledge and new perspectives Filip Tylš, Tomáš Páleníček, Jiří Horáček European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2014, 24, 342–356 Doi : 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2013.12.006 Abstract Psilocybin, a psychoactive alkaloid contained in hallucinogenic mushrooms, is nowadays given a lot of attention in the scientific community as a research tool for modeling psychosis as well as due to its potential therapeutic effects. However, it is also a very popular and frequently abused natural hallucinogen. This review summarizes all the past and recent knowledge on psilocybin. It briefly deals with its history, discusses the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and compares its action in humans and animals. It attempts to describe the mechanism of psychedelic effects [...]
Lire la suiteEffects of psilocybin on hippocampal neurogenesis and extinction of trace fear conditionning CATLOW B.J., SONG S., PAREDES D.A., KIRSTEIN C.L., SANCHEZ-RAMOS J. Experimental Brain Research, 2013, 228, 481-491. Doi : 10.1007/s00221-013-3579-0 Abstract Drugs that modulate serotonin (5-HT) synaptic concentrations impact neurogenesis and hippocampal (HPC)-dependent learning. The primary objective is to determine the extent to which psilocybin (PSOP) modulates neurogenesis and thereby affects acquisition and extinction of HPC-dependent trace fear conditioning. PSOP, the 5-HT2A agonist 25I-NBMeO and the 5-HT2A/C antagonist ketanserin were administered via an acute intraperitoneal injection to mice. Trace fear conditioning was measured as the amount of time spent immobile in the presence of the conditioned [...]
Lire la suiteLysergic Acid Diethylamide and Psilocybin Revisited Mark A. Geyer Biological Psychiatry, 2015, Volume 78, Issue 8, 544-553 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.003 The past decade brought the beginnings of a renaissance in research on psychedelic drugs. Two articles in this issue of Biological Psychiatry signify that the resurrection of this long ignored topic has begun to mature and bear at least the promise of fruit. In the early 1970s, the onset of the “War on Drugs” brought with it a near-total hiatus in serious research on psychedelic drugs, especially in the United States. The resumption of credible work in this area has come from Switzerland, where many of [...]
Lire la suite