The tripping point : The potential role of psychedelic-assisted therapy in the response to the opioid crisis Elena Argento, Kenneth W. Tupper, M. Eugenia Socias International Journal of Drug Policy, 2019, 66, 80–81 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.11.006 0955-3959/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved A B S T R A C T The increasing contamination of the drug supply with illicitly manufactured fentanyl and related analogs in North America has resulted in the most severe drug-overdose crisis in history. Available pharmaco-therapy options for the treatment of opioid use disorder have had limited success in curbing the current crisis, and a growing body of evidence highlights the need for [...]
Lire la suite“Microdosers” of LSD and magic mushrooms are wiser and more creative. Anderson T., Petranker R. The Conversation, 2018 Available from: http://theconversation.com/microdosers-of-lsd-and-magicmushrooms- are-wiser-and-more-creative-101302 We just ran the first ever pre-registered scientific study on the microdosing of psychedelics and found some very promising results. We compared people who microdose — that is, who take a psychedelic substance such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) or “magic” mushrooms (psilocybin) in very small quantities — with those who don’t, and found that microdosers had healthier scores on key mental health and well-being measures. Specifically, we found that microdosers scored higher on measures of wisdom, open-mindedness and creativity. Microdosers also scored lower on measures [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelics in the treatment of unipolar mood disorders : a systematic review James J.H. Rucker, Luke A. Jelen, Sarah Flynn, Kyle D. Frowde and Allan H. Young Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2016, 1-10 DOI: 10.1177/0269881116679368 Abstract Unipolar mood disorders, including major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), confer high rates of disability and mortality and a very high socioeconomic burden. Current treatment is suboptimal in most cases and there is little of note in the pharmaceutical development pipeline. The psychedelic drugs, including lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin, were used extensively in the treatment of mood disorders, and other psychiatric conditions, before their prohibition in the [...]
Lire la suiteEfficacy and Safety of Intranasal Esketamine for the Rapid Reduction of Symptoms of Depression and Suicidality in Patients at Imminent Risk for Suicide: Results of a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study Carla M. Canuso, M.D., Jaskaran B. Singh, M.D., Maggie Fedgchin, Pharm.D., Larry Alphs, M.D., Ph.D., Rosanne Lane, M.A.S., Pilar Lim, Ph.D., Christine Pinter, M.S., David Hough, M.D., Gerard Sanacora, M.D., Ph.D., Husseini Manji, M.D., Wayne C. Drevets, M.D. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2018, 175, 620–630 doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17060720 Objective : The authors compared the efficacy of standardof- care treatment plus intranasal esketamine or placebo for rapid reduction of symptoms of major depression, including suicidality, among [...]
Lire la suiteTexas Peyote Culture Kevin FEENEY Cactus and Succulent Journal, 2018, 90, (1), 29-38 Peyote (Lophophora williamsii (Lem.) Coult.) has deep roots in Texas, or a deep taproot to be precise. While Texas is currently home to a federally regulated peyote trade, where members of the Native American Church (NAC) can legally purchase peyote for use in religious ceremonies, archaeological sites in Texas, and neighboring Coahuila, also mark the earliest known ceremonial associations between humans and peyote. It is believed that the peyote rituals of the Huichol, Nahua, Tarahumara, Cora, Tepehuan, and more recently the NAC, all trace their origins to the peyote gardens [...]
Lire la suiteThe paradoxical psychological effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) R. L. Carhart-Harris, M. Kaelen, M. Bolstridge, T. M. Williams, L. T. Williams, R. Underwood, A. Feilding and D. J. Nutt Psychological Medicine, 2016, 46, 1379–1390. doi:10.1017/S0033291715002901 Background : Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent serotonergic hallucinogen or psychedelic that modulates consciousness in a marked and novel way. This study sought to examine the acute and mid-term psychological effects of LSD in a controlled study. Method : A total of 20 healthy volunteers participated in this within-subjects study. Participants received LSD (75 μg, intravenously) on one occasion and placebo (saline, intravenously) on another, in a [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic Drugs in Biomedicine Evan J. KYZAR, Charles D. NICHOLS, Paul R. GAINETDINOV, David E. NICHOLS, Allan V. KALUEFF Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 2017, 38, (1), 992-1005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2017.08.003 Trends Psychedelic drugs profoundly alter human behavior, acting primarily via agonism at the 5-HT2A receptor in the brain. Research into the mechanisms of psychedelic drugs is experiencing a renaissance after years of stagnation. Animal models show that psychedelic drugs alter a number of crucial molecular mechanisms. Psychedelic drugs cause widespread changes in cognition and brain connectivity. Recent pilot studies show LSD and psilocybin are effective in treating psychiatric disorders and possibly other illnesses. Psychedelic biomedicine is rapidly emerging as an important area [...]
Lire la suiteRole of the Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor in Learning John A. Harvey Learning & Memory, 2003, 355-362 www.learnmem.org http://www.learnmem.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/lm.60803. This study reviews the role of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor in learning as measured by the acquisition of the rabbit’s classically conditioning nictitating membrane response, a component of the eyeblink response. Agonists at the 5-HT2A receptor including LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) enhanced associative learning at doses that produce cognitive effects in humans. Some antagonists such as BOL (d-bromolysergic acid diethylamide), LY53,857, and ketanserin acted as neutral antagonists in that they had no effect on learning, whereas others (MDL11,939, ritanserin, and mianserin) acted as inverse agonists in that [...]
Lire la suitePotential Therapeutic Effects of Psilocybin Matthew W. Johnson & Roland R. Griffiths Neurotherapeutics, 2017, 14, 734–740 DOI 10.1007/s13311-017-0542-y Abstract Psilocybin and other 5-hydroxytryptamine2A agonist classic psychedelics have been used for centuries as sacraments within indigenous cultures. In the mid-twentieth century they were a focus within psychiatry as both probes of brain function and experimental therapeutics. By the late 1960s and early 1970s these scientific inquires fell out of favor because classic psychedelics were being used outside of medical research and in association with the emerging counter culture. However, in the twenty-first century, scientific interest in classic psychedelics has returned and grown as a result of [...]
Lire la suiteLysergic acid diethylamide : a drug of ‘use’ ? Saibal Das, Preeti Barnwal, Anand Ramasamy, Sumalya Sen and Somnath Mondal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, 2016, Vol. 6, (3), 214–228 DOI: 10.1177/2045125316640440 Abstract : Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), described as a classical hallucinogen, began its journey from the middle of the last century following an accidental discovery. Since then, it was used as a popular and notorious substance of abuse in various parts of the world. Its beneficial role as an adjunct to psychotherapy was much unknown, until some ‘benevolent’ experiments were carried out over time to explore some of its potential uses. But, many [...]
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