The Neurobiology of Psychedelic Drugs: Implications for the Treatment of Mood Disorders Franz X. VOLLENWEIDER & Michael KOMETER Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2010, 11, (9), 642-51 DOI: 10.1038/nrn2884 Abstract 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 psychedelics modulate neural circuits that have been implicated in mood and affective disorders, and can reduce the clinical [...]
Lire la suiteLegally high ? Legal considerations of Salvia divinorum O. Hayden GRIFFIN III, Bryan Lee MILLER, David N. KHEYS Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2008, 40, (2), 183-190 In the past few years, there has been an apparent increase in the recreational use of Salvia divinorum. Its origins lie in the Mazatecan culture where its ceremonial use had historic ties to the traditional mystic religion and medicine practiced by its people. This psychoactive plant is native to the forest ravines of Oaxaca, Mexico--the area inhabited by the Mazatecs. It is a relative in the mint family, a family of plants that includes several psychoactive species. [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelics and Mental Health : A Population Study Teri S. Krebs, Pal-Ørjan Johansen PLoS ONE, 2013, 8, (8): e63972. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063972 Abstract Background : The classical serotonergic psychedelics LSD, psilocybin, mescaline are not known to cause brain damage and are regarded as non-addictive. Clinical studies do not suggest that psychedelics cause long-term mental health problems. Psychedelics have been used in the Americas for thousands of years. Over 30 million people currently living in the US have used LSD, psilocybin, or mescaline. Objective : To evaluate the association between the lifetime use of psychedelics and current mental health in the adult population. Method : Data drawn from years 2001 [...]
Lire la suitePrehistoric peyote use : Alkaloid analysis and radiocarbon dating of archaeological specimens of Lophophora from Texas Hesham R. El-Seedi, Peter A.G.M. De Smet, Olof Beck, G¨oran Possnert, Jan G. Bruhn Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2005, 101, 238–242 doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.04.022 Abstract Two archaeological specimens of peyote buttons, i.e. dried tops of the cactus Lophophora williamsii (Lem.) Coulter, from the collection of theWitte Museum in San Antonio, was subjected to radiocarbon dating and alkaloid analysis. The samples were presumably found in Shumla Cave No. 5 on the Rio Grande, Texas. Radiocarbon dating shows that the calibrated 14C age of the weighted mean of the two individual dated samples corresponds to [...]
Lire la suitePotential Psychiatric Uses for MDMA B.B. Yazar-Klosinski and M.C. Mithoefer CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, 2017, 101, 2 www.wileyonlinelibrary/cpt doi:10.1002/cpt.565 Phase II trials of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)- assisted psychotherapy have demonstrated initial safety and efficacy for treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with potential for expansion to depression and anxiety disorders. In these trials, single doses of MDMA are administered in a model of medication-assisted psychotherapy, differing from trials involving daily drug administration without psychotherapy. This model presents an opportunity to utilize accelerated regulatory pathways, such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Breakthrough Therapy Designation, to most effectively and expeditiously test such novel approaches. BACKGROUND MDMA-assisted [...]
Lire la suiteThe Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future Robin L Carhart-Harris and Guy M Goodwin Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017, 42, 2105–2113 doi:10.1038/npp.2017.84; published online 17 May 2017 Plant-based psychedelics, such as psilocybin, have an ancient history of medicinal use. After the first English language report on LSD in 1950, psychedelics enjoyed a short-lived relationship with psychology and psychiatry. Used most notably as aids to psychotherapy for the treatment of mood disorders and alcohol dependence, drugs such as LSD showed initial therapeutic promise before prohibitive legislature in the mid-1960s effectively ended all major psychedelic research programs. Since the early 1990s, there has been a steady [...]
Lire la suitePredicting Responses to Psychedelics : A Prospective Study Eline C. H. M. Haijen, Mendel Kaelen, Leor Roseman, Christopher Timmermann, Hannes Kettner, Suzanne Russ, David Nutt, Richard E. Daws, Adam D. G. Hampshire, Romy Lorenz and Robin L. Carhart-Harris Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2018 doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00897 Abstract Responses to psychedelics are notoriously difficult to predict, yet significant work is currently underway to assess their therapeutic potential and the level of interest in psychedelics among the general public appears to be increasing. We aimed to collect prospective data in order to improve our ability to predict acute- and longer-term responses to psychedelics. Individuals who planned to take a [...]
Lire la suiteQualitative and Quantitative Features of Music Reported to Support Peak Mystical Experiences during Psychedelic Therapy Sessions Frederick S. Barrett, Hollis Robbins, David Smooke, Jenine L. Brown and Roland R. Griffiths Frontiers in Psychology, 2017 ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 25 July 2017 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01238 Abstract Psilocybin is a classic (serotonergic) hallucinogen (“psychedelic” drug) that may occasion mystical experiences (characterized by a profound feeling of oneness or unity) during acute effects. Such experiences may have therapeutic value. Research and clinical applications of psychedelics usually include music listening during acute drug effects, based on the expectation that music will provide psychological support during the acute effects of psychedelic drugs, and [...]
Lire la suiteBeyond LSD : A Broader Psychedelic Zeitgeist during the Early to Mid-20th Century Jacob S. Aday, M.S. , Emily K. Bloesch, Ph.D. , and Christopher C. Davoli, Ph.D. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2019.1581961 ABSTRACT During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a tremendous surge in research into the effects of psychedelic drugs. When discussing this period of research, the discovery of the psychoactive properties of LSD in 1943 is often presented as the main, and sometimes only, driving force of the boom in research. This “Great Person,” or “Great Chemical,” historiographical lens fails to acknowledge other factors that were fundamental in setting the stage [...]
Lire la suiteEmotional breakthrough and psychedelics : Validation of the Emotional Breakthrough Inventory Leor Roseman, Eline Haijen, Kelvin Idialu-Ikato, Mendel Kaelen, Rosalind Watts and Robin Carhart-Harris Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2019, 1–12 DOI: 10.1177/0269881119855974 Abstract Background : Psychedelic therapy is gaining recognition and the nature of the psychedelic experience itself has been found to mediate subsequent long-term psychological changes. Much emphasis has been placed on the occurrence of mystical-type experiences in determining long-term responses to psychedelics yet here we demonstrate the importance of another component, namely: emotional breakthrough. Methods : Three hundred and seventy-nine participants completed online surveys before and after a planned psychedelic experience. Items pertaining to emotional [...]
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