CBD & the Psychedelic Receptor Lex Pelger On March 11, 2018 (Updated on April 16, 2019) https://www.projectcbd.org/science/cbd-psychedelic-receptor CBD and LSD bind to the same serotonin receptor, which mediates psychedelic altered states. But cannabidiol has anti-psychotic properties and doesn't cause hallucinations. In a shorthand that drives scientists mad, serotonin is often called ‘the neurotransmitter of happiness.’ This tag is especially troublesome as more and more flaws become apparent in the ‘serotonin hypothesis’ of depression – the idea that depression is caused by a serotonin deficit, which a pill (a serotonin reuptake inhibitor) could correct.1 Serotonin is a complex molecule in the brain and the [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelics & Cannabis Therapeutics Martin A. Lee April 17, 2019 https://www.projectcbd.org/culture/psychedelics-cannabis-therapeutics High doses of THC are hallucinogenic, and microdosing LSD is a lot like CBD. These mighty molecules can relieve human suffering and they act through the endocannabinoid system. Although it may not be obvious during these Trump-rattled times, we’re in the midst of a psychedelic revival. There is more interest than ever before in experimenting with LSD, magic mushrooms, ayahuasca, ketamine, and other psychedelic drugs. This renaissance is happening without all the fanfare of the day-glo Sixties, when lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) escaped from the laboratory and assumed the lead role in an improbable [...]
Lire la suiteWhy Psychiatry Needs 3,4 Methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine : A Child Psychiatrist’s Perspective Ben SESSA Neurotherapeutics, 2017, 14, (3), 741-749. doi:10.1007/s13311-017-0531-1 Abstract Since the late 1980s the psychoactive drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has had a well-known history as the recreationally used drug ecstasy. What is less well known by the public is that MDMA started its life as a therapeutic agent and that in recent years an increasing amount of clinical research has been undertaken to revisit the drug’s medical potential. MDMA has unique pharmacological properties that translate well to its proposed agent to assist trauma-focused psychotherapy. Psychological trauma—especially that which arises early in life from child abuse—underpins many [...]
Lire la suiteSwitch to mania after ayahuasca consumption in a man with bipolar disorder : a case report Alejandro G Szmulewicz, Marina P Valerio and Jose M Smith International Journal of Bipolar Disorders, 2015, 3, (4), 1-3. DOI 10.1186/s40345-014-0020-y Abstract Background : There is an increasing use of ayahuasca for recreational purposes. Furthermore, there is a growing evidence for the antidepressant properties of its components. However, there are no reports on the effects of this substance in the psychiatric setting. Harmaline, one of the main components of ayahuasca, is a selective and reversible MAO-A inhibitor and a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Case report : We present the case of [...]
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 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 [...]
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