Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Roland R. Griffiths, William A. Richards, Una McCann, Robert Jesse Psychopharmacology, 2006 DOI 10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5 Abstract Rationale : Although psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes, little is known scientifically about its acute and persisting effects. Objectives : This double-blind study evaluated the acute and longer-term psychological effects of a high dose of psilocybin relative to a comparison compound administered under comfortable, supportive conditions. Materials and methods : The participants were hallucinogennaïve adults reporting regular participation in religious or spiritual activities. Two or three sessions were conducted at 2-month intervals. Thirty volunteers [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin dose-dependently causes delayed, transient headaches in healthy volunteers Matthew W. Johnson, R. Andrew Sewell, and Roland R. Griffiths Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2012, 123, (1-3), 132–140. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.10.029 Abstract Background—Psilocybin is a well-characterized classic hallucinogen (psychedelic) with a long history of religious use by indigenous cultures, and nonmedical use in modern societies. Although psilocybin is structurally related to migraine medications, and case studies suggest that psilocybin may be efficacious in treatment of cluster headache, little is known about the relationship between psilocybin and headache. Methods—This double-blind study examined a broad range of psilocybin doses (0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg/70 kg) on headache in [...]
Lire la suiteThe administration of psilocybin to healthy, hallucinogen-experienced volunteers in a mock-functional magnetic resonnance imaging environment : a preliminary investigation of tolerability Robin L. Carhart-Harris et al., Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2010, 1-6 DOI: 10.1177/0269881110367445 Abstract This study sought to assess the tolerability of intravenously administered psilocybin in healthy, hallucinogen-experienced volunteers in a mock-magnetic resonance imaging environment as a preliminary stage to a controlled investigation using functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the effects of psilocybin on cerebral blood flow and activity. The present pilot study demonstrated that up to 2 mg of psilocybin delivered as a slow intravenous injection produces short-lived but typical drug effects that [...]
Lire la suiteImplications for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy : a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with psilocybin R. L. Carhart-Harris, R. Leech, T. M. Williams, D. Erritzoe, N. Abbasi, T. Bargiotas, P. Hobden, D. J. Sharp, J. Evans, A. Feilding, R. G. Wise and D. J. Nutt British Journal of Psychiatry, 2012, 200, 238-244. Doi : 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.103309 Background Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic drug that has a history of use in psychotherapy. One of the rationales for its use was that it aids emotional insight by lowering psychological defences. Aims To test the hypothesis that psilocybin facilitates access to personal memories and emotions by comparing subjective and neural responses to positive [...]
Lire la suiteFunctional Connectivity Measures After Psilocybin Inform a Novel Hypothesis of Early Psychosis Robin L. Carhart-Harris, Robert Leech, David Erritzoe, Tim M. Williams, James M. Stone, John Evans, David J. Sharp, Amanda Feilding, Richard G. Wise, and David J. Nutt Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2012, Volume 39, Issue 6, November 2013, Pages 1343–1351 doi : 10.1093/schbul/sbs117 Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic and a candidate drug model of psychosis. This study measured the effects of psilocybin on resting-state network and thalamo-cortical functional connectivity (FC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy volunteers received intravenous infusions of psilocybin and placebo in 2 task-free resting-state scans. Primary analyses focused on [...]
Lire la suiteNeural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybine Robin L. Carhart-Harris, David Erritzoe, Tim Williams, James M. Stone, Laurence J. Reed, Alessandro Colasanti, Robin J. Tyacke, Robert Leech, Andrea L. Malizia, Kevin Murphy, Peter Hobden, John Evans, Amanda Feilding, Richard G. Wise, and David J. Nutt PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2012, 109, (6), 2138-2143. doi:10.1073/pnas.1119598109 www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1119598109/-/DCSupplemental. Abstract Psychedelic drugs have a long history of use in healing ceremonies, but despite renewed interest in their therapeutic potential, we continue to know very little about howthey work in the brain. Here we used psilocybin, a classic [...]
Lire la suiteHuman hallucinogen research : Guidelines for safety. Matthew W. Johnson, William A. Richards, Roland R. Griffiths Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2008, 22, 603–620. doi : 10.1177/0269881108093587 Abstract There has recently been a renewal of human research with classical hallucinogens (psychedelics). This paper first briefly discusses the unique history of human hallucinogen research, and then reviews the risks of hallucinogen administration and safeguards for minimizing these risks. Although hallucinogens are relatively safe physiologically and are not considered drugs of dependence, their administration involves unique psychological risks. The most likely risk is overwhelming distress during drug action ('bad trip'), which could lead to potentially dangerous behaviour such as [...]
Lire la suitePsychiatry might need some psychedelic therapy Matthew W. Johnson International Review of Psychiatry, 2018, 30, 4, 285-290, DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2018.1509544 EDITORIAL Psychiatry might need some psychedelic therapy In historical and modern-day studies, psychedelic drugs have shown promise in managing a variety of psychiatric disorders, but their medical use has often raised controversies. The controversies have related to social, political, and legal challenges. History Although anthropological evidence suggests that classic psychedelic drugs (hereafter, ‘psychedelics’) have been used by various indigenous peoples as sacraments and healing agents before recorded history, in the mid-twentieth century they came to occupy a place at the cutting edge of psychiatric research (Johnson, Richards, & Griffiths, [...]
Lire la suiteLong-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation Johnson M.W., Garcia-Romeu A., Griffiths R.R. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2017, 43, (1), 55–60 http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2016.1170135 Abstract Background : A recent open-label pilot study (N = 15) found that two to three moderate to high doses (20 and 30 mg/70 kg) of the serotonin 2A receptor agonist, psilocybin, in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for smoking cessation, resulted in substantially higher 6-month smoking abstinence rates than are typically observed with other medications or CBT alone. Objectives : To assess long-term effects of a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation program at ≥12 months after psilocybin administration. Methods : The present [...]
Lire la suiteSerotonergic psychedelics and personality: a systematic review of contemporary research José Carlos Bouso, Rafael G. dos Santos, Miguel Ángel Alcázar-Córcoles, Jaime E. C. Hallak Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2018 PII: S0149-7634(17)30301-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.02.004 Highlights Serotonergic psychedelics act as agonists at cortical 5-HT2A receptors 5-HT2A receptors are expressed in fronto-temporo-parieto-occipital areas Some personality traits seem to be related to 5-HT2A receptor expression Acute and long-term use of psychedelics is associated with personality changes Personality changes induced by psychedelics may have therapeutic effects Abstract Serotonergic psychedelics act as agonists at cortical 5-HT2A receptors and seem to induce personality changes. We conducted a systematic review of studies assessing the effects [...]
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