Ayahuasca and Public Health : Health Status, Psychosocial Well-Being, Lifestyle, and Coping Strategies in a Large Sample of Ritual Ayahuasca Users Genís Ona, Maja Kohek, Tomàs Massaguer, Alfred Gomariz, Daniel F. Jiménez, Rafael G. Dos Santos, Jaime E. C. Hallak, Miguel Ángel Alcázar- Córcoles & José Carlos Bouso Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2019, DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2019.1567961 ABSTRACT Assessing the health status of ayahuasca users has been challenging due to the limitations involved in randomized clinical trials and psychometric approaches. The main objective of this study is the implementation of an approach based on public health indicators. We developed a self-administered questionnaire that was administered to long-term [...]
Lire la suiteSurvey study of challenging experiences after ingesting psilocybin mushrooms : Acute and enduring positive and negative consequences Theresa M. Carbonaro, Matthew P. Bradstreet, Frederick S. Barrett, Katherine A. MacLean, Robert Jesse, Matthew W. Johnson and Roland R. Griffiths Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2016, 1 –11 DOI: 10.1177/0269881116662634 Abstract Acute and enduring adverse effects of psilocybin have been reported anecdotally, but have not been well characterized. For this study, 1993 individuals (mean age 30 yrs; 78% male) completed an online survey about their single most psychologically difficult or challenging experience (worst “bad trip”) after consuming psilocybin mushrooms. Thirty-nine percent rated it among the top five most challenging [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin 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 suiteMystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personnality domain of openness Katherine A. MacLean, Matthew W. Johnson and Roland R. Griffiths Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2011, 25, (11), 1453-1461. doi: 10.1177/0269881111420188. Abstract A large body of evidence, including longitudinal analyses of personality change, suggests that core personality traits are predominantly stable after age 30. To our knowledge, no study has demonstrated changes in personality in healthy adults after an experimentally manipulated discrete event. Intriguingly, double-blind controlled studies have shown that the classic hallucinogen psilocybin occasions personally and spiritually significant mystical experiences that predict longterm changes in behaviors, attitudes and values. In [...]
Lire la suiteMystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later Roland R. Griffiths ,W.A. Richards , Matthew W. Johnson, Una D. McCann, R. Jesse Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2008, 1–12. Doi : 10.1177/0269881108094300 Abstract Psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes; however, little is known scientifically about its long-term effects. We previously reported the effects of a double-blind study evaluating the psychological effects of a high psilocybin dose. This report presents the 14-month follow-up and examines the relationship of the follow-up results to data obtained at screening and on drug session days. Participants were 36 hallucinogen-naïve adults [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences : immediate and persisting dose-related effects Roland R. Griffiths, Matthew W. Johnson, William A. Richards, Brian D. Richards, Una McCann, Robert Jesse Psychopharmacology, 2011 DOI 10.1007/s00213-011-2358-5 Abstract Rationale : This dose-effect study extends previous observations showing that psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having persisting positive effects on attitudes, mood, and behavior. Objectives : This double-blind study evaluated psilocybin (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 mg/70 kg, p.o.) administered under supportive conditions. Methods : Participants were 18 adults (17 hallucinogennaïve). Five 8-h sessions were conducted individually for each participant at 1-month intervals. Participants were randomized to receive the four active doses in either ascending or [...]
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 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 suiteFlashback : Psychiatric Experimentation With LSD in Historical Perspective Erika Dyck Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 2005, Vol 50, No 7, 381-388. Doi : 10.1177/070674370505000703 In the popular mind, d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) research in psychiatry has long been associated with the CIA-funded experiments conducted by Ewen Cameron at the Allen Memorial Institute in Montreal, Quebec. Despite this reputation, a host of medical researchers in the post–World War II era explored LSD for its potential therapeutic value. Some of the most widespread trials in the Western world occurred in Saskatchewan, under the direction of psychiatrists Humphry Osmond (in Weyburn) and Abram Hoffer (in Saskatoon). These [...]
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