“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 suitePsychedelic microdosing benefits and challenges : an empirical codebook Thomas Anderson, Rotem Petranker2, Adam Christopher, Daniel Rosenbaum, Cory Weissman, Le-Anh Dinh-Williams, Katrina Hui and Emma Hapke Harm Reduction Journal, 2019, 16, 43, 1-10 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-019-0308-4 Abstract Background : Microdosing psychedelics is the practice of consuming very low, sub-hallucinogenic doses of a psychedelic substance, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or psilocybin-containing mushrooms. According to media reports, microdosing has grown in popularity, yet the scientific literature contains minimal research on this practice. There has been limited reporting on adverse events associated with microdosing, and the experiences of microdosers in community samples have not been categorized. Methods : In the [...]
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 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 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 suiteThe 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 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 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 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 suite'Magic Mushrooms' Effective for Severe Depression Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW Medscape, October 20, 2017 https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/887384 Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms,” is a promising intervention for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and appears to offer a rapid, sustained effect, new research shows. Investigators led by David Nutt, MD, PhD, professor of neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, collected pre- and posttreatment fMRI data on the use of psilocybin in 19 patients with severe major depression who had failed to respond to conventional treatments. The patients experience dramatic improvements in depressive symptoms 1 day following treatment; close to half met criteria for full response at [...]
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