The Rapid Rise in Investment in Psychedelics— Cart Before the Horse Joshua PHELPS, Ravi N. SHAH, Jeffrey A. LIEBERMAN, JAMA Psychiatry, 2022, 79, (3), 189-190. Doi : 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.3972 Anticipating a renaissance, many psychedelic medicine companies have conducted initial public offerings, where in private companies first issue news hares of stock for sale to the public, making the companies publicly traded entities.1 As of this writing, there are more than 50 publicly traded companies related to the development or administration of psychedelic like drugs in the US, with at least 3 valued at more than $1 billion. The market for psychedelic substances is projected to [...]
Lire la suiteConducting Qualitative Research With Psychedelic Psychopharmacologists : Challenges of Co-Production in an Era of Interdisciplinarity Tehseen Noorani SAGE Research Methods Cases Part 2, March 3, 2017, 1-14 Doi : 10.4135/9781526404862 Abstract From 2013 to 2015, I worked as a postdoctoral research fellow with a team of pharmacologists experimenting with psilocybin, an illegal psychoactive compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. The team had conducted an open-label clinical trial with long-term cigarette smokers, using psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to help them quit. The smoking outcomes were very promising, occurring alongside many other profound positive life-changes. The team wanted to investigate further the mechanisms of change by which the study led [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic science in post-COVID-19 psychiatry J. R. Kelly, M. T. Crockett, L. Alexander, M. Haran, A. Baker, L. Burke, C. Brennan and V. O’Keane Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2020, 1-6. doi:10.1017/ipm.2020.94 The medium- to long-term consequences of COVID-19 are not yet known, though an increase in mental health problems are pre- dicted. Multidisciplinary strategies across socio-economic and psychological levels may be needed to mitigate the mental health burden of COVID-19. Preliminary evidence from the rapidly progressing field of psychedelic science shows that psilocybin therapy offers a promising transdiagnostic treatment strategy for a range of disorders with restricted and maladaptive habitual patterns of cognition [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic-Assisted Group Therapy : A Systematic Review Alexander Trope, Brian T. Anderson, Andrew R. Hooker, Giancarlo Glick, Christopher Stauffer, Joshua D. Woolley Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2019, 51, (2) 174–188. doi : 10.1080/02791072.2019.1593559 Abstract Contemporary research with classic psychedelic drugs (e.g. lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin) is indebted to the 20th century researchers and clinicians who generated valuable clinical knowledge of these substances through experimentation. Several recent reviews that highlight the contributions of this early literature have focused on psychedelic-assisted individual psychotherapy modalities. None have attempted to systematically identify and compile experimental studies of psychedelic-assisted group therapy. In therapeutic settings, psychedelics were often used [...]
Lire la suiteOn the Relationship between Classic Psychedelics and Suicidality : A Systematic Review Richard J. Zeifman, Nikhita Singhal, Leah Breslow, & Cory R. Weissman ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, 2021, 4, (2), 436-451 Doi : 10.1021/acsptsci.1c00024 Abstract Use of classic psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin, ayahuasca, lysergic acid diethylamide) is increasing and psychedelic therapy is receiving growing attention as a novel mental health intervention. Suicidality remains a potential safety concern associated with classic psychedelics and is, concurrently, a mental health concern that psychedelic therapy may show promise in targeting. Accordingly, further understanding of the relationship between classic psychedelics and suicidality is needed. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin, in 10 mg or 25 mg doses, has no short- or long-term detrimental effects in healthy people Patrick O'Brien King’s College London News Center, 2022 https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/psilocybin-in-10mg-or-25mg-doses-has-no-short-or-long-term-detrimental-effects-in-healthy-people Psilocybin can be safely administered at doses of either 10mg or 25mg to up to six participants simultaneously. New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in partnership with COMPASS Pathways, has established that psilocybin can be safely administered at doses of either 10mg or 25mg to up to six participants simultaneously. The research, published in The Journal of Psychopharmacology, is an essential first step in demonstrating the safety and feasibility of [...]
Lire la suiteAssessing the risk-benefit profile of classical psychedelics : a clinical review of second-wave psychedelic research David Bender & David J. Hellerstein Psychopharmacology (Berl), 2022. Doi : 10.1007/s00213-021-06049-6 Abstract Rationale : A broad reassessment of the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs has led to the initiation of multiple major clinical trials in an effort to advance their status to become FDA-approved medications, as well as local legislative efforts to legalize or decriminalize their use. Objectives : To use recently published data to assess potential risks and benefits of psychedelic drugs as therapeutics, as well as to synthesize what is currently known in order [...]
Lire la suiteFlashback phenomena after administration of LSD and psilocybin in controlled studies with healthy participants Felix Müller, Elias Kraus, Friederike Holze, Anna Becker, Laura Ley, Yasmin Schmid, Patrick Vizeli, Matthias E. Liechti, Stefan Borgwardt Psychopharmacology, 2022, 1-11. doi : 10.1007/s00213-022-06066-z Abstract Background : LSD and psilocybin are increasingly used in phase I trials and evaluated as therapeutic agents for mental disorders. The phenomenon of reoccurring drug-like experiences after the acute substance effects have worn off was described for both substances and especially attributed to LSD. According to the DSM-V, the persisting and distressing manifestation of these experiences is called hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder (HPPD). Data on both conditions [...]
Lire la suiteThe neurobiology of psychedelic drugs : implications for the treatment of mood disorders Franz X. Vollenweider and Michael Kometer Perspectives, www.nature.com, 2010, 11, 642-651. 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 symptoms of [...]
Lire la suiteSerotonin and brain function : a tale of two receptors RL Carhart-Harris and DJ Nutt Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2017, Vol. 31, (9), 1091–1120. Doi : 10.1177/0269881117725915 Abstract Previous attempts to identify a unified theory of brain serotonin function have largely failed to achieve consensus. In this present synthesis, we integrate previous perspectives with new and older data to create a novel bipartite model centred on the view that serotonin neurotransmission enhances two distinct adaptive responses to adversity, mediated in large part by its two most prevalent and researched brain receptors: the 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors. We propose that passive coping (i.e. tolerating a source of stress) [...]
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