Human 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 suiteUnifying Theories of Psychedelic Drug Effects Link R. Swanson Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2018, Volume 9, Article 172, 1-23 www.frontiersin.org (2 March 2018) doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00172 Abstract How do psychedelic drugs produce their characteristic range of acute effects in perception, emotion, cognition, and sense of self? How do these effects relate to the clinical efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapies? Efforts to understand psychedelic phenomena date back more than a century in Western science. In this article I review theories of psychedelic drug effects and highlight key concepts which have endured over the last 125 years of psychedelic science. First, I describe the subjective phenomenology of acute psychedelic effects using [...]
Lire la suiteAssociations between Adolescent Cannabis Use and Neuropsychological Decline : A Longitudinal Co-Twin Control Study Madeline H. Meier, Avshalom Caspi, Andrea Danese, Helen L. Fisher, Renate Houts, Louise Arseneault, & Terrie E. Moffitt Addiction. 2018, 113, (2), 257-265. doi: 10.1111/add.13946. Abstract Aims : This study tested whether adolescents who used cannabis or met criteria for cannabis dependence showed neuropsychological impairment prior to cannabis initiation and neuropsychological decline from before to after cannabis initiation. Design : A longitudinal co-twin control study. Setting and Participants : Participants were 1,989 twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of twins born in England and Wales [...]
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 suiteThe paradoxical psychological effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) R. L. Carhart-Harris, M. Kaelen, M. Bolstridge, T. M. Williams, L. T. Williams, R. Underwood, A. Feilding and D. J. Nutt Psychological Medicine, 2016, 46, 1379–1390. doi:10.1017/S0033291715002901 Background : Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent serotonergic hallucinogen or psychedelic that modulates consciousness in a marked and novel way. This study sought to examine the acute and mid-term psychological effects of LSD in a controlled study. Method : A total of 20 healthy volunteers participated in this within-subjects study. Participants received LSD (75 μg, intravenously) on one occasion and placebo (saline, intravenously) on another, in a [...]
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 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 suiteBeyond LSD : A Broader Psychedelic Zeitgeist during the Early to Mid-20th Century Jacob S. Aday, M.S. , Emily K. Bloesch, Ph.D. , and Christopher C. Davoli, Ph.D. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2019.1581961 ABSTRACT During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a tremendous surge in research into the effects of psychedelic drugs. When discussing this period of research, the discovery of the psychoactive properties of LSD in 1943 is often presented as the main, and sometimes only, driving force of the boom in research. This “Great Person,” or “Great Chemical,” historiographical lens fails to acknowledge other factors that were fundamental in setting the stage [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic Cuts Cravings, Consumption in Alcohol Use Disorder Pauline Anderson Medscape, May 23, 2019 https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/913422?src=wnl_tp10n_190711_mscpedit&uac=292598PZ&impID=2023688&faf=1 SAN FRANCISCO — Just two doses of the psychedelic drug psilocybin, taken over a period of 8 weeks, significantly reduced alcohol use and cravings in patients with alcohol use disorder, preliminary findings show. In the first study to use modern clinical trial design to investigate the effects of a hallucinogen in alcohol-dependent patients, investigators at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine in New York City found that use of psilocybin was significantly associated with fewer drinking days and fewer drinks per day, as well fewer cravings. Dr Kelley Clark O'Donnell "Psychedelic [...]
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