Psilocybin Benefits in Cancer Sustained Nearly 5 Years Later Nancy A. Melville Medscape, January 28, 2020 Medscape Medical News © 2020 Cancer patients who were treated with a one-time, single dose of the psychedelic drug psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy, showed significant benefits on measures of emotional and existential distress nearly 5 years after receiving the therapy, new research indicates. In addition to reporting improved well-being or life satisfaction, some patients rated the treatment as being "among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives," the authors note. The study, the longest-spanning evaluation to date of the effects of psilocybin in the treatment of cancer-related psychiatric distress, was [...]
Lire la suitePsilocybin-Assisted Therapy : A Review of a Novel Treatment for Psychiatric Disorders Kelan Thomas, Pharm.D., M.S., Benjamin Malcolm, Pharm.D., M.P.H., and Dan Lastra, B.S. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2017 Doi : 10.1080/02791072.2017.1320734 Abstract Recent research suggests that functional connectivity changes may be involved in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. Hyperconnectivity in the default mode network has been associated with psycho-pathology, but psychedelic serotonin agonists like psilocybin may profoundly disrupt these dysfunctional neural network circuits and provide a novel treatment for psychiatric disorders. We have reviewed the current literature to investigate the efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted therapy for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. There were [...]
Lire la suiteChapter 12 : Gnosis Potency : DMT Breakthroughs and Paragnosis Graham St John in B. C. Labate, C. Cavnar (eds.), "Plant Medicines, Healing and Psychedelic Science", Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 doi : 10.1007/978-3-319-76720-8_12 Abstract DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is a powerful tryptamine that has experienced growing appeal in the last decade, independent from ayahuasca, the Amazonian visionary brew in which it is an integral ingredient. Investigating user reports available from literary and online sources, this chapter focuses on the gnosis potency associated with the DMT “breakthrough” experience. I explore the parameters of the tryptaminal state and, in particular, the extraordinary paragnosis associated with [...]
Lire la suiteA dangerous method ? Psychedelic therapy at Modum Bad, Norway, 1961–76 Petter Grahl Johnstad History of Psychiatry, 2020, 1–10 Doi : 10.1177/0957154X19894537 Abstract After many years of disregard, the use of psychedelic drugs in psychiatric treatment has re-emerged in recent years. The prospect that psychedelics may again be integrated into mainstream psychiatry has aroused interest in long-forgotten research and experience from the previous phase of psychedelic therapy, which lasted from the late 1940s to the 1970s. This article will discuss one large-scale psychedelic therapy programme at Modum Bad Nervesanatorium, a psychiatric clinic which treated 379 inpatients with psychedelic drugs during the years 1961–76. The psychiatrists [...]
Lire la suite“Go Ask Alice”: The Case for Researching Schedule I Drugs Kenneth V. ISERSON Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2019, 28, 168–177. © Cambridge University Press 2018. doi : 10.1017/S0963180118000518 Abstract : The available treatments for disorders affecting large segments of the population are often costly, complex, and only marginally effective, and many have numerous side effects. These disorders include dementias, debilitating neurological disorders, the multiple types of drug addiction, and the spectrum of mental health disorders. Preliminary studies have shown that a variety of psychedelic and similar U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Schedule I drugs may offer better treatment options than those that currently exist and pose potentially [...]
Lire la suiteExploring ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addiction: A qualitative analysis of preliminary findings among an Indigenous community in Canada Elena ARGENTO, Rielle CAPLER, Gerald THOMAS, Philippe LUCAS & Kenneth W. TUPPER Drug and Alcohol Review, 2019 Doi : 10.1111/dar.12985 Abstract Introduction and Aims. A previous observational study of ayahuasca-assisted therapy demonstrated statistically significant reductions in self-reported problematic cocaine use among members of an Indigenous community in Canada. This paper aims to qualitatively explore the impact of ayahuasca assisted therapy on addiction and other substance use-related outcomes and elucidate the lived experiences of participants. Design and Methods. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 11 adult Indigenous participants of the ayahuasca-assisted [...]
Lire la suiteAn ontology of psychedelic entity experiences in evolutionary psychology and neurophenomenology Michael James WINKELMAN Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 2018. Doi : 10.1556/2054.2018.002 Background and aims : Psychedelic entity experiences are examined from perspectives of evolutionary psychology and neurophenomenology. Their similarities with other entity experiences illustrate the need for a general biological explanation of entity experiences. Mechanisms are proposed to involve innate modules, operators, and intelligences that underlie ordinary cognitive inferences and provide the basis for supernatural thought. Methods : Comparisons of ayahuasca and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) entity experiences with other types of entity experiences show their fundamental similarities to conceptions of spirit guides, mythological beings, divinities, [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelics in History and World Religions, Editorial Michael James Winkelman Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 2019, 3, (2), pp. 41–42 Doi : 10.1556/2054.2019.021 Recent research has given new hope that psychedelics might provide important tools for treating some of our more intractable ailments. Assessment of the therapeutic applications of psychedelics for various conditions (Winkelman & Sessa, 2019) offers tantalizing promises of what may be seen as miracle cures for their immediate results and effectiveness. As new technologies expand our understandings of the effects of these substances, we are entering a new epoch of understanding the systemic effects of psychedelics on the brain. These findings regarding the [...]
Lire la suiteTherapeutic Applications of Ayahuasca and Other Sacred Medicines Michael J. Winkelman chapter 1, in B. Caiuby Labate and C. Cavnar (eds.) : "The Therapeutic Use of Ayahuasca", Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Doi : 10.1007/978-3-642-40426-9_1 Abstract : Therapeutic applications of the psychedelics or hallucinogens found cross-culturally involve treatment of a variety of physical, psychological, and social maladies. Modern medicine has similarly found that a range of conditions may be successfully treated with these agents. The ability to treat a wide variety of conditions derives from variation in active ingredients, doses and modes of application, and factors of set and setting manipulated in ritual. Similarities in effects reported [...]
Lire la suiteTherapeutic Bases of Psychedelic Medicines : Psycho-integrative Effects Michael J. WINKELMAN chapter 1, in "PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINE: SOCIAL, CLINICAL, AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVES" january 2007, pp 1-19. INTRODUCTION For thousands of years, human beings have used medicinal plants to enhance their health and well-being. In cultures around the world, plants commonly referred to as psychedelic, hallucinogens, and entheogens have played central roles in their healing practices. These vision-inducing plants have also played important roles in the religious and spiritual practices of many societies, evoking powerful emotional, cognitive, and therapeutic reactions. These plants that were central to concepts of health, spirituality, and well-being were, however, demonized and rejected [...]
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