OPEN Foundation

Day: 29 May 2018

Psilocybin and MDMA reduce costly punishment in the Ultimatum Game

May 29, 2018 / MDMA, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Other subjects, Papers, Personality, Psychology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Disruptions in social decision-making are becoming evident in many psychiatric conditions. These are studied using paradigms investigating the psychological mechanisms underlying interpersonal interactions, such as the Ultimatum Game (UG). Rejection behaviour in the UG represents altruistic punishment – the costly punishment of norm violators – but the mechanisms underlying it require clarification. To investigate the psychopharmacology of UG behaviour, we carried out two studies with healthy participants, employing serotonergic agonists: psilocybin (open-label, within-participant design, N = 19) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover design, N = 20). We found that both MDMA and psilocybin reduced rejection of unfair offers (odds ratio: 0.57 and 0.42, respectively). The reduction in rejection rate following MDMA was associated with increased prosociality (R2 = 0.26, p = 0.025). In the MDMA study, we investigated third-party decision-making and proposer behaviour. MDMA did not reduce rejection in the third-party condition, but produced an increase in the amount offered to others (Cohen’s d = 0.82). We argue that these compounds altered participants’ conceptualisation of ‘social reward’, placing more emphasis on the direct relationship with interacting partners. With these compounds showing efficacy in drug-assisted psychotherapy, these studies are an important step in the further characterisation of their psychological effects.
Gabay, A. S., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Mazibuko, N., Kempton, M. J., Morrison, P. D., Nutt, D. J., & Mehta, M. A. (2018). Psilocybin and MDMA reduce costly punishment in the Ultimatum Game. Scientific reports, 8(1), 8236. 10.1038/s41598-018-26656-2
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Ayahuasca and Its DMT- and β-carbolines – Containing Ingredients Block the Expression of Ethanol-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in Mice: Role of the Treatment Environment

May 29, 2018 / Addiction, Ayahuasca, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage produced from the decoction of Banisteriopsis caapi (Bc) and Psychotria viridis (Pv), β-carboline- and N,N-dimethyltryptamine(DMT)-containing plants, respectively. Accumulating evidence suggests that ayahuasca may have therapeutic effects on ethanol abuse. It is not known, however, whether its effects are dependent on the presence of DMT or if non-DMT-containing components would have therapeutic effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the rewarding properties of ayahuasca (30, 100, and 300 mg/kg, orally), Bc (132, 440, and 1320 mg/kg, orally) and Pv (3.75, 12.5 and 37.5 mg/kg, i.p.) extracts and their effects on ethanol (1.8 g/kg, i.p.) reward using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in male mice. Animals were conditioned with ayahuasca, Bc or Pv extracts during 8 sessions. An intermediate, but not a high, dose of ayahuasca induced CPP in mice. Bc and Pv did not induce CPP. Subsequently, the effects of those extracts were tested on the development of ethanol-induced CPP. Ayahuasca, Bc or Pv were administered before ethanol injections during conditioning sessions. While Bc and Pv exerted no effects on ethanol-induced CPP, pretreatment with ayahuasca blocked the development of CPP to ethanol. Finally, the effects of a post-ethanol-conditioning treatment with ayahuasca, Bc or Pv on the expression of ethanol-induced CPP were tested. Animals were conditioned with ethanol, and subsequently treated with either ayahuasca, Bc or Pv in the CPP environment previously associated with saline or ethanol for 6 days. Animals were then reexposed to ethanol and ethanol-induced CPP was quantified on the following day. Treatment with all compounds in the ethanol-paired environment blocked the expression of ethanol-induced CPP. Administration of an intermediate, but not a high, dose of ayahuasca and Bc, as well as Pv administration, in the saline-paired compartment blocked the expression of ethanol-induced CPP. The present study sheds light into the components underlying the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca on ethanol abuse, indicating that ayahuasca and its plant components can decrease ethanol reward at doses that do not exert abuse liability. Importantly, the treatment environment seems to influence the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca and Bc, providing important insights into clinical practice.
Cata-Preta, E. G., Serra, Y. A., Moreira-Junior, E. D. C., Reis, H. S., Kisaki, N. D., Libarino-Santos, M., … & Costa, J. L. (2018). Ayahuasca and Its DMT-and β-carbolines–Containing Ingredients Block the Expression of Ethanol-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in Mice: Role of the Treatment Environment. Frontiers in pharmacology, 9. 10.3389/fphar.2018.00561
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Psychedelic use and intimate partner violence

May 29, 2018 / LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Other subjects, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

Background:

Recent evidence suggests that psychedelic use predicts reduced perpetration of intimate partner violence among men involved in the criminal justice system. However, the extent to which this association generalizes to community samples has not been examined, and potential mechanisms underlying this association have not been directly explored.

Aims:

The present study examined the association between lifetime psychedelic use and intimate partner violence among a community sample of men and women. The study also tested the extent to which the associations were mediated by improved emotion regulation.

Methods:

We surveyed 1266 community members aged 16–70 (mean age=22.78, standard deviation=7.71) using an online questionnaire that queried substance use, emotional regulation, and intimate partner violence. Respondents were coded as psychedelic users if they reported one or more instance of using lysergic acid diethylamide and/or psilocybin mushrooms in their lifetime.

Results/outcomes:

Males reporting any experience using lysergic acid diethylamide and/or psilocybin mushrooms had decreased odds of perpetrating physical violence against their current partner (odds ratio=0.42, p<0.05). Furthermore, our analyses revealed that male psychedelic users reported better emotion regulation when compared to males with no history of psychedelic use. Better emotion regulation mediated the relationship between psychedelic use and lower perpetration of intimate partner violence. This relationship did not extend to females within our sample.

Conclusions/interpretation:

These findings extend prior research showing a negative relationship between psychedelic use and intimate partner violence, and highlight the potential role of emotion regulation in this association.

Thiessen, M. S., Walsh, Z., Bird, B. M., & Lafrance, A. (2018). Psychedelic use and intimate partner violence: The role of emotion regulation. Journal of psychopharmacology, 0269881118771782.
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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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