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A critical review of reports of endogenous psychedelic N, N-dimethyltryptamines in humans: 1955-2010

February 28, 2012 / DMT, Papers, Pharmacology & Chemistry, Publications / By / , ,

Abstract

Three indole alkaloids that possess differing degrees of psychotropic/psychedelic activity have been reported as endogenous substances in humans; N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-hydroxy-DMT (bufotenine, HDMT), and 5-methoxy-DMT (MDMT). We have undertaken a critical review of 69 published studies reporting the detection or detection and quantitation of these compounds in human body fluids. In reviewing this literature, we address the methods applied and the criteria used in the determination of the presence of DMT, MDMT, and HDMT. The review provides a historical perspective of the research conducted from 1955 to 2010, summarizing the findings for the individual compounds in blood, urine, and/or cerebrospinal fluid. A critique of the data is offered that addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the methods and approaches to date. The review also discusses the shortcomings of the existing data in light of more recent findings and how these may be overcome. Suggestions for the future directions of endogenous psychedelics research are offered.

Barker, S. A., McIlhenny, E. H., Strassman, R. (2013). A critical review of reports of endogenous psychedelic N, N-dimethyltryptamines in humans: 1955-2010. Drug Testing and Analysis, 4(7-8), 617-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dta.422
Link to full text

Therapeutisch onderzoek hallucinogenen wint terrein

December 2, 2021 / Uncategorized / By

Kijk2

Wetenschapspopulariserend KIJK magazine heeft een artikel gewijd aan het onderzoek naar geestverruimende middelen. De titel van het artikel is “Trippend van je problemen af: De voorzichtige revival van drugs als medicijn”. Wetenschapsjournalist Jop de Vrieze interviewde onder andere psychiaters Andrew Feldmár en Charles Grob. Hij kwam tot de conclusie dat geestverruimende middelen tegenwoordig een “volwassen tak van wetenschappelijk onderzoek” vormen. XTC wordt in therapeutische setting toegediend bij emotionele stoornissen, psilocybine en LSD verminderen doodsangst, ketamine lijkt effectief bij depressie en ibogaine bij verslavingen. Deze positieve werkingen zijn al decennia bekend onder wetenschappers, maar mogen pas sinds kort weer openlijk onderzocht worden voor therapeutische doeleinden. Het artikel noemt hierbij het Amerikaanse Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies MAPS en evenals Stichting OPEN die hieraan een bijdrage leveren.

Het eerste deel van het artikel kan hier worden gelezen.

Psychedelic research in popular literature

December 6, 2021 / Publications / By

Kijk2The Dutch KIJK magazine printed an article on research on psychedelics. “Tripping away your problems: a slow revival of drugs as medicine”. Reporter Jop de Vrieze interviewed scientists among whom psychiatrists Andrew Feldmár en Charles Grob. Upon the interviews he based that nowadays psychedelics are a “full grown part of scientific studies”. XTC is therapeutically used for emotional illnesses, psilocybine and LSD with treating life quality in terminal illnesses, ketamine is effective with depression and ibogaine with addictions. These positive effects have been known to scientists for decades, yet only recently has public research slowly been allowed again. Both Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and The OPEN Foundation are brought forth in the article as promoting these studies.

The first part of the article (in Dutch) can be read here.

Replication of Ketamine's Antidepressant Efficacy in Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Controlled Add-On Trial

January 31, 2012 / Depressive Disorders, Ketamine, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Background

Currently, no pharmacological treatments for bipolar depression exist that exert rapid (within hours) antidepressant or antisuicidal effects. We previously reported that intravenous administration of the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist ketamine produced rapid antidepressant effects in patients with treatment-resistant bipolar depression. The present study sought to replicate this finding in an independent sample.

Methods

In this double-blind, randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study, 15 subjects with DSM-IV bipolar I or II depression maintained on therapeutic levels of lithium or valproate received a single intravenous infusion of either ketamine hydrochloride (.5 mg/kg) or placebo on 2 test days 2 weeks apart. The primary outcome measure was the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, which was used to rate overall depressive symptoms at baseline; at 40, 80, 110, and 230 minutes postinfusion; and on days 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, and 14 postinfusion.

Results

Within 40 minutes, depressive symptoms, as well as suicidal ideation, significantly improved in subjects receiving ketamine compared with placebo (d = .89, 95% confidence interval = .61–1.16, and .98, 95% confidence interval = .64–1.33, respectively); this improvement remained significant through day 3. Seventy-nine percent of subjects responded to ketamine and 0% responded to placebo at some point during the trial. The most common side effect was dissociative symptoms, which occurred only at the 40-minute time point.

Conclusion

This study replicated our previous finding that patients with bipolar depression who received a single ketamine infusion experienced a rapid and robust antidepressant response. In addition, we found that ketamine rapidly improved suicidal ideation in these patients.

Zarate Jr., A., Brutsche, N. E., Ibrahim, L., Franco-Chaves, J., Diazgranados, N., Cravchik, A., … Luckenbaugh, D. A. (2011). Replication of Ketamine’s Antidepressant Efficacy in Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Controlled Add-On Trial. Biological Psychiatry, 71(11), 939-946. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.12.010
Link to full text

Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin

January 29, 2012 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Psychedelic drugs have a long history of use in healing ceremonies, but despite renewed interest in their therapeutic potential, we continue to know very little about how they work in the brain. Here we used psilocybin, a classic psychedelic found in magic mushrooms, and a task-free functional MRI (fMRI) protocol designed to capture the transition from normal waking consciousness to the psychedelic state. Arterial spin labeling perfusion and blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI were used to map cerebral blood flow and changes in venous oxygenation before and after intravenous infusions of placebo and psilocybin. Fifteen healthy volunteers were scanned with arterial spin labeling and a separate 15 with BOLD. As predicted, profound changes in consciousness were observed after psilocybin, but surprisingly, only decreases in cerebral blood flow and BOLD signal were seen, and these were maximal in hub regions, such as the thalamus and anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (ACC and PCC). Decreased activity in the ACC/medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was a consistent finding and the magnitude of this decrease predicted the intensity of the subjective effects. Based on these results, a seed-based pharmaco-physiological interaction/functional connectivity analysis was performed using a medial prefrontal seed. Psilocybin caused a significant decrease in the positive coupling between the mPFC and PCC. These results strongly imply that the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs are caused by decreased activity and connectivity in the brain’s key connector hubs, enabling a state of unconstrained cognition.

Carhart-Harris, R. L., Erritzoe, D., Williams, T., Stone, J. M., Reed, L. J., Colasanti, A., … Nutt, D. J. (2012). Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(6), 2138-2143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1119598109
Link to full text

Ayahuasca wetenschappelijke literatuur overzicht

December 2, 2021 / Uncategorized / By

iceers3

In reactie op beweringen die in 2010 werden gedaan door de United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) ten aanzien van de serieuze gezondheidsrisico’s die het gebruik van Ayahuasca met zich mee zou brengen, heeft psycholoog en ayahuasca onderzoeker Jose Carlos Bouso een document samengesteld met alle betekenisvolle wetenschappelijke onderzoeken naar de korte-, middellange- en lange termijn effecten van ayahuasca. Geen enkele studie ondersteunt de beweringen van de INCB, en in sommige van deze studies worden juist aanwijzingen voor mogelijke therapeutische effecten van ayahuacsa gevonden.

Het document werd samengesteld voor the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS), en kan hier worden gedownload.

Ayahuasca scientific literature overview

December 6, 2021 / Ayahuasca, Publications / By

iceers3

In response to claims made in 2010 by the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) regarding the serious health risks that would entail the use of ayahuasca, psychologist and ayahusaca researcher Jose Carlos Bouso has compiled a document with all the scientific studies into the short, medium and long term effects of ayahuasca. No study supports the claims of the INCB, and some of these studies even indicate a possible therapeutic potential of ayahuasca.

The document was published by the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS), and can be downloaded here.

Could MDMA be useful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder?

December 15, 2011 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, MDMA, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

In recent studies, 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) has shown promise in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an adjunct to post-trauma psychological therapy. However, because of historical associations with its use as the recreational drug ecstasy, MDMA research remains a controversial subject. Dr Sessa discusses these controversies and describes a UK-based MDMA/PTSD currently in development.

Sessa, B. (2011). Could MDMA be useful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder? Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry, 15(6), 4–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pnp.216
Link to full text

Een eerlijke kijk op de voor- en nadelen van MDMA

December 2, 2021 / Uncategorized / By

omag2

Addiction, een van de belangrijkste peer review-tijdschriften over drugsgebruik en -misbruik, heeft op 15 februari de resultaten van een onderzoek gepubliceerd waarin werd gekeken naar het recreationeel gebruik van ecstacy en de mogelijke cognitieve schade – die afwezig blijkt te zijn. Het onderzoek is uniek omdat ecstacygebruikers die weinig tot geen andere drugs gebruiken, vergeleken worden met mensen die geen drugs gebruiken uit dezelfde dansscene.

Jarenlang heeft men aangenomen dat cognitieve vaardigheden zoals het vermogen tot leren en het geheugen beschadigd werden door overmatig ecstacy-gebruik. Vorige onderzoeken maakten echter gebruik van proefpersonen die ook andere drugs gebruikten, waardoor het niet mogelijk was om vast te stellen of de schade werd veroorzaakt door het gebruik van ecstacy of door andere drugs. Dit onderzoek werpt een nieuw licht op het onderwerp.

Diezelfde dag publiceerde O Magazine (ja, het tijdschrift van Oprah) een artikel over het onderzoek van MAPS naar het gebruik van MDMA bij psychotherapie voor mensen die last hebben van PTSS. Sarah, die zelf al twintig jaar last heeft van deze stoornis, beschrijft haar ervaringen met op MDMA gebaseerde therapie voor PTSS. Je kunt het hele artikel hier lezen.

An honest look at the risks and benefits of MDMA

December 6, 2021 / MDMA, Publications / By

omag2

Addiction, one of the most important peer-reviewed journals on drug use and abuse, has published the results of a study regarding the use of recreational ecstacy use and potential cognitive damage – which turned out to be absent. The study is unique in that it compared ecstacy users with minimal to no other drug use and non-drug users from the same dance scene.

For years it has been assumed that cognitive skills such as learning and memory would be damaged by heavy ecstacy use. But previous studies always used subjects that also used other drugs, so it could not be determined whether the damage was due to ecstacy use or use of other drugs. This study offers a new light on the matter.

The same day, O Magazine published an article on MAPS’ study of the use of MDMA in psychotherapy for people suffering from PTSD. Sarah, who has suffered from PTSD for twenty years, tells the reader about her experiences with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. You can read the full article here.

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