OPEN Foundation

Menu
Search
Close this search box.

Mushrooms / Psilocybin

A role for enhanced functions of sleep in psychedelic therapy?

April 4, 2018 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , ,

Abstract

After a hiatus of several decades, there has been a resurgence of studies into the therapeutic potential of serotonergic psychedelics. When administered in controlled settings, they have been reported to induce a wide variety of long-lasting positive psychological changes. However, the mechanisms by which psychedelics impart these long-lasting benefits remain poorly understood. Here, we highlight one possibility that has remained underexplored: a beneficial interaction with the self-optimizing functions of sleep.
Froese, T., Leenen, I., & Palenicek, T. (2018). A role for enhanced functions of sleep in psychedelic therapy?. Adaptive Behavior, 26(3), 129-135. 10.1177%2F1059712318762735
Link to full text

Individual Experiences in Four Cancer Patients Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy.

April 3, 2018 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, Depressive Disorders, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

A growing body of evidence shows that existential and spiritual well-being in cancer patients is associated with better medical outcomes, improved quality of life, and serves as a buffer against depression, hopelessness, and desire for hastened death. Historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in treating cancer-related anxiety and depression. A double-blind controlled trial was performed, where 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression were randomly assigned to treatment with single-dose psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) or niacin in conjunction with psychotherapy. Previously published results of this trial demonstrated that, in conjunction with psychotherapy, moderate-dose psilocybin produced rapid, robust, and enduring anxiolytic, and anti-depressant effects. Here, we illustrate unique clinical courses described by four participants using quantitative measures of acute and persisting effects of psilocybin, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and spiritual well-being, as well as qualitative interviews, written narratives, and clinician notes. Although the content of each psilocybin-assisted experience was unique to each participant, several thematic similarities and differences across the various sessions stood out. These four participants’ personal narratives extended beyond the cancer diagnosis itself, frequently revolving around themes of self-compassion and love, acceptance of death, and memories of past trauma, though the specific details or narrative content differ substantially. The results presented here demonstrate the personalized nature of the subjective experiences elicited through treatment with psilocybin, particularly with respect to the spiritual and/or psychological needs of each patient.
Malone, T. C., Mennenga, S. E., Guss, J., Podrebarac, S. K., Owens, L. T., Bossis, A. P., … & Ross, S. (2018). Individual Experiences in Four Cancer Patients Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy. Frontiers in pharmacology, 9, 256, 10.3389/fphar.2018.00256
Link to full text

Natural speech algorithm applied to baseline interview data can predict which patients will respond to psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression

March 30, 2018 / Depressive Disorders, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Natural speech analytics has seen some improvements over recent years, and this has opened a window for objective and quantitative diagnosis in psychiatry. Here, we used a machine learning algorithm applied to natural speech to ask whether language properties measured before psilocybin for treatment-resistant can predict for which patients it will be effective and for which it will not.
METHODS:
A baseline autobiographical memory interview was conducted and transcribed. Patients with treatment-resistant depression received 2 doses of psilocybin, 10 mg and 25 mg, 7 days apart. Psychological support was provided before, during and after all dosing sessions. Quantitative speech measures were applied to the interview data from 17 patients and 18 untreated age-matched healthy control subjects. A machine learning algorithm was used to classify between controls and patients and predict treatment response.
RESULTS:
Speech analytics and machine learning successfully differentiated depressed patients from healthy controls and identified treatment responders from non-responders with a significant level of 85% of accuracy (75% precision).
CONCLUSIONS:
Automatic natural language analysis was used to predict effective response to treatment with psilocybin, suggesting that these tools offer a highly cost-effective facility for screening individuals for treatment suitability and sensitivity.
LIMITATIONS:
The sample size was small and replication is required to strengthen inferences on these results.
Carrillo, F., Sigman, M., Slezak, D. F., Ashton, P., Fitzgerald, L., Stroud, J., … & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2018). Natural speech algorithm applied to baseline interview data can predict which patients will respond to psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Journal of affective disorders, 230, 84-86. 10.1016/j.jad.2018.01.006
Link to full text

Ceremonial ‘Plant Medicine’ use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study

March 30, 2018 / Ayahuasca, Biology & Ethnobotany, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Substance Use Disorder / By / , ,

Abstract

Background: The ceremonial use of psychoactive/hallucinogenic plant based drugs, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin and others, is a growing trend in the United States (US) and globally. To date, there has been little research documenting how many people are using psychoactive substances in this context, who the users are, what benefits/risks exist in the use of these drugs and the relationship between ceremonial drug use and recreational drug use.
In this paper we describe a cohort of plant medicine facilitators in the US and explore how they differentiate plant medicine use from recreational drug use.
Methods: Using modified ethnography, individual interviews were conducted in 2016 with 15 participants who are currently facilitating plant medicine ceremonies in the US. Descriptive content analysis was performed to discover themes and to inform a larger mixed-method study.
Results: Ceremonial drug use was seen by participants as a natural healing and treatment modality used in the context of community and ritual. Three main themes were identified relating to participants’ differentiation between ceremonial plant medicine use and recreational drug use: (1) participants see a clear delineation between plant medicine use and recreational drug use; (2) plant medicine is seen as a potential treatment for addiction, but concerns exist regarding potential interference with recovery; and (3) plant medicine use may influence recreational use.
Conclusions: More research is needed on who is using plant medicine, motivators for use, perceived and real risks and benefits of plant medicine use and harm reduction techniques regarding safe ingestion.
Dorsen, C., Palamar, J., & Shedlin, M. G. (2018). Ceremonial ‘Plant Medicine’use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study. Addiction Research & Theory, 1-8. 10.1080/16066359.2018.1455187
Link to full text

Ceremonial “plant medicine” use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study

September 10, 2024 / Ayahuasca, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Publications, Scienitific Discipline / By / , ,

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The ceremonial use of psychoactive/hallucinogenic plant based drugs, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin and others, is a growing trend in the United States (US) and globally. To date, there has been little research documenting how many people are using psychoactive substances in this context, who the users are, what benefits/risks exist in the use of these drugs and the relationship between ceremonial drug use and recreational drug use.In this paper we describe a cohort of plant medicine facilitators in the US and explore how they differentiate plant medicine use from recreational drug use.

METHODS:

Using modified ethnography, individual interviews were conducted in 2016 with 15 participants who are currently facilitating plant medicine ceremonies in the US. Descriptive content analysis was performed to discover themes and to inform a larger mixed-method study.

RESULTS:

Ceremonial drug use was seen by participants as a natural healing and treatment modality used in the context of community and ritual. Three main themes were identified relating to participants’ differentiation between ceremonial plant medicine use and recreational drug use: 1) participants see a clear delineation between plant medicine use and recreational drug use; 2) plant medicine is seen as a potential treatment for addiction, but concerns exist regarding potential interference with recovery; and 3) plant medicine use may influence recreational use.

CONCLUSIONS:

More research is needed on who is using plant medicine, motivators for use, perceived and real risks and benefits of plant medicine use and harm reduction techniques regarding safe ingestion.

Dorsen, C., Palamar, J., & Shedlin, M. G. (2019). Ceremonial ‘Plant Medicine’use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study. Addiction research & theory, 27(2), 68-75., 10.1080/16066359.2018.1455187
Link to full text

Ceremonial "plant medicine" use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study

September 10, 2024 / Ayahuasca, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Publications, Scienitific Discipline / By / , ,

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The ceremonial use of psychoactive/hallucinogenic plant based drugs, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin and others, is a growing trend in the United States (US) and globally. To date, there has been little research documenting how many people are using psychoactive substances in this context, who the users are, what benefits/risks exist in the use of these drugs and the relationship between ceremonial drug use and recreational drug use.In this paper we describe a cohort of plant medicine facilitators in the US and explore how they differentiate plant medicine use from recreational drug use.

METHODS:

Using modified ethnography, individual interviews were conducted in 2016 with 15 participants who are currently facilitating plant medicine ceremonies in the US. Descriptive content analysis was performed to discover themes and to inform a larger mixed-method study.

RESULTS:

Ceremonial drug use was seen by participants as a natural healing and treatment modality used in the context of community and ritual. Three main themes were identified relating to participants’ differentiation between ceremonial plant medicine use and recreational drug use: 1) participants see a clear delineation between plant medicine use and recreational drug use; 2) plant medicine is seen as a potential treatment for addiction, but concerns exist regarding potential interference with recovery; and 3) plant medicine use may influence recreational use.

CONCLUSIONS:

More research is needed on who is using plant medicine, motivators for use, perceived and real risks and benefits of plant medicine use and harm reduction techniques regarding safe ingestion.

Dorsen, C., Palamar, J., & Shedlin, M. G. (2019). Ceremonial ‘Plant Medicine’use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study. Addiction research & theory, 27(2), 68-75., 10.1080/16066359.2018.1455187
Link to full text

Out of the box: A psychedelic model to study the creative mind

March 23, 2018 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, Depressive Disorders, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychiatry & Medicine, Publications / By /

Abstract

Our creativity is challenged daily when facing new situations asking for novel solutions. Creativity, a multicomponent construct includes flexible divergent and rigid convergent thinking. Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin can enhance creativity and affect state of mind (mood, empathy, openness). Of note, flexible thinking is disturbed in psychopathological conditions like anxiety disorders and depression and preliminary findings have shown psychedelics to be efficacious in the treatment of those conditions. The question how psychedelics induce this state of enhanced flexible thinking remains to be answered and investigating the neurobiology underlying this phenomenon will not only help in understanding why psychedelics are of use in the therapeutic setting but also in other settings where flexible thinking is challenged. A model including neuronal networks, neurotransmitters and personal factors playing a role in this process will be proposed which can be put to the test by means of placebo-controlled pharmaco-imaging studies in healthy volunteers.

Kuypers, K. P. C. (2018). Out of the box: A psychedelic model to study the creative mind. Medical hypotheses, 115, 13-16.,  10.1016/j.mehy.2018.03.010

Link to full text

Serotonergic Psychedelics: Experimental Approaches for Assessing Mechanisms of Action

March 13, 2018 / Depressive Disorders, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

Recent, well-controlled – albeit small-scale – clinical trials show that serotonergic psychedelics, including psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide, possess great promise for treating psychiatric disorders, including treatment-resistant depression. Additionally, fresh results from a deluge of clinical neuroimaging studies are unveiling the dynamic effects of serotonergic psychedelics on functional activity within, and connectivity across, discrete neural systems. These observations have led to testable hypotheses regarding neural processing mechanisms that contribute to psychedelic effects and therapeutic benefits. Despite these advances and a plethora of preclinical and clinical observations supporting a central role for brain serotonin 5-HT2A receptors in producing serotonergic psychedelic effects, lingering and new questions about mechanisms abound. These chiefly pertain to molecular neuropharmacology. This chapter is devoted to illuminating and discussing such questions in the context of preclinical experimental approaches for studying mechanisms of action of serotonergic psychedelics, classic and new.

Canal, C. E. (2018). Serotonergic Psychedelics: Experimental Approaches for Assessing Mechanisms of Action. 10.1007/164_2018_107
Link to full text

Psilocin and ketamine microdosing: effects of subchronic intermittent microdoses in the elevated plus-maze in male Wistar rats

March 13, 2018 / Anxiety Disorders / PTSD, Ketamine, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

Short-term moderate doses of serotonergic and dissociative hallucinogens can be useful in the treatment of anxiety. Recently, a trend has developed for long-term intermittent ‘microdosing’ (usually one-tenth of a ‘full’ active dose), with reports of long-lasting relief from anxiety and related disorders; however, there is no scientific evidence for the efficacy of therapeutic microdosing nor to show its lasting effects. The objective of this study was to test for lasting effects on anxiety in rats after microdosing with ketamine or psilocin. Over 6 days, Wistar rats (N=40) were administered ketamine (0.5 or 3 mg/kg), psilocin (0.05 or 0.075 mg/kg), or saline on three occasions. A 5-min elevated plus-maze test was conducted 48 h after the final drug treatment (n=8). Dependent variables were entries (frequency), spent time (%), and distance traveled (cm) in each zone, as well as total frequency of rears, stretch-attend postures, and head dips. Statistical analyses of drug effects used separate independent one-way analysis of variance and pair-wise comparisons using independent t-tests. Statistical effects were modest or borderline and were most consistent with a mildly anxiogenic profile, which was significant at lower doses; however, this conclusion remains tentative. The lower doses of ketamine and psilocin produced comparable effects (to one another) across each variable, as did the higher doses. This pattern of effects may suggest a common (e.g. neurotransmitter/receptor) mechanism. We conclude that microdosing with hallucinogens for therapeutic purposes might be counter-productive; however, more research is needed to confirm our findings and to establish their translational relevance to clinical ‘psychedelic’ therapy.
Horsley, R. R., Páleníček, T., Kolin, J., & Valeš, K. (2018). Psilocin and ketamine microdosing: effects of subchronic intermittent microdoses in the elevated plus-maze in male Wistar rats. Behavioural pharmacology. 10.1097/FBP.0000000000000394
Link to full text

The Meaning-Enhancing Properties of Psychedelics and Their Mediator Role in Psychedelic Therapy, Spirituality, and Creativity

March 6, 2018 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

Past research has demonstrated to the ability of psychedelics to enhance suggestibility, and pointed to their ability to amplify perception of meaning. This paper examines the existing evidence for the meaning-enhancing properties of psychedelics, and argues that the tendency of these agents to enhance the perception of significance offers valuable clues to explaining their reported ability to stimulate a variety of therapeutic processes, enhance creativity, and instigate mystical-type experiences. Building upon previous research, which suggested the potential role of psychedelic meaning-enhancement in enhancing placebo response, the paper explores the mechanisms by which the meaning-amplifying properties of psychedelics might also play a role in enhancing creativity, as well as in effecting mystical-type experiences. The wider social and public-health implications of this hypothesis are discussed, and suggestions are made as to the various ways in which scientific understanding of the meaning-enhancing properties of psychedelics might be advanced and utilized.
Hartogsohn, I. (2018). The meaning-enhancing properties of psychedelics and their mediator role in psychedelic therapy, spirituality and creativity. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12, 129. 10.3389/fnins.2018.00129
Link to full text

interested in becoming a trained psychedelic-assisted therapist?

Management of Psychedelic-Related Complications - Online Event - Nov 20th

REGISTER NOW