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Mushrooms / Psilocybin

By its fruits? Mystical and visionary states of consciousness occasioned by entheogens

August 26, 2014 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Publications / By /

Abstract

A new era has emerged in research on entheogens largely due to clinical trials conducted at Johns Hopkins University and similar studies sponsored by the Council for Spiritual Practices. In these notes and queries, I reflect on implications of these developments for psychological studies of religion and on what this research may mean for Christian churches in the United States. I conclude that the aims and methods of this research fit well within Jamesian efforts of contemporary psychology of religion to assess religious practices by their fruits for life. Furthermore, some communitarian religious concerns that religious experiences occasioned by entheogens pose risks to the integrity of religious community are shown to be largely unfounded. However, it is suggested that certain risks for religious life posed by all investigations/interventions by knowledge experts—in particular, the colonization of the religious life world and the commodification of its practices—also attend these developments for Christian churches. Additionally, risks of individual harm in the use of entheogens appear to be significant and, therefore, warrant earnest ethical study.

Hummel, L. (2014). By its fruits? Mystical and visionary states of consciousness occasioned by entheogens. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 685-695. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12112
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Here and now: Discovering the sacred with entheogens

August 26, 2014 / Ayahuasca, DMT, LSD, Mescaline / Cacti, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Publications / By /

Abstract

Renewed research with entheogens (psychedelic substances) has been able to facilitate the occurrence of mystical forms of consciousness in healthy volunteers with a high degree of reliability. This article explores the potential significance of this development for religious scholars, especially those interested in the study of mysticism. The definition of “mystical consciousness” employed in this research is presented and differentiated from visionary/archetypal and other types of alternative mental states. The ways in which entheogens may be employed with skill and maximum safety are discussed. Implications for clarifying confusion in the study of mysticism are considered, along with suggestions for future religious research on this frontier of knowledge.

Richards, W.  A. (2014). Here and now: Discovering the sacred with entheogens. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 652-665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12108
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Entheogens, Mysticism, and Neuroscience

August 26, 2014 / Ayahuasca, LSD, Mescaline / Cacti, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

Entheogens or psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin are associated with mystical states of experience. Drug laws currently limit research, but important new work is under way at major biomedical research facilities showing that entheogens reliably occasion mystical experiences and thereby allow research into brain states during these experiences. Are drug-occasioned mystical experiences neurologically the same as more traditional mystical states? Are there phenomenological and theological differences? As this research goes forward and the public becomes more widely aware of its achievements, religious scholars and experts in science and religion will be called upon to interpret the philosophical and theological presuppositions that underpin this research and the significance of the findings that flow from it.

Cole-Turner, R. (2014). Entheogens, Mysticism, and Neuroscience. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 642-651. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12110
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Determination of muscimol and ibotenic acid in mushrooms of Amanitaceae by capillary electrophoresis.

August 18, 2014 / Biology & Ethnobotany, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Pharmacology & Chemistry, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

In this study, the CZE method for rapid quantitative and qualitative determination of ibotenic acid and muscimol in Amanita mushrooms naturally grown in Poland was developed. The investigations included the species of A. muscaria, A. pantherina, and A. citrina, collected in southern region of Poland. The studied hallucinogenic compounds were effectively extracted with a mixture of methanol and 1 mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 3 (1:1 v/v) using ultrasound-assisted procedure. The obtained extracts were separated and determined by CZE utilizing a 25 mM sodium phosphate running buffer adjusted to pH 3 with 5% content of acetonitrile v/v. The calibration curves for both analytes were linear in the range of 2.5-7000 μg/mL. The intraday and interday variations of quantitative data were 1.0 and 2.5% RSD, respectively. The recovery values of analyzed compounds were over 87%. The identities of ibotenic acid and muscimol were confirmed by UV spectra, migration time, and measurements after addition of external standard.

Poliwoda, A., Zielińska, K., Halama, M., & Wieczorek, P. P. (2014). Determination of muscimol and ibotenic acid in mushrooms of Amanitaceae by capillary electrophoresis. Electrophoresis, 35(18), 2593-2599. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/elps.201400104

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Does the Nervous System Have an Intrinsic Archaic Language? Entoptic Images and Phosphenes

August 2, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Biology & Ethnobotany, DMT, Iboga / Ibogaine, Mescaline / Cacti, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Publications, Salvia / Salvinorin A / By /

Abstract

Psychoactive plants have been consumed by many cultures, cults and groups during religious rituals and ceremonies for centuries and they have been influential on the eruption of the many images, secret and religious symbols, esoteric geometrical shapes, archetypes, religious figures, philosophy of religions since the dawn of Homo sapiens. Some of the psychoactive plants used for religious purposes were; narcotic analgesics (opium), THC (cannabis), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline (peyote), ibogaine (Tabernanthe iboga), DMT (Ayahuasca and phalaris species), peganum harmala, bufotenin, muscimol (Amanita muscaria), Thujone (Absinthe, Arthemisia absinthium), ephedra, mandragora, star lotus, salvia divinorum etc. An important property of these natural chemicals is to induce the human psyche to perceive some optical forms and shapes, which are existent in the subconscious and collective unconsciousness, and which emerge during some certain trance states and ASCs. Some of these simple geometric forms are called entoptic images and phosphenes. Entopic images and phosphenes have been found in various cultural art work and the drawings of cave walls, which were formed during the shamanic religious rituals since the Neolithic times. Also entoptic images exist in many folkloric, traditional and cultures geometrical shapes. Long before the creation of languages, visual perception and information was the only source for the mankind to perceive outer world, as it is the only one in the primate world. This article reviews the possibility of an ancient forgotten visual sign and symbol language, which is genetically existent in the human brain and that, emerges out during ASCs, trance states and the consciousness altered by the psychoactive plants. The basics of this geometrical sign and symbol language may have generated the formation of some archetypal symbols and concepts, which are yet to be discovered. Near to this, emerging of many attributes of the sub-or-un-consciousness, during those “psychedelic plant journeys” had had a prodigious impact on the formation and creation of many religious “figures, characters, creatures, archetype images” that today exist, not only in the mythology, but also in many religions, as well, such as angels, spirits, Jinns, demons, Satan, mythological creatures, supra-natural creatures, gods, and goddesses. Mystical and religious experiences during the rituals using psychoactive plants may have also helped the archaic ancestral information, coded in the limbic system, to come out onto the consciousness, which may also have helped the evolution of the hominoids and Homo sapiens.

Sayin, H. U. (2014). Does the Nervous System Have an Intrinsic Archaic Language? Entoptic Images and Phosphenes. Neuroquantology, 12(3), 427-445. https://dx.doi.org/10.14704/nq.2014.12.3.756
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Psilocybin and Mood Regulation

December 6, 2021 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Publications / By

With their recent publication, Kraehenmann et al. (2014) have increased our understanding of the mechanism that is thought to underlie the potential effectiveness of psychedelic–assisted psychotherapy in relieving mood and anxiety related symptomology. Their results elaborate on earlier findings that the administration of psychedelics [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][1] in addition with psychotherapy reduces anxiety symptoms on a relatively short term (Gasser et al., 2014; Moreno, Wiegand, Taitano, & Delgado, 2006), with one study even showing a reduction of anxiety and an increase of positive mood six months after only a single dose of psilocybin (Grob et al., 2011).

These clinical observations are now complemented by the finding that psilocybin attenuates amygdala [2] reactivity in response to emotionally loaded pictures in healthy volunteers, and that these changes are associated with a positive mood change. The authors suggest that psilocybin might have the potential to normalize neurobiological systems that are dysregulated in individuals with a depressed mood state. In addition to the psychometric evidence and clinical observations that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy improves mood within a clinical population, the results of the current study provide a possible neurobiological explanation for these effects. The questions that arise from this study relate to the degree to which these results can be generalized to a clinical population, and if and to what extent the acute changes in amygdala reactivity by themselves may account for long term changes in the processing of emotions.

According to the Trimbos Institute (2014) [3] there is a current prevalence of 4 – 10 % of people suffering from depression in Western society. Because of its high prevalence and devastating individual and societal consequences, depression is considered a major public health problem (Spijker, van Straten, Bockting, Meeuwissen, & van Balkom, 2013). The regular treatment options include psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy or a combination of the two, of which the latter is thought to establish the most favorable outcome. One of the added values of the study of Kraehenmann (2014) is the finding that psilocybin – with its pharmacological effect on amygdala reactivity – shares a neurobiological mechanism of action with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s), which are prescription drugs that are commonly deployed in the treatment of depression and other mood related disorders. What then, might be the necessity of exploring these psychedelic compounds as alternatives for customary treatment options?

The treatment of mood disorders with SSRI’s has several disadvantages, with probably the most prominent criticism being the modest response (47%) and remission rates (between 28 – 33%; Trivedi et al., 2006). Other disadvantages include a delayed therapeutic action (Stahl, 1998), withdrawal difficulties (Schatzberg, 1997), and the daily pharmacological treatment routine. Results from the psychedelic-assisted treatment sessions imply a prolonged uplift of mood after the pharmacological intervention, which is only implemented occasionally. These results are far too preliminary to abandon the extensively reviewed prescription drugs in the treatment of mood disorders and switch to less scientifically studied compounds that share some of the same neurobiological features, but it might be valuable to elucidate upon their therapeutical potential. What is it that psychologically distinguishes one type of drug with antidepressant properties from the other, and who are the people that might benefit from making this distinction? With one out of ten people suffering from depressive symptoms [4], the need for this kind of knowledge may not be underestimated.

 
[1] Red. classical psychedelics, which are isolated from a broader categorization of psychedelics by their pharmacological manifestation as serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonists
[2] The amygdala is a structure in the limbic system that plays a major role in the processing of emotions and is therefore a key target for psychopharmacological interventions to treat mood and anxiety disorders (Phelps & LeDoux, 2005)
[3] The Trimbos Institute is a Dutch organization that serves as an information centre for matters related to mental health
[4] In Western societies (Trimbos Institute, 2014)
 
References
Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R. (2014). Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 00(00), 1. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000000113
Grob, C. S., Danforth, A. L., Chopra, G. S., Hagerty, M., McKay, C. R., Halberstadt, A. L., & Greer, G. R. (2011). Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(1), 71–8. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116
Kraehenmann, R., Preller, K. H., Scheidegger, M., Pokorny, T., Bosch, O. G., Seifritz, E., & Vollenweider, F. X. (2014). Psilocybin-Induced Decrease in Amygdala Reactivity Correlates with Enhanced Positive Mood in Healthy Volunteers. Biological Psychiatry, 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.010
Moreno, F. A., Wiegand, C. B., Taitano, E. K., & Delgado, P. L. (2006). Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(11), 1735–1740. doi:10.4088/JCP.v67n1110
Moreno, F. A., Wiegand, C. B., Taitano, E. K., & Delgado, P. L. (2006). Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(11), 1735–1740. doi:10.4088/JCP.v67n1110
Spijker, J., van Straten, A., Bockting, C. L. H., Meeuwissen, J. a C., & van Balkom, A. J. L. M. (2013). Psychotherapy, antidepressants, and their combination for chronic major depressive disorder: a systematic review. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 58(7), 386–92. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23870720
Stahl, S. M. (1998). Mechanism of action of serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors. Serotonin receptors and pathways mediate therapeutic effects and side effects. Journal of Affective Disorders, 51(3), 215–35. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10333979
Trimbos Instituut (2014). Feiten en cijfers depressie. Reviewed on July 12, 2014 at http://www.trimbos.nl/onderwerpen/psychische-gezondheid/depressie/feiten-en-cijfers
Trivedi, M. H., Rush, a J., Wisniewski, S. R., Nierenberg, A. a, Warden, D., Ritz, L., … Fava, M. (2006). Evaluation of outcomes with citalopram for depression using measurement-based care in STAR*D: implications for clinical practice. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(1), 28–40. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.163.1.28[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Psilocybine en stemmingsregulatie

December 6, 2021 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin / By

De resultaten van een recent gepubliceerde studie van Kraehenmann et al. (2014), bieden mogelijk een verklaring voor het mechanisme wat ten grondslag zou kunnen liggen aan het gunstige effect dat een psychotherapeutische behandeling in combinatie met een psychedelicum [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][1] lijkt te kunnen hebben op stemmings- en angstklachten. De resultaten vullen de bevindingen van enkele klinische studies aan, waaruit is gebleken dat het gebruik van een psychedelicum binnen een psychotherapeutische behandeling angstklachten kan reduceren (Gasser et al., 2014; Grob et al., 2011; Moreno, Wiegand, Taitano, & Delgado, 2006). Binnen één studie werd zelfs gevonden dat mensen die als aanvulling op hun behandeling eenmalig psilocybine kregen toegediend, naast een verminderde angst, zes maanden later ook een significant positievere stemming hadden ten opzichte van mensen die geen psilocybine kregen toegediend (Grob et al., 2011).

Deze klinische observaties worden nu aangevuld met de bevinding dat psilocybine bij gezonde proefpersonen de reactiviteit van de amygdala [2] verzwakt in reactie op emotioneel beladen afbeeldingen, en dat deze verandering wordt geassocieerd met een positieve verandering van de stemming. De auteurs van het artikel opperen dat psilocybine mogelijk de potentie heeft om gedereguleerde neurobiologische systemen te normaliseren bij mensen die kampen met een depressieve stemmingsstoornis.

In aanvulling op het psychometrische bewijs en de klinische observaties dat de combinatie van psilocybine met psychotherapie stemmingsklachten lijkt te kunnen verminderen in een klinische populatie, levert de huidige studie een mogelijke neurobiologische verklaring voor dit effect. De vraag is echter wel in hoeverre deze bevinding gegeneraliseerd kan worden naar een klinische populatie, en of de acute veranderingen in de reactiviteit van de amygdala een verandering in de verwerking van emoties op langere termijn kan verklaren.

Volgens het Trimbos Instituut [3] (2014) ligt de huidige prevalentie van mensen die lijden onder een depressie in de Westerse maatschappij tussen de 4 en 10%. Vanwege dit hoge percentage en de vernietigende consequenties op individueel en maatschappelijk niveau, wordt depressiviteit beschouwd als een groot volksgezondheidsprobleem (Spijker, van Straten, Bockting, Meeuwissen, & van Balkom, 2013). Reguliere behandelmethoden bestaan uit psychotherapie, medicatie of een combinatie daarvan, en over het algemeen wordt er vanuit gegaan dat de combinatie het meest gunstige effect heeft. Een interessante toevoeging van de studie van Kraehenmann (2014) is dat psilocybine – met zijn farmacologische effect op amygdala reactiviteit – een neurobiologisch werkingsmechanisme deelt met selectieve serotonine-heropname remmers (SSRI’s), een klasse medicijnen die vaak wordt ingezet bij de behandeling van depressie en andere stemmingsgerelateerde stoornissen. Dit in beschouwing genomen, kan men zich afvragen wat de toegevoegde waarde zou kunnen zijn van verder onderzoek naar de mogelijkheid om deze psychedelische substanties in te zetten als alternatief op de reguliere behandelmethoden. Het antwoord schuilt in het vaak langdurige, moeizame behandeltraject met de momenteel beschikbare medicatie, waarvan de uitkomst ver van zeker is.

De behandeling van stemmingsstoornissen met SSRI’s heeft verschillende nadelen, waarvan de bescheiden percentages van patiënten waarbij de medicatie aanslaat (47%) en het aantal mensen dat (tijdelijk) herstelt (28 – 33%) waarschijnlijk tot de meest uitgesproken behoren. Andere nadelen zijn de vertraagde therapeutische werking (Stahl, 1998), ontwenningsproblematiek (Schatzberg, 1997), en het dagelijks moet innemen van medicatie met diverse vervelende bijwerkingen. In tegenstelling tot een behandeling met SSRI’s, wijzen de resultaten van de eerder besproken studies uit dat een sporadische sessie met een psychedelicum ter aanvulling op de gebruikelijke psychotherapie, mogelijk kan leiden tot een langdurige verbetering van de stemming. Gezien het hier echter om enkele kleinschalige studies gaat is het uiteraard nog veel te voorbarig om definitieve conclusies te trekken en het gebruik van de uitgebreid onderzochte SSRI’s te staken. Desalniettemin zou een verkenning van het therapeutisch potentieel van het brede scala aan psychedelische middelen waardevolle informatie op kunnen leveren. Wat onderscheidt psychologisch gezien het ene middel met antidepressieve eigenschappen van het ander, en welke mensen zijn er mogelijk bij gebaat dat dit onderscheid wordt gemaakt? Met één op de tien mensen [4] die dagelijks kampt met depressieve symptomen mag het belang van dit soort kennis niet worden onderschat.

 
[1] Red. klassieke psychedelica, welke kunnen worden geïsoleerd van een bredere categorisatie van psychedelica op basis van de farmacologische manifestatie als 5-HT2A receptor agonisten
[2] De amygdala is een structuur in het limbische systeem die een belangrijke rol speelt bij het verwerken van emoties en is daarom een belangrijk doel van psychofarmacologische interventies voor het behandelen van stemmings- en angststoornissen (Phelps & LeDoux, 2005)
[3] Het Trimbos Instituut is een Nederlands informatiecentrum dat zich bezighoud met kwesties omtrent geestelijke gezondheid
[4] In de Westerse maatschappij (Trimbos Instituut, 2014)
 
Referenties
Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R. (2014). Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 00(00), 1. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000000113
Grob, C. S., Danforth, A. L., Chopra, G. S., Hagerty, M., McKay, C. R., Halberstadt, A. L., & Greer, G. R. (2011). Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(1), 71–8. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116
Kraehenmann, R., Preller, K. H., Scheidegger, M., Pokorny, T., Bosch, O. G., Seifritz, E., & Vollenweider, F. X. (2014). Psilocybin-Induced Decrease in Amygdala Reactivity Correlates with Enhanced Positive Mood in Healthy Volunteers. Biological Psychiatry, 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.010
Moreno, F. A., Wiegand, C. B., Taitano, E. K., & Delgado, P. L. (2006). Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(11), 1735–1740. doi:10.4088/JCP.v67n1110
Moreno, F. A., Wiegand, C. B., Taitano, E. K., & Delgado, P. L. (2006). Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(11), 1735–1740. doi:10.4088/JCP.v67n1110
Spijker, J., van Straten, A., Bockting, C. L. H., Meeuwissen, J. a C., & van Balkom, A. J. L. M. (2013). Psychotherapy, antidepressants, and their combination for chronic major depressive disorder: a systematic review. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 58(7), 386–92. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23870720
Stahl, S. M. (1998). Mechanism of action of serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors. Serotonin receptors and pathways mediate therapeutic effects and side effects. Journal of Affective Disorders, 51(3), 215–35. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10333979
Trimbos Instituut (2014). Feiten en cijfers depressie. Reviewed on July 12, 2014 at http://www.trimbos.nl/onderwerpen/psychische-gezondheid/depressie/feiten-en-cijfers
Trivedi, M. H., Rush, a J., Wisniewski, S. R., Nierenberg, A. a, Warden, D., Ritz, L., … Fava, M. (2006). Evaluation of outcomes with citalopram for depression using measurement-based care in STAR*D: implications for clinical practice. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(1), 28–40. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.163.1.28[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Recent advances in the neuropsychopharmacology of serotonergic hallucinogens

July 15, 2014 / DMT, LSD, Mescaline / Cacti, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

Serotonergic hallucinogens, such as (+)-lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, and mescaline, are somewhat enigmatic substances. Although these drugs are derived from multiple chemical families, they all produce remarkably similar effects in animals and humans, and they show cross-tolerance. This article reviews the evidence demonstrating the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor is the primary site of hallucinogen action. The 5-HT2A receptor is responsible for mediating the effects of hallucinogens in human subjects, as well as in animal behavioral paradigms such as drug discrimination, head twitch response, prepulse inhibition of startle, exploratory behavior, and interval timing. Many recent clinical trials have yielded important new findings regarding the psychopharmacology of these substances. Furthermore, the use of modern imaging and electrophysiological techniques is beginning to help unravel how hallucinogens work in the brain. Evidence is also emerging that hallucinogens may possess therapeutic efficacy.

Halberstadt, A. L. (2014). Recent advances in the neuropsychopharmacology of serotonergic hallucinogens. Behavioural Brain Research, 277, 99-120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2014.07.016
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Enhanced repertoire of brain dynamical states during the psychedelic experience

July 2, 2014 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychology, Publications / By / , , , ,

Abstract

The study of rapid changes in brain dynamics and functional connectivity (FC) is of increasing interest in neuroimaging. Brain states departing from normal waking consciousness are expected to be accompanied by alterations in the aforementioned dynamics. In particular, the psychedelic experience produced by psilocybin (a substance found in `magic mushrooms`) is characterized by unconstrained cognition and profound alterations in the perception of time, space and selfhood. Considering the spontaneous and subjective manifestation of these effects, we hypothesize that neural correlates of the psychedelic experience can be found in the dynamics and variability of spontaneous brain activity fluctuations and connectivity, measurable with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy subjects were scanned before, during and after intravenous infusion of psilocybin and an inert placebo. Blood-Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) temporal variability was assessed computing the variance and total spectral power, resulting in increased signal variability bilaterally in the hippocampi and anterior cingulate cortex. Changes in BOLD signal spectral behavior (including spectral scaling exponents) affected exclusively higher brain systems such as the default mode, executive control and dorsal attention networks. A novel framework enabled us to track different connectivity states explored by the brain during rest. This approach revealed a wider repertoire of connectivity states post-psilocybin than during control conditions. Together, the present results provide a comprehensive account of the effects of psilocybin on dynamical behaviour in the human brain at a macroscopic level and may have implications for our understanding of the unconstrained, hyper-associative quality of consciousness in the psychedelic state.

Tagliazucchi, E., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Leech, R., Nutt, D., & Chialvo, D. R. (2014). Enhanced repertoire of brain dynamical states during the psychedelic experience. Human Brain Mapping, 35(11), 5442-5456. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22562
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Examining the psychological mechanisms of psilocybin-assisted smoking cessation treatment: A pilot study

July 1, 2014 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Substance Use Disorder / By / , ,

Abstract

Anthropological evidence and early experimental studies suggest that structured administration of 5-HT2A agonist hallucinogens (e.g., LSD, psilocybin) may have potential in treating addictions, including alcoholism and opioid dependence. Psilocybin administration has been recently linked to persisting effects including personality change (i.e., increased NEO Openness), mood enhancement, and behavior change. The association between mood, personality, and addiction has been well documented, and suggests that psilocybin may be useful in the treatment of addiction.

Garcia-Romeu, A. P., Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2014). Examining the psychological mechanisms of psilocybin-assisted smoking cessation treatment: A pilot study. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 140, e66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.02.200
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