OPEN Foundation

M. Alcázar-Córcoles

Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of serotonergic psychedelics for the management of mood, anxiety, and substance-use disorders: a systematic review of systematic reviews

August 13, 2018 / Ayahuasca, Depression, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, Publications, Safety / By / , , ,

Abstract

Mood, anxiety, and substance-use disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in the population. Although several pharmacological treatments are available, they are not effective for a significant proportion of patients and are associated with several adverse reactions. Therefore, new treatments should be explored. Recent studies suggest that serotonergic hallucinogens/psychedelics including ayahuasca, psilocybin, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have anxiolytic, antidepressive, and antiaddictive effects. Areas Covered: A systematic review of systematic reviews assessing the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of serotonergic hallucinogens/psychedelic was performed using the PubMed data base until 11 April 2018. Systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis were analyzed, but only reviews that described at least one randomized controlled trial (RCT) were included. Expert Commentary: Psilocybin and LSD reduced anxiety and depression in cancer patients and symptoms of alcohol and tobacco dependence, and ayahuasca reduced depression symptoms in treatment-resistant depression. Although the results are promising, several studies were open label, and only few were RCTs, and most had small sample sizes and a short duration. Single or few doses of these drugs seem to be well tolerated, but long-term studies are lacking. New RCTs with bigger samples and longer duration are needed to replicate these findings.

dos Santos, R. G., Bouso, J. C., Alcázar-Córcoles, M. Á., & Hallak, J. E. (2018). Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of serotonergic psychedelics for the management of mood, anxiety, and substance-use disorders: A systematic review of systematic reviews. Expert review of clinical pharmacology, 11(9), 889-902., 10.1080/17512433.2018.1511424
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Psychological variables implied in the therapeutic effect of ayahuasca: A contextual approach

April 4, 2018 / Ayahuasca, Papers, Personal development, Personality, Psychology, Publications, Spirituality / By / , , , , ,

Abstract

Ayahuasca is a psychedelic decoction originating from Amazonia. The ayahuasca-induced introspective experience has been shown to have potential benefits in the treatment of several pathologies, to protect mental health and to improve neuropsychological functions and creativity, and boost mindfulness. The underlying psychological processes related to the use of ayahuasca in a psychotherapeutic context are not yet well described in the scientific literature, but there is some evidence to suggest that psychological variables described in psychotherapies could be useful in explaining the therapeutic effects of the brew. In this study we explore the link between ayahuasca use and Decentering, Values and Self, comparing subjects without experience of ayahuasca (n = 41) with subjects with experience (n = 81). Results confirm that ayahuasca users scored higher than non-users in Decentering and Positive self, but not in Valued living, Life fulfillment, Self in social relations, Self in close relations and General self. Scores in Decentering were higher in the more experienced subjects (more than 15 occasions) than in those with less experience (less than 15 occasions). Our results show that psychological process variables may explain the outcomes in ayahuasca psychotherapy. The introduction of these variables is warranted in future ayahuasca therapeutic studies.
Franquesa, A., Sainz-Cort, A., Gandy, S., Soler, J., Alcázar-Córcoles, M. Á., & Bouso, J. C. (2018). Psychological variables implied in the therapeutic effect of ayahuasca: A contextual approach. Psychiatry research, 264, 334-339. 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.04.012
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Serotonergic psychedelics and personality: A systematic review of contemporary research

February 13, 2018 / Ayahuasca, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Personality, Psychiatry, Psychology, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

Serotonergic psychedelics act as agonists at cortical 5-HT2A receptors and seem to induce personality changes. We conducted a systematic review of studies assessing the effects of these drugs on personality. Papers published from 1985–2016 were included from PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases. Three hundred and sixty-nine studies were identified, and 18 were included. Specific personality traits, such as Absorption and Self-Transcendence, seem to influence the effects of psychedelics, and psychedelic drug users and nonusers appear to differ in some personality traits. Psychedelics administered in controlled settings may induce personality changes, such as increased Openness and Self-Transcendence. Increases in global brain entropy induced by acute psychedelic administration predicted changes in Openness, and Self-Transcendence was negatively correlated with cortical thinning of the posterior cingulate cortex in long-term religious ayahuasca users. Acute and long-term use of psychedelics is associated with personality changes that appear to be modulated by 5-HT2A receptors. These changes seem to induce therapeutic effects that should be further explored in randomized controlled studies.

Bouso, J. C., dos Santos, R. G., Alcázar-Córcoles, M. Á., & Hallak, J. E. (2018). Serotonergic psychedelics and personality: a systematic review of contemporary research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.02.004
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The factor structure of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ): Reply to Barrett & Griffiths (2016)

January 25, 2017 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Mystical experiences, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Publications, Spirituality / By / , , ,

Bouso, J. C., Pedrero‐Pérez, E. J., Gandy, S., & Alcázar‐Córcoles, M. Á. (2017). The factor structure of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ): Reply to Barrett & Griffiths (2016). Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 32(1). 10.1002/hup.2570
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The factor structure of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ): Reply to Barrett & Griffiths (2016)

January 25, 2017 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Mystical experiences, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Publications, Spirituality / By / , , ,

Bouso, J. C., Pedrero‐Pérez, E. J., Gandy, S., & Alcázar‐Córcoles, M. Á. (2017). The factor structure of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ): Reply to Barrett & Griffiths (2016). Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 32(1). 10.1002/hup.2570
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Measuring the subjective: revisiting the psychometric properties of three rating scales that assess the acute effects of hallucinogens

July 29, 2016 / Ayahuasca, DMT, Papers, Phenomenology, Psychology, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

Objective: In the present study we explored the psychometric properties of three widely used questionnaires to assess the subjective effects of hallucinogens: the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS), the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), and the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI).

Methods: These three questionnaires were administered to a sample of 158 subjects (100 men) after taking ayahuasca, a hallucinogen whose main active component is N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). A confirmatory factorial study was conducted to check the adjustment of previous data obtained via theoretical proposals. When this was not possible, we used an exploratory factor analysis without restrictions, based on tetrachoric and polychoric matrices and correlations.

Results: Our results sparsely match the theoretical proposals of the authors, perhaps because previous studies have not always employed psychometric methods appropriate to the data obtained. However, these data should be considered preliminary, pending larger samples to confirm or reject the proposed structures obtained.

Conclusions: It is crucial that instruments of sufficiently precise measurement are utilized to make sense of the information obtained in the study of the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs.

Bouso, J. C., Pedrero‐Pérez, E. J., Gandy, S., & Alcázar‐Córcoles, M. Á. (2016). Measuring the subjective: revisiting the psychometric properties of three rating scales that assess the acute effects of hallucinogens. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 31(5), 356-372. 10.1002/hup.2545
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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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