Neuropharmacology
May 13, 2022
Cynthia E. Ortiz, Haley Maria Dourron, Noah W Sweat et al.
26 citations
Psilocybin-facilitated psychotherapy may be effective across many mental health conditions, but vulnerable populations, who carry a disproportionate mental health burden, have been largely excluded from clinical research. This report highlights the need to include these groups in studies, considering their problematic historical context and differential experiences with psychedelics. It offers actionable recommendations for future research, such as improved recruitment strategies, careful communication of subjective effects, building therapeutic alliance, multicultural competence, and flexible study designs. The authors call for expanded and improved research in this rapidly advancing field.
Psychopharmacology
December 11, 2023
Haley Maria Dourron, Charles D Nichols, Otto Simonsson et al.
23 citations
5-MeO-DMT, a tryptamine being developed as an antidepressant, may work through a mechanism distinct from typical psychedelics. This review compares the acute and post-acute effects of 5-MeO-DMT to epileptiform activity, particularly in temporal lobe epileptogenic zones. The authors note that 5-MeO-DMT has notable 5-HT1A receptor agonist properties and that aberrant 5-HT1A receptor functioning occurs in epilepsy. They suggest that 5-MeO-DMT's therapeutic mechanism might be partly mediated by evoking temporary epileptiform activity, similar to electroconvulsive therapy. The phenomenon of 'reactivations'—sudden re-experiencing of drug effects common after 5-MeO-DMT but not typical psychedelics—may indicate recurrent epileptiform activity. The review concludes that further evaluation of 5-MeO-DMT's unique mechanisms is warranted.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2025
Haley Maria Dourron, Melissa Bradley, Otto Simonsson et al.
7 citations
Greater lifetime psychedelic use was not associated with psychotic symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of 548 adults, even among those with a personal or family history of psychotic or bipolar disorders. In unadjusted analyses, more psychedelic use was linked to less referential thinking, but this association disappeared after adjusting for covariates. A personal history of psychotic disorders was tied to moderately greater magical ideation, referential thinking, and auditory hallucinations, while family history of psychotic disorders related to slightly greater negative symptoms. Notably, among individuals with a personal history of psychotic disorder, auditory hallucinations were less severe as psychedelic use increased, with no such relationship in those without that history. Naturalistic psychedelic use may not heighten psychosis risks.
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
March 17, 2026
Haley Maria Dourron, Melissa K. Bradley, Heith Copes et al.
Interviews with 19 people diagnosed with non-affective psychotic disorders who had used psychedelics revealed that, while some similarities exist in altered thinking and meaning attribution, most participants reported that psychedelic experiences did not closely resemble their psychosis. Sensory alterations, emotional experience, sense of control, and self-experience were points of contrast. When asked which drug most resembled their psychotic symptoms, the majority endorsed cannabis, followed by dissociative anesthetics and stimulants. The findings suggest that psychedelics may not accurately model many symptoms of psychosis and that interpreting psychedelic experiences as broadly psychosis-like may be misleading.