Frontiers in psychiatry
January 1, 2022
Eleanor Dawkins, Leola Cruden-Smith, Ben Carter et al.
37 citations
Catatonia involves both observable clinical signs and internal subjective experiences, yet the latter is understudied. Analyzing electronic health records of 1,456 patients with validated catatonia from a London mental health trust, the most common signs were mutism, immobility/stupor, and withdrawal. Cluster analysis yielded negative and positive clinical features; principal component analysis identified three components: parakinetic, hypokinetic, and withdrawal. The parakinetic component associated with women, neurodevelopmental disorders, and longer admissions; hypokinetic with catatonia relapse; withdrawal with men and mood disorders. Among 68 patients with phenomenological data, 35% expressed fear, but 72% provided a meaningful narrative explanation involving hallucinations, delusions, or non-psychotic rationales, suggesting subjective experiences are varied and often explanatory.
Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment
January 1, 2023
Kwonmok Ko, Ben Carter, Anthony J Cleare et al.
26 citations
In psychedelic therapy, both mystical and challenging experiences may affect treatment outcomes, but what predicts their intensity is not well understood. Analyzing data from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 89 healthy volunteers received a placebo, 10 mg, or 25 mg of psilocybin. Higher dosage strongly predicted greater intensity of both mystical and challenging experiences. Older age was linked to less intense challenging experiences. Personality traits showed little correlation, except that neuroticism correlated with more intense challenging experiences at the higher dose. Positive or negative mood before dosing did not predict experience intensity. The analysis was exploratory and post hoc.
BMJ Open
December 1, 2021
James Rucker, Hassan Jafari, Tim Mantingh et al.
23 citations
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial is testing the feasibility of psilocybin-assisted therapy for people with major depressive disorder who have not responded to at least two prior treatments. Up to 60 participants in London, UK receive either 25 mg psilocybin or a placebo in a single dosing session, along with psychological therapy. The primary outcomes are recruitment rates, dropout rates, and variance in depression scores measured by the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale at 3 and 6 weeks. The trial also collects neuroimaging and omics data and offers an open-label extension dose of psilocybin.