Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
December 1, 2023
William Brennan, Alex R Kelman, Alexander B Belser
43 citations
Psychedelic-assisted therapy has attracted considerable interest, but poor reporting of psychosocial interventions (PIs) in clinical trials obscures their role in treatment outcomes. This systematic review of 33 published psychedelic clinical trials since 2000 found that many reports omitted basic details: 33% did not report the number of sessions, 45% did not report session duration, 42% did not report provider credentials, 52% did not report use of a therapy manual, 64% did not reference an available manual, and 82% did not report assessing treatment fidelity. Compared with non-psychedelic trials, psychedelic trial reports underreport key PI items. The review indicates that underreporting is a widespread problem and recommends improved reporting practices to enhance research standardization and treatment outcomes.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2023
Stephanie Lake, Philippe Lucas
30 citations
A survey of 2045 Canadian adults (average age 38, 56% female) found that psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD are the most used psychedelic drugs. Top reasons for use are fun, self-exploration, mental well-being, and personal growth. 82% reported a lifetime intense positive psychedelic experience, and 52% reported an intense challenging experience; of those, 56% said some good came from the challenging experience afterward. Correlates of intense positive experiences include higher perceived psychedelic experience and motivations of fun and self-exploration. Correlates of intense challenging experiences include higher perceived psychedelic experience and motivations of trauma management, fun, and boredom.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2024
Brian S Barnett, Miranda Arakelian, David Beebe et al.
28 citations
A repeat survey of American psychiatrists in 2022-23 found a striking increase in optimism about the therapeutic use of hallucinogens compared to 2016. Among 131 respondents (13.1% response rate), 80.9% moderately or strongly believed hallucinogens show promise for psychiatric conditions, and 60.8% for substance use disorders. Large majorities supported research into therapeutic potential (93.9% for psychiatric conditions, 88.6% for substance use disorders) and federal funding of clinical trials. Concern about risks decreased, and 50.4% reported moderate or strong intentions to incorporate hallucinogen-assisted therapy into their practice if regulatory approval is granted.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2023
Jasper A Heinsbroek, Giuseppe Giannotti, Joel Bonilla et al.
26 citations
Tabernanthalog (TBG), a novel analogue of ibogaine and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, lacks classical psychedelic effects and cardiac arrhythmogenic risk. In a polydrug model of heroin and alcohol co-use in rats, TBG reduced motivation for both substances in a progressive ratio test, where the number of lever presses required for a reward increased exponentially. The study used a two-bottle binge protocol for alcohol exposure, followed by self-administration training for intravenous heroin or oral alcohol, and then sessions with both substances. TBG's efficacy was preserved in animals with a history of heroin and alcohol polydrug use.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2023
Meghan Hibicke, Hannah M Kramer, Charles D Nichols
25 citations
A single dose of psilocybin rescued cognitive function and reduced passive coping behavior in adult female rats that had experienced chronic stress during adolescence, effects that persisted for at least five weeks. Psilocybin did not alter these behaviors in non-stressed rats. The degree of immobility in the forced swim test correlated with impaired object pattern separation ability. No long-term changes in mRNA expression for synaptic plasticity-related genes were observed across several brain regions, though stress contributed to variability in the gene for glutamate metabotropic receptor 2 in the hippocampus. These findings suggest psilocybin produces enduring antidepressant-like effects without lasting alterations in synaptic density gene expression.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2024
Brian S Barnett, Akhil Anand, Elizabeth N Dewey et al.
20 citations
From 2015 to 2019, the proportion of Americans who perceived 'great' risk in trying LSD fell from 70.5% to 64.8%, a statistically significant linear decline. Lower perceived risk was associated with later survey year, personal LSD use, younger age, higher education, male gender, identifying as a sexual minority, and past-year psychological distress. Higher perceived risk was linked to identifying as Black or Hispanic, past-year suicide attempt, and having children at home. Among respondents under 18, Hispanic identity showed no association, and male gender was linked to higher perceived risk. Most Americans still perceive great risk in trying LSD.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2024
Justin C Strickland, Albert Garcia-Romeu, Matthew W Johnson
20 citations
Brief four- and seven-item versions of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-4) and Challenging Effects Questionnaire (CEQ-7) show strong correspondence with the full 30- and 26-item scales. In a sample of 1,160 individuals who used psychedelics therapeutically outside research settings, total scores for the brief versus full versions correlated at r = 0.89 for the MEQ and r = 0.90 for the CEQ. Classic psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin produced higher scores on both brief and full versions than MDMA. Higher mystical experience scores on both versions were linked to greater reductions in depression and anxiety, while challenging experiences showed limited association with mental health changes. The brief scales substantially reduce participant burden while maintaining validity.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2025
Daniel J Kruger, Jacob S Aday, Christopher W Fields et al.
19 citations
In an anonymous online survey of 1,221 people who reported past psychedelic use, most described adverse experiences: 74.3% felt frightened, 58.6% sadness, 54.3% body shaking or trembling, and 51.6% loneliness. About half reported some other adverse experience, and one in ten had adverse physical reactions. One-third knew someone arrested for possession or use of psychedelics; 8% reported that they or someone they know was the victim of inappropriate sexual contact by a psychedelic sitter, guide, or practitioner; and one-quarter knew someone who experienced a severe adverse event other than inappropriate sexual contact or arrest. The findings indicate that despite beneficial effects, psychedelic experiences can be challenging, distressing, or harmful, highlighting the need to prevent, identify, manage, and treat adverse events.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2025
Marcelo Falchi-Carvalho, Handersson Barros, Raynara Bolcont et al.
16 citations
Vaporized N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) produced rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in a small open-label trial of six people with treatment-resistant depression. Depression severity, measured by the Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), decreased significantly from the first day through one month after dosing. The average MADRS score dropped by 22 points at day 7 and 17 points at one month. By day 7, 83.33% of patients responded to treatment and 66.67% achieved remission; at one month, 66.67% maintained response and 50% maintained remission. The short-acting, noninvasive vaporized route may improve accessibility to psychedelic treatments.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2024
Jason Luoma, Luke R Allen, Veronika Gold et al.
14 citations
MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) is nearing regulatory approval, but the role of therapeutic touch within it remains understudied and raises ethical concerns about power dynamics. A review of existing literature on touch in psychotherapy found little empirical evidence specifically for MDMA-AT. To address this gap, the authors developed the Touch Outcomes Measurement Inventory (TOMI), a tool for assessing clients' perceptions of touch during MDMA-AT. The creation of TOMI is the main outcome, intended to help researchers and evaluators study touch's impact and inform evidence-based, ethical guidelines for its use in MDMA-AT and other psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2024
Ryan Yermus, John Bottos, Nathan Bryson et al.
13 citations
Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) produces sustained reductions in anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms lasting up to 5 months after the last session. In a retrospective study of adults with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or PTSD who received KAP across 11 North American clinics, large treatment effects were detected at 3 months (Cohen's d = 0.75-0.86) and sustained at 6 months (d = 0.61-0.73). Case reductions ranged from 39% to 41% at 3 months and 29% to 37% at 6 months. However, high attrition rates (82% at 3 months, 95% at 6 months) may limit validity of the results.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2023
Harpreet Kaur, Sedat Karabulut, James W Gauld et al.
10 citations
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves social communication deficits and repetitive behaviors, with no approved drugs for its core symptoms. Existing medications like aripiprazole and risperidone treat irritability but can cause side effects such as weight gain and sedation. Drugs with pro-social effects, including MDMA and its analogue MBDB, may help address social anxiety and avoidance in ASD. This review examines the pharmacology of methylenedioxy amphetamine analogues (MDXX drugs), focusing on their binding sites, metabolism, and structure-activity relationships. It emphasizes how individual stereoisomers and their racemic mixtures shape drug effects. The authors propose that MDXX compounds offer a promising chemical space for developing safer, more effective treatments for ASD.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2023
Zachary Herrmann, Adam W Levin, Steven P Cole et al.
9 citations
Among 228 healthcare providers who treat psychiatric disorders with medications and reported at least one lifetime psychedelic use, retrospective measures showed improvements in depression, anxiety, and well-being after psychedelic exposure. Suicidality decreased and resilience increased. A factor analysis indicated that a cluster of mystical, interpersonal, and personal experiences predicted these improvements. The preferred psychedelic agent did not affect outcomes, and frequency of use was not associated with outcomes, though effect sizes varied. Harm was reported by 13.2% (n = 30), consistent with general population rates. Pre-exposure alcohol use, aggressive impulses, and desire to die by suicide improved most often, while marijuana use most often worsened or did not change.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2023
Megan Miller, William E Rosa, Alden Doerner Rinaldi et al.
9 citations
Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and hospice/palliative care share deep synergies that could help integrate PAT into mainstream health systems. Hospice and palliative care, though now evidence-based standards, began as grassroots movements. Their holistic, interdisciplinary, relationship-centered, and spiritually attuned models offer practical lessons for scaling human-centered PAT. Key aspects include interdisciplinary care, holistic views of health, bearing witness to suffering, customized care, decentralized models, generalist/specialist competencies, fostering spirituality, and growth from community organizations to mature systems. Conversely, PAT's radical emphasis on meaning-making and relationship may also innovate hospice and palliative care.
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.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2025
Rebecca Ehrenkranz, Manish Agrawal, Sandeep M Nayak et al.
7 citations
Public discourse about psychedelic treatments has shifted from past fearmongering to current effusive optimism, but the field would benefit from more balanced attention to both risks and benefits. While most adverse events related to psychedelics are mild, some have been severe and serious, and public education about those risks is necessary. As more studies are conducted and eligibility criteria are relaxed to improve access, the incidence and severity of adverse events are predicted to increase. No medical intervention is risk-free, so quantifying and effectively communicating the risk/benefit profile of psychedelics will become increasingly important.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2024
Abshir S Adam, Kayleigh S LaMalfa, Yasaman Razavi et al.
6 citations
MDMA produces dose-dependent increases in reward responsivity, a measure of anhedonia, in rats, along with dose-dependent deficits in attention and short-term memory, and increases in prosocial interaction in male but not female rats. The desirable prohedonic effects and undesirable cognitive disruptions do not persist beyond 24 hours. These results characterize MDMA as a promising prohedonic treatment despite short-lived cognitive impairment following acute administration.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2023
Brian S. Barnett, Andrey Ostrovsky
6 citations
Psychedelic therapies are approaching regulatory approval in the United States, but a major barrier to equitable patient access is the lack of specific medical billing codes for their delivery. The authors argue that developing new billing codes through the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel is the best approach, but note challenges: no similar existing services to guide development, the potential need for multiple providers during dosing sessions, limited mental health care representation on the panel, and misconceptions about psychedelic therapy. An industry-sponsored application for new CPT codes for "psychedelic drug monitoring services" is under review, but questions remain about flexibility and provider qualifications. The effort marks a critical step toward creating a robust billing strategy.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2023
Leonard Lerer, Eric Reynolds, Jeet Varia et al.
6 citations
A cell line derived from the parotoid gland of the endangered Sonoran Desert toad (Incilius alvarius) can biosynthesize 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic compound with therapeutic potential for psychiatric disorders. The toad's secretions also contain other molecules such as bufotenine, bufagenins, bufotoxins, and indole alkylamines, which may have individual clinical utility or act as entourage molecules. The species faces ecological pressure from demand for natural 5-MeO-DMT and habitat loss. Cell-based biosynthesis offers a potentially cruelty-free and sustainable source of naturally derived 5-MeO-DMT for research and drug development.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
March 1, 2026
Sharday Mosurinjohn, Richard Ascough
5 citations
A scholarly critique argues that the popular claim that the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries involved psychedelic drugs is based on flawed methodology and rhetorical tricks rather than solid evidence. The authors trace how Carl Ruck, Brian Muraresku, and influencers like Joe Rogan built a pseudo-history by presenting speculation as fact, then using that as a foundation for further conjecture. This effort to give Western civilization a psychedelic pedigree, the critique contends, resembles religious fundamentalism—treating a modern practice as the hidden true religion underlying all traditions. The fixation on a supposed Eleusinian drug ignores well-documented Indigenous psychedelic histories and nonpharmacological methods of altering consciousness. The authors conclude that this shaky historical foundation undermines arguments for modern psychedelic use and that honest scholarship, not mythmaking, is essential for progress in decriminalization and regulation.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
December 1, 2024
Cianna J Piercey, Bethany Gray, Angelina Sung et al.
5 citations
A review of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) for psychedelic use outside clinical settings found that a culture of harm reduction exists within psychedelic communities. Identified strategies include careful drug acquisition, dosing, managing set and setting, bodily nourishment, planning for challenging experiences, and post-use integration. Although research is limited, emerging evidence suggests that using these strategies may reduce negative consequences. The review calls for better measurement tools and more studies to understand how PBS can support the growing number of people—8.5 million Americans over 12 reported past-year use in 2022—who use psychedelics nonclinically.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2024
Zarmeen Zahid, Ziyad W Sultan, Bryan M Krause et al.
5 citations
In mice, the serotonergic psychedelic DOI, but not ketamine, enhanced neural plasticity and metaplasticity in the hippocampus 24 hours after a single dose. Brain slices from DOI-treated animals showed stronger synaptic responses and short-term potentiation compared to saline-treated controls, with evidence that these effects involve a presynaptic mechanism. Ketamine did not produce similar changes. These findings suggest that the therapeutic benefits of serotonergic psychedelics may be supported by a window of heightened neural plasticity, whereas ketamine's effects may rely on different mechanisms.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
June 1, 2025
Rahul Katkar, Ashley M Perez, Murat Altinay et al.
4 citations
LSD experiences focused on gender identity have been reported informally but not studied systematically. Analyzing 94 anecdotes from the Reddit subreddit r/LSD, nearly half of authors identified as non-cisgender at the time of use, and most of those reported enhanced self-acceptance regarding their gender identity. Among authors who were questioning their gender, most reported clarifying effects from LSD. A minority of cisgender authors explored non-cisgender identities during their experience, and some reported that the experience introduced a persistent non-cisgender identity for the first time. Challenging experiences were reported by 17% of authors, and 11% of non-cisgender authors reported decreased self-acceptance. The findings suggest LSD may support gender identity exploration and acceptance, but the fragmentary nature of social media data requires confirmation through surveys and prospective studies.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2024
Crystal Lederhos Smith, Nathan Sackett, Brian Connor Stark et al.
4 citations
Underground psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy providers described their protocols and perspectives in interviews analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Four themes emerged: personal experiences and self-healing motivated sharing and promoting positive effects of psychedelics as altruism; guides articulated consistent yet flexible processes; guides believed client benefit came from clients' own intrinsic ability to heal; and guides expressed dissonance about legalization, desiring increased access and decreased risk but also concerned about potential negative impacts on provider flexibility and depersonalization from standardization. The findings aim to inform research and policy as psychedelic use expands in the United States.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2024
Carolyn M Porta, Madison E Weirick, Anna Graefe et al.
4 citations
A survey of 1,133 Minnesota nurses in 2023 found mixed attitudes toward psychedelic decriminalization: 45.7% in favor, 20.1% against, and 34.2% unsure. Most nurses were open to therapeutic use and 80.7% were interested in observing psychedelic sessions, while 74.1% believed nurses have an important role in psychedelic health care. However, only 26.5% were confident in their knowledge about potential benefits for mental health conditions and 21.2% about mechanisms of action. As psychedelics may be reclassified by the FDA, nurses need more education to support evidence-based use for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction.