Tag: psychedelics

Psychedelic drugs like LSD could enhance the effects of brain simulation

New research provides evidence that LSD alters the effects of brain stimulation and produces different and potentially larger changes in brain activity. The preliminary findings suggest that psychedelic drugs and brain stimulation may have a synergistic effect that could be used in innovative ways for treating various conditions. The proof-of-concept study has been published in the journal Psychedelic Medicine.

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has shown promising potential as a therapeutic approach for various mental health conditions. This treatment combines the use of psychedelic substances, such as psilocybin or LSD, with psychotherapy sessions to enhance the therapeutic process.

The psychedelic substances used in this type of therapy are known to induce altered states of consciousness, leading to profound experiences that can have therapeutic benefits. These substances are thought to work by affecting brain receptors, particularly the serotonin 2A receptor, which influences perception, mood, and cognition.

These drugs have also been found to enhance neural plasticity, which refers to the brain’s ability to reorganize and form new connections. This may contribute to their long-term therapeutic effects. It is believed that combining psychedelic drugs with therapies like psychotherapy or brain stimulation could help direct these neuroplastic changes and lead to lasting behavioral changes.

“Current treatments like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have a large potential to help people with a variety of psychiatry disorders, however, these neuromodulatory treatments tend to have relatively short-lived effects,” explained study author Lucas Dwiel, a postdoctoral fellow at The Doucette Lab at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. “So if we could prolong the effects of these treatments by first using drugs like LSD to make the brain more malleable or susceptible to change, we could help a large number of patients achieve their therapeutic goals.”

The researchers conducted experiments using rats to eliminate the biases inherent in human studies. The study focused on the effects of LSD and involved two main components: measuring brain activity changes after LSD administration and assessing the effects of brain stimulation combined with LSD.

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Healing brain trauma with psychedelics

Ian McCall is a former professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter who suffered from symptoms of traumatic brain injuries. After retirement, McCall experienced confusion, anger issues, depression, addiction and suicidal ideation. He tried brain stimulation therapy, but that did not work. So, he turned to a less traditional form of therapy: psilocybin mushrooms.

“I am a very loving, happy person, and I wasn’t for a large portion of my life. Because I was just tortured. I was tortured, and then I was confused, and I was addicted, and I was just crazy for a long time,” McCall said.

Psilocybin mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, are naturally occurring psychedelics that can affect all senses. They can alter a person’s way of thinking and can cause hallucinations.

“The most important thing to know is that if you take psilocybin or LSD, they’re incredibly safe from a physiological standpoint. You can’t really overdose on them,” Dr. Daniel F. Kelly, a practicing neurosurgeon in Santa Monica said. “They don’t create an addictive behavior like say opiates or alcohol do or nicotine. And in fact, as you probably know, they’re used to break addiction.”

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Hallucinogen use is on the rise among young adults

A significant upsurge in the usage of non-LSD hallucinogens among young adults in the United States is causing concern among researchers. An insightful study conducted by the University of Michigan and Columbia University reveals that in the period between 2018 and 2021, the use of these drugs by individuals aged 19 to 30 almost doubled.

Back in 2018, it was found that 3.4% of young adults reported having used non-LSD hallucinogens in the past year. This figure spiked to 6.6% in 2021. 

Sudden surge is surprising

While this prevalence remains relatively low compared to substance usage like alcohol and cannabis, this sudden surge over a mere three years presents potential public health worries.

“The increase in non-LSD hallucinogen use occurred while LSD use remained stable at around 4% in 2018 and 2021,” stated Megan Patrick, a research professor in the Survey Research Center at U-M’s Institute for Social Research. 

Patrick, who is a co-author of the study, emphasized that the leap in prevalence is substantial and raises critical health-related concerns.

How the study was conducted

This noteworthy information was uncovered as a part of the Monitoring the Future study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the results were published in the journal Addiction. 

The study, involving a longitudinal follow-up of 12th-grade students transitioning into adulthood, focused primarily on substance use and health.

In addition to the overall increase in hallucinogen usage, the research team discovered that the consumption of these substances was notably higher among males compared to females. 

Additionally, white young adults reported higher usage rates than Black young adults, and those whose parents possessed a college education, indicating a higher socioeconomic status, were also found to use these substances more frequently.

While the reasons behind the usage of these drugs, whether recreational or therapeutic, were not identified in the study, previous research has shown a link between nonmedical hallucinogen use and an increased risk of substance use disorders, self-harm, injury, and anxiety.

“With increased visibility for medical and therapeutic use, potentially comes diversion and unregulated product availability, as well as a lack of understanding among the public of potential risks,” explained Katherine Keyes, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School and the lead author of the study.

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These ‘Psychedelic Cryptography’ Videos Have Hidden Messages Designed to Be Seen While Tripping

A new competition focused on “Psychedelic Cryptography” has awarded cash prizes to artists who made videos encoded with hidden messages that can be most easily deciphered by a person who is tripping on psychedelic substances, such as LSD, ayahuasca, or psilocybin mushrooms.

Qualia Research Institute (QRI), a California-based nonprofit group that researches consciousness with backing from tech investors and experts, announced the winners of its Psychedelic Cryptography (PsyCrypto) contest last week. The goal of the exercise was “to create encodings of sensory information that are only meaningful when experienced on psychedelics in order to show the specific information-processing advantages of those states,” according to the original contest page, which was posted in March.

Artist Raimonds Jermaks clinched the first and second place prizes in the contest for videos entitled “Can You See Us?” and “ We Are Here. Let’s Talk.” The third prize went to Rūdolfs Balcers for the video “The Key.” The contest entries were judged by members of QRI’s international phenomenologist network, and evaluated based on their effectiveness, specificity, and aesthetic value.

The winning videos play on the common psychedelic experience of seeing radiant “tracers,” which are trails of colors and afterimages that linger in the visual field. The winning artists used this effect to write out tracer-based messages that are incomprehensible to a sober person, but that can be understood while tripping.  

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New Study Analyzes Efficacy of Psilocybin as Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

A recent study published in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors by the American Psychological Association on June 5 has found that psilocybin can be an effective treatment for people with alcohol addiction.

Officially entitled “Reports of self-compassion and affect regulation in psilocybin-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder: An interpretive phenomenological analysis,” the study was conducted by researchers from New York University and University of California, San Francisco, as well as a psychedelic integration and psychedelic-assisted therapy business called Fluence.

The study objective was to “delineate psychological mechanisms of change” for those who suffer from alcohol use disorders (referred to as AUDs). All participants were engaged in interviews about their experiences, and asked questions about their alcohol use before and after the study. They were also asked about their coping patterns when enduring “strong emotions, stress, and cravings for alcohol.”

According to the study results, researchers examined how psilocybin helped them overcome various stressors. “Participants reported that the psilocybin treatment helped them process emotions related to painful past events and helped promote states of self-compassion, self-awareness, and feelings of interconnectedness,” researchers stated. “The acute states during the psilocybin sessions were described as laying the foundation for developing more self-compassionate regulation of negative affect. Participants also described newfound feelings of belonging and an improved quality of relationships following the treatment.”

Through this evidence, they explained that psilocybin “increases the malleability of self-related processing, and diminishes shame-based and self-critical thought patterns while improving affect regulation and reducing alcohol cravings,” the authors concluded. “These findings suggest that psychosocial treatments that integrate self-compassion training with psychedelic therapy may serve as a useful tool for enhancing psychological outcomes in the treatment of AUD.”

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Magic mushrooms go mainstream in Colorado

Fungi are ready for their close-up.

Driving the news: After Coloradans voted to legalize psilocybin in 2022, “magic mushrooms” are now becoming more mainstream, with a first-of-its-kind study and a national psychedelic conference on the horizon.

State of play: The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora this month announced it would launch the first modern-era psilocybin clinical trial for depression this fall.

Details: The hospital is working with the Food and Drug Administration on the study, though the federal government classifies psilocybin mushrooms as a Schedule 1 narcotic.

  • It’s grouped with the most serious category of illicit drugs, including heroin and cocaine.

The intrigue: Gov. Jared Polis last week signed a bill implementing Proposition 122, which allows people 21 and older to grow and share magic mushrooms.

  • The bill also creates a regulated therapy system for medicinal use — establishing “healing centers” for people to use psilocybin under supervision — and removes criminal penalties for personal possession.

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Kentucky’s Risky Million-Dollar Bet to Fight the Opioid Crisis With Psychedelics

On the steps of the state capitol building in Frankfort on May 31, the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (KYOAAC) announced the launch of a new state-funded program that would aim to help stem the damage and destruction wrought by the ongoing opioid crisis that has devastated the lives of millions and led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. But the new initiative wasn’t simply to throw more money and resources into tried-and-true public health programs.

Instead, the commission announced it was going to explore allocating tens of millions of dollars toward studying and promoting the use of the controversial, plant-based hallucinogen ibogaine in psychedelic-assisted therapy to combat the opioid crisis, as well as treat a host of other mental health issues. The goal is to make Kentucky the first state in the nation to pursue a clinical program around ibogaine—currently legal only in Mexico and New Zealand.

“This administration recognizes that the opioid epidemic is one of the most tragic and visible symptoms of spiritual affliction which pervades our society,” Bryan Hubbard, chairman and executive director of KYOCC, told The Daily Beast. “We must do better. We must explore every possible avenue which holds the potential for improvement.”

The news was lauded by advocates of psychedelic-assisted therapy, an increasingly popular form of mental health treatment.

“With yesterday’s announcement, Kentucky is taking a bold leadership role to addressing the opioid epidemic,” Jesse MacLachalan, state policy and advocacy coordinator for Reason For Hope, a psychedelic therapy advocacy nonprofit, told The Daily Beast. “This is a prudent and measured approach to explore innovative solutions to the greatest addiction crisis our country has experienced in its history. We applaud the Bluegrass State for the example they are setting for states across the country.”

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Psychedelic substance 5-MeO-DMT induces long-lasting neural plasticity in mice

The psychedelic substances 5-MeO-DMT causes a long-lasting increase in the number of tiny protrusions called dendritic spines in the brain, according to new research published in Neuropsychopharmacology. The study, which was conducted on mice, sheds light on the behavioral and neural mechanisms of 5-MeO-DMT.

Serotonergic psychedelics (such as psilocybin and LSD) have shown promise as potential therapeutics for mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Short-acting compounds are particularly interesting because they require less dosing time, which could improve patient access to treatment. In humans, 5-MeO-DMT produces a short-lasting experience due to its rapid breakdown in the body.

“My lab started research on psychiatric drugs like ketamine and psychedelics about 10 years ago. We were motivated by how basic science and clinical research can together powerfully move a drug forward to become medicine. Specifically I believe there is a lot of potential for psychedelics as therapeutics, and that drives our interest in this topic,” said study author Alex Kwan (@kwanalexc), an associate professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University.

5-MeO-DMT, found in the Sonoran Desert toad, has some unique pharmacological properties. It targets serotonin receptors, specifically the 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A subtypes, similar to psilocybin but with a higher affinity for 5-HT1A receptors. However, little is known about the long-term effects of 5-MeO-DMT. To address this, the researchers conducted a study using mice.

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Taxpayers May Soon Be Filling the Funding Gaps in Oregon’s Psilocybin System

So far, just three psilocybin service centers—offices where people can go on legal mushroom trips—have been licensed by the state of Oregon.

That’s bad news for law-abiding people itching to avail themselves of the much-advertised benefits of psilocybin: relief from depression, alcoholism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and end-of-life dread.

It’s also bad news for taxpayers, who may soon find themselves underwriting a shroom system that was supposed to pay for itself.

Proponents of Measure 109, the initiative that created Oregon’s legal psilocybin program, designed it to be funded by fees, not taxpayer dollars, so it would be palatable to more voters. Service centers, mushroom growers, and psilocybin testing labs are all required to pay $10,000 a year for their licenses. Facilitators, the people who sit with tripping subjects and guide them into the psychosphere, pay $2,000 a year.

The problem is that very few people are getting licenses of any kind to cover the cost of running the Oregon Health Authority’s Psilocybin Services unit, in large part because of the high fees. Very few licensees means very little fee revenue, which means the state has to find cash someplace else to keep the program running.

That other place could be the state’s general fund. OHA has asked for $6.6 million to fill the program’s budget gap for the fiscal biennium starting July 1, according to a 13-page “policy option package,” or POP, that’s now sitting in the Legislature (Salem budgets two years at a time).

“Without the additional funding, the sustainability of the work would be jeopardized,” OHA says in the POP document. “There would be insufficient staff to continue to implement the regulatory program, review license applications and conduct licensure inspections. Consequently, psilocybin businesses seeking licensure could experience financial hardship.”

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NEW RESEARCH REVEALS LSD’S MIND-ALTERING POWER TO ENHANCE LEARNING AND EXPLORATORY THINKING

Researchers report they have uncovered remarkable new effects of the potent psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on human cognition, according to findings detailed in a new study. 

Published in Psychological Medicine, the study sheds light on LSD’s ability to accelerate learning when coupled with feedback and promote exploratory behavior. 

Researchers say the findings may hold the key to unraveling the enigmatic cognitive mechanisms that underlie the potential therapeutic benefits of LSD. 

Many recent studies have shown LSD-assisted psychotherapy to offer promising results in treating mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Though LSD remains illegal in many countries when administered in a controlled setting under the guidance of a trained therapist, the psychedelic drug has shown the potential to enhance individuals’ capacity to explore and process challenging emotions and experiences. Studies have found that this process can often lead to profound insights and lasting breakthroughs in therapy.

Jonathan Kanen, the lead author of the study and a Gates Cambridge Scholar, postulates that the potential therapeutic effects of LSD may stem from the drug’s ability to foster new beneficial patterns of learning about the world by forming new mental associations. 

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