Studying Psychedelics- Design and Research

June 6, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

How much does a person’s subjective experience and expectation of a psychedelic trip, as opposed to only the drug’s chemical effects on the brain, influence the drug’s ability to alleviate conditions like depression, addiction, or post-traumatic stress disorder?

Now that psychedelics are being noticed by federal regulators and the public, scientists are again asking: What’s the best way to study these compounds in order to truly understand their effects?

Psychedelics and Self-Treatment

May 20, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

This study investigated the patterns of use, self-reported outcomes and outcome predictors of psychedelic ‘self-treatment’ of mental health conditions or specific worries/concerns in life.

Positive changes were observed across all 17 outcome items, with the strongest benefits on items related to insight and mood.

Psilocybin and Lyme Disease?

May 19, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

Psilocybin is both serotonergic and anti-inflammatory and therefore may offer significant therapeutic benefits to patients with mental illness secondary to autoimmune inflammation.

This study suggests that the role of microdosed psilocybin in the treatment of neuropsychiatric Lyme disease and autoimmune encephalopathies warrants further study.

LSD, Psychosis and Healing

May 18, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

This study explores the paradoxical relationship connecting key parameters of the psychotic experience, psychotherapy, and psychedelic experience.

The link between psychosis model and therapeutic model seems to lie in mystical experiences.

The results point to the importance of meaning attribution for the LSD psychosis model and indicate that psychedelic-assisted therapy might benefit from therapeutic suggestions fostering mystical experiences.

Ketamine for Adolescents?

May 17, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

This ketamine study looks at four adolescent cases (aged 14–19), each with a variety of comorbid diagnoses including treatment-resistant depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety, panic, and trauma-related symptoms.

Their courses varied, but each had symptomatic and functional improvements, and the ketamine treatment was well-tolerated.

Brain Activity During Dying

May 6, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

A new study hints at how consciousness can continue after the heart stops. A burst of brain activity during dying could explain life passing before your eyes.

Psilocybin Therapy for Cancer and Depression

April 20, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

New research shows that cancer patients experienced clinically meaningful, rapid, and sustained improvement in symptoms of depression over 8 weeks following a single treatment of psilocybin therapy.

This occurred in patients with both curable and metastatic cancer.

Ibogaine Update

April 15, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

Will ibogaine fit into the medicalized psychedelic landscape?

Microdosing, Setting, and Does it Work?

April 14, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

The research on benefits and long-term effects of microdosing continues to be mixed.

Update: MDMA-Assisted Therapy for Treatment of PTSD

April 9, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

MAPS PBC announces positive topline results from long-term observational follow-up study on MDMA-assisted therapy for treatment of PTSD.

Interim results show improvements in PTSD symptom severity lasted at least six months after the last treatment session.

Findings are consistent with previously published Phase 2 data[1] on the sustained effect of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of PTSD.

A Non-Hallucinogenic LSD Analog?

March 17, 2023 Lynne Nardizzi

BetterLife Pharma Inc., an emerging biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of cutting-edge treatments for mental disorders, announced that findings from a study on its lead candidate BETR-001 (2-bromo-LSD) titled “A Non-Hallucinogenic LSD Analog With Therapeutic Potential For Mood Disorders” has been published in the peer-reviewed journal of Cell Report.

What do you think?

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