This link page serves as a centralized overview of psychedelic research studies published in 2024 that are not featured with individual pages in our database. Primarily, this includes research that, while significant, does not involve human subjects or is reviewing the studies for a specific audience.
Among these, we include a variety of animal studies. These investigations are foundational in the field of psychedelic research, providing initial insights into the effects, safety, and potential therapeutic applications of psychedelic substances. However, since they do not involve human subjects, they are summarized here rather than being given individual pages.
Chemical analyses of psychedelic compounds also form a part of this overview. These studies, focusing on the composition and properties of psychedelic substances, are crucial for understanding their pharmacological profiles. While essential, they typically do not involve direct human or clinical implications and thus are included in this collective overview.
Additionally, we catalogue research on ketamine, particularly studies revisiting populations or aspects previously covered in human research. While these studies add depth to our understanding of ketamine’s effects and applications, they do not warrant separate listings if they do not introduce new human subject research.
This page also encompasses reviews of existing psychedelic research. These reviews synthesize and evaluate current knowledge and are crucial for contextual understanding but are grouped here as they do not present new experimental data. Some outstanding reviews and meta-analyses are listed in the database.
As a final category, we list the studies that didn’t fit the other criteria. This could be a study that mentions psychedelics in passing, an academic book chapter (similar to a review), or timely (but not substantive) opinion articles.
Animal Studies With Psychedelics in 2024
- Intranasal Delivery of Ketamine Induces Cortical Disinhibition (January, in mice, “We show that intranasal delivery of a single subanesthetic dose of ketamine in the mouse model has profound effects on the microcircuitry in sensory cortex.“)
- GM-1020: a novel, orally bioavailable NMDA receptor antagonist with rapid and robust antidepressant-like effects at well-tolerated doses in rodents (January, in mice, ketamine-like compound, “hese results demonstrate that GM-1020 is an orally bioavailable NMDAR antagonist with antidepressant-like efficacy at exposures that do not produce unwanted motor effects.“)
- Effect of a single psilocybin treatment on Fos protein expression in male rat brain (January, in mice, “Overall, the present findings suggest that the central amygdala may be an important site through which the initial brain activation induced by psilocybin is translated into neuroplastic changes, locally and in other regions that underlie its extended therapeutic effects.“)
- Ayahuasca and its major component harmine promote antinociceptive effects in mouse models of acute and chronic pain (January, in mice, “YA promotes consistent antinociceptive effects in different mouse models of pain without inducing detectable toxic effects. Harmine is at least partially accountable for the antinociceptive properties of AYA.“)
- Antidepressant-like effects of psychedelics in a chronic despair mouse model: is the 5-HT2A receptor the unique player? (January, in mice, “We show that a single injection of each drug to wild type mice induces anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects in the novelty-suppressed feeding, sucrose preference and forced swim tests, which last up to 15 days. DOI and lisuride administration did not produce antidepressant-like effects in 5-HT2A-/- mice, whereas psilocybin was still effective. Moreover, neither 5-HT1AR blockade nor dopamine D1 or D2 receptor blockade affected the antidepressant-like effects of psilocybin in 5-HT2A-/- mice.“)
- Esketamine enhances memory reconsolidation in the novel object recognition task (January, in mice, “[E]sketamine treatment markedly improves memory reconsolidation in NOR tasks, and this effect is linked to AMPA receptor activity.“)
- Limbic System Response to Psilocybin and Ketamine Administration in Rats: A Neurochemical and Behavioral Study (January, in rats, “The changes in D2, 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor density in the nucleus accumbens and hippocampus were observed as a long-lasting effect. A marked anxiolytic effect of psilocybin in the acute phase and 24 h post-treatment was shown in the open field test.”)
- High-resolution tracking of unconfined zebrafish behavior reveals stimulatory and anxiolytic effects of psilocybin (January, in zebrafish, “eural activity imaging in the dorsal raphe nucleus suggested that psilocybin inhibits serotonergic neurons by activating local GABAergic neurons, consistent with psychedelic-induced suppression of serotonergic neurons in mammals.“)
- Psilocybe cubensis extract potently prevents fear memory recall and freezing behavior in short- but not long-term in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder (January, in rats, “Psilocybe cubensis effects on PTSD-like behavior and locomotor activity seem to be remained in short-term, while Psilocybe cubensis effects on pain subthreshold and anxiety remained long-term.”)
- A transcriptomic analysis in mice following a single dose of ibogaine identifies new potential therapeutic targets (January, in mice, “Sex differences were observed, with female mice displaying more pronounced alterations in gene expression after IBO treatment. High variability was observed across individual animals.“)
- Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of harmine derivatives as topoisomerase I inhibitors for cancer treatment (January, in mice, ayahuasca-inspired compounds (from harmine) for cancer treatment)
- The novel non-hallucinogenic compound DM506 (3-methyl-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexahydroazepino[4,5-b]indole) induces sedative- and anxiolytic-like activity in mice by a mechanism involving 5-HT2A receptor activation (January, in mice, ibogaine-analogue, “Our study showed for the first time that the non-hallucinogenic compound DM506 induces anxiolytic- and sedative-like activities in naïve and stressed/anxious mice in a dose-, time-, and volinanserin-sensitive manner, likely through mechanisms involving 5-HT2A receptor activation.“)
- Rapid-acting antidepressant drugs modulate affective bias in rats (January, in rats, “Low, but not high, doses of ketamine and psilocybin reversed the valence of the negative affective bias 24 hours after RAAD treatment.“)
- In vivo validation of psilacetin as a prodrug yielding modestly lower peripheral psilocin exposure than psilocybin (January, in mice, “These findings provide the first direct support for the long-standing assumption in the field that psilacetin functions as a prodrug for psilocin in vivo. In addition, these results indicate that psilacetin fumarate results in lower peripheral psilocin exposure than psilocybin when dosed on an equimolar basis.“)
- 5-HT2A Receptor Knockout Mice Show Sex-Dependent Differences following Acute Noribogaine Administration (January, in mice, “Patch-clamp recordings showed that Noribo 40 reduced the NMDA-mediated postsynaptic current density in mPFC pyramidal neurons only in male WT mice, but no effects were found for either KO males or females. Our results highlight that noribo produces sexually dimorphic effects while the genetic removal of 5HT2AR blunted noribo-mediated responses to NMDA synaptic transmission.“)
- Effects of ketamine on rat social behavior as analyzed by DeepLabCut and SimBA deep learning algorithms (January, in rats, analysis of behaviour through deep learning algorithm)
- The Nonclassic Psychedelic Ibogaine Disrupts Cognitive Maps (January, in mice, (published in August, just passed by our radar), “Taken together, these data support proposals that compounds with psychedelic properties disrupt representations that are important for constraining neocortical activity, thereby increasing the entropy of neural signaling.”)
- Unique Effects of (R)-Ketamine Compared to (S)-Ketamine on EEG Theta Power in Rats (February, in rats, “Frontoparietal EEG, electromyogram, and motor activity were recorded. (R)-ketamine but not (S)-ketamine dose-dependently increased EEG theta power during wakefulness and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep for 23 h. These results suggest that (R)-ketamine has an effect on a hippocampal function that was not affected by (S)-ketamine and may be associated with neural plasticity and memory encoding.“)
- Ayahuasca-enhanced extinction of fear behaviour: Role of infralimbic cortex 5-HT2A and 5-HT1A receptors (February, in rats, “A single oral treatment with AYA containing 0.3 mg·kg-1 of DMT increased the within-session extinction of contextual freezing behaviour without affecting its recall. This protocol, when repeated twice on consecutive days, enhanced extinction recall.“)
- Microdosing ketamine in Drosophila does not block serotonin reuptake, but causes complex behavioral changes mediated by glutamate and serotonin receptors (February, in larvae, calls subanaesthetic doses of ketamine ‘microdoses’, “At 100 mM, ketamine inhibited dSERT and increased serotonin concentrations, but decreased locomotion and feeding because of its anesthetic properties.“)
- Comparative Pharmacological Effects of Lisuride and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Revisited (February, in mice & cells, “findings show that lisuride is an ultrapotent 5-HT1A agonist in C57BL/6J mice, limiting its use as a 5-HT2A ligand in mouse studies examining acute drug effects. Results also indicate that the 5-HT2A partial agonist-antagonist activity of lisuride explains its lack of psychedelic effects.“)
- Psilocybin induces dose-dependent changes in functional network organization in rat cortex (February, in rats, pre-print, “The medium gamma frontoparietal connectivity showed a nonlinear relationship with psilocybin dose. Our results suggest that high-frequency network organization, decoupled from local theta-phase, may be an important signature of psilocybin-induced non-ordinary state of consciousness.“)
- Effect of chemically synthesized psilocybin and psychedelic mushroom extract on molecular and metabolic profiles in mouse brain (February, in mice, finds full mushroom extract (PME) to be more potent than chemically synthesized psilocybin)
- Effects of nitrous oxide and ketamine on electrophysiological and molecular responses in the prefrontal cortex of mice: A comparative study (February, in mice, “The effects were primarily located in the pyramidal cells. Notably, the overall effects of N2O on mRNA expression were much more prominent and widespread compared to ketamine. Ketamine caused an elevation of the spiking frequency of putative pyramidal neurons and increased gamma activity (30–100 Hz) of cortical local field potentials. However, N2O produced no such effects.“)
- Repeated microdoses of LSD do not alter anxiety or boldness in zebrafish (February, in zebrafish, “ the acute experiments we observed a significant decrease in high mobility with 1.5 µg/L, 15 µg/L, and 150 µg/L of LSD compared to the control and a decrease in velocity with 1.5 and 15 µg/L. In repeated experiments, there were no significant differences in the levels of anxiety, boldness, or locomotion between all LSD groups and controls immediately after 10-day treatment or after withdrawal.“)
- A role of gut-brain axis on prophylactic actions of arketamine in male mice exposed to chronic restrain stress (February, in mice, “ These findings suggest that gut-brain axis, including its metabolites, might partially contribute to the persistent prophylactic effects of arketamine in the CRS model.“)
- Loss of the sustained antidepressant-like effect of (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine in NMDA receptor GluN2D subunit knockout mice (February, in mice, “Interestingly, sustained antidepressant-like effects of (2R,6R)-HNK were abolished in GluN2D-knockout mice, whereas acute antidepressant-like effects were maintained in GluN2D-knockout mice. When expression levels of GluN2A and GluN2B subunits were evaluated, a decrease in GluN2B protein expression in the nucleus accumbens was found in stressed wildtype mice but not in stressed GluN2D-knockout mice. These results suggest that the GluN2D subunit and possibly the GluN2B subunit are involved in the sustained antidepressant-like effect of (2R,6R)-HNK.“)
- Ketamine’s rapid and sustained antidepressant effects are driven by distinct mechanisms (February, in mice!, “The rapid effects of a single dose of ketamine result from increased activity of immature neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus without an increase in neurogenesis. Treatment with six doses of ketamine over two weeks doubled the duration of behavioral effects after the final ketamine injection. However, unlike ketamine’s rapid effects, this more sustained behavioral effect did not correlate with increased immature neuron activity but instead correlated with increased numbers of calretinin-positive and doublecortin-positive immature neurons.“)
- 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) impairs cognitive function during withdrawal via activation of the arachidonic acid cascade in the hippocampus (February, in mice, “Our findings indicate that activation of the arachidonic acid cascade at least in the hippocampus is likely involved in the development of recognition memory impairment during MDMA withdrawal. Therefore, co-use of cyclooxygenase inhibitors with MDMA may reduce concerns regarding MDMA-induced impairment of recognition memory.“)
- Behavioral sensitization and tolerance induced by repeated treatment with ketamine enantiomers in male Wistar rats (March, in rats, “We conclude that S-ketamine has a stronger behavioral effect than R-ketamine.“)
- The role of mGluR5 on the therapeutic effects of ketamine in Wistar rats (March, in mice, “These findings suggest that suppressed mGluR5 activity is required for the antidepressant effects of ketamine. Consequently, the antagonism of mGluR5 enhances the antidepressant effectiveness of low dose ketamine, but eliminates its anxiolytic effects.“)
- Changes in brain structure and function following exposure to oral LSD during adolescence: A multimodal MRI study (March, in mice, pre-print, “Motor behavior and cognitive performance were unaffected by periadolescent exposure to LSD. Differences across experimental groups in brain volume for any of the 139 brain areas were few in number and not focused on any specific brain region.“)
- Noribogaine acute administration in rats promotes wakefulness and suppresses REM sleep (March, in rats, “Our results show that noribogaine promotes wakefulness while reducing slow-wave sleep and blocking REM sleep, similar to our previous results reported for ibogaine administration.“)
- Toxicokinetics of MDMA and Its Metabolite MDA in Rats (March, in rats, full text in Chinese, “The toxicokinetic data of MDMA and its metabolite MDA in rats, obtained through single and continuous administration, including peak concentration, peak time, detection time limit, and the relationship between concentration ratio and administration time, provide a theoretical and data foundation for relevant forensic identification.“)
- Effects of the designer drug 4-methylamphetamine on core temperature and serotonin levels in the striatum and hippocampus of rats (March, in rats, “The present findings demonstrate that the 4-methyl substitution to amphetamine generates a pharmacological and toxicological profile that differs from other similar phenethylamine analogs.“)
- Characterization Of The Neurochemical And Behavioral Effects Of The Phenethylamine 2-Cl-4,5-Mdma In Adolescent And Adult Male Rats (March, in rats, “2-Cl-4,5-MDMA increased dialysate DA and 5-HT in a dose-, brain area-, and age-dependent manner. Notably, 2-Cl-4,5-MDMA more markedly increased dialysate DA in the NAc shell and mPFC of adult than adolescent rats, while the opposite was observed on dialysate 5-HT in the NAc shell, with adolescent rats being more responsive.”)
- The novel psychoactive substance 25E-NBOMe induces reward-related behaviors via dopamine D1 receptor signaling in male rodents (March, in male mice, “We also examined the hallucinogenic properties of 25E-NBOMe using the head twitch response test in male mice and found that this behavior was mediated by serotonin 2A receptor activity. Our findings demonstrate that D1DR signaling may govern the addictive potential of 25E-NBOMe.“)
- Effects of New Psychoactive Substance Esketamine on Behaviors and Transcription of Genes in Dopamine and GABA Pathways in Zebrafish Larvae (March, in zebrafish, “This study suggested that ESK could affect the heart rate and behaviors accompanying with transcriptional alterations of genes in DA and GABA pathways at early-staged zebrafish, which resulted in neurotoxicity in zebrafish larvae.“)
- Analytical and behavioral characterization of 1-dodecanoyl-LSD (1DD-LSD) (April, in mice, “LSD has 27-fold higher potency than 1DD-LSD in the HTR assay.“)
- Dextromethorphan moderates reward deficiency associated with central serotonin transporter availability in 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine-treated animals (April, in rats, “Our findings suggest MDMA induces functional abnormalities in a network of brain regions important to decision-making processes and the motivation circuit. DM may exert neuroprotective effects to reverse MDMA-induced neurotoxicity.“)
- The effect of low dose intra-articular S(+) ketamine on osteoarthritis in rats: an experimental study (April, in rats, “Low Intra-articular (IA) doses of S(+)-ketamine reduced MIA-induced OA pain but did not reverse synovial histopathological changes.“)
- Synthesis and Structure–Activity Relationships of 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Substituted Phenethylamines and the Discovery of CYB210010: A Potent, Orally Bioavailable and Long-Acting Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptor Agonist (April, in cells and rodents, “CYB210010 represents a new tool molecule for investigating the therapeutic potential of 5-HT2 receptor activation. In addition, several other compounds with high 5-HT2A receptor potency, yet with little or no HTR activity, were discovered, providing the groundwork for the development of nonpsychedelic 5-HT2A receptor ligands.“)
- A role of gut-brain axis on prophylactic actions of arketamine in male mice exposed to chronic restrain stress (April, in mice, “Network analysis demonstrated correlations among synaptic proteins in the PFC and certain microbiota, and blood metabolites.“)
- Partial mGlu5 receptor NAM, M-5MPEP, induces rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects in the BDNF-dependent mechanism and enhances (R)-ketamine action in mice (April. in mice, “Partial mGlu5 receptor NAM, M-5MPEP, induced rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects in the BDNF-dependent mechanism and enhanced (R)-ketamine action in mice, indicating both substances’ convergent mechanisms of action and the possibility of their practical use in treating depression as RAAD.“)
- Single administration of a psychedelic [(R)-DOI] influences coping strategies to an escapable social stress (April, in mice!, “These results show that Stay animals have heightened cytokine gene expression, and both Stay and Escape mice exhibit plasma and neural concentrations of the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) compared to unstressed control mice.“)
- Effects of (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine in assays of acute pain-stimulated and pain-depressed behaviors in mice (April, in mice, “These results suggest that (2R,6R)-HNK is unlikely to have efficacy in treating acute pain; however, the efficacy of (2R,6R)-HNK in chronic pain states should continue to be evaluated.“)
- Psilocybin induces acute anxiety and changes in amygdalar phosphopeptides independently from the 5-HT2A receptor (April, in mice, “Importantly, pharmacological blocking of the 5-HT2A receptor attenuates psilocybin-induced head twitch response, a behavioral proxy for the psychedelic response, but does not rescue psilocybin’s effect on anxiety-related behavior.“)
- MDMA enhances empathy-like behaviors in mice via 5-HT release in the nucleus accumbens (April, in mice, “We report that MDMA, given intraperitoneally or infused directly into the nucleus accumbens (NAc), robustly enhances the social transfer of pain and analgesia. Optogenetic stimulation of 5-HT release in the NAc recapitulates the effects of MDMA, implicating 5-HT signaling as a core mechanism. Last, we demonstrate that systemic MDMA or optogenetic stimulation of NAc 5-HT inputs restores deficits in empathy-like behaviors in the Shank3-deficient mouse model of autism.“)
- Enhancing Cognitive Functions and Neuronal Growth through NPY1R Agonist and Ketamine Co-Administration: Evidence for NPY1R-TrkB Heteroreceptor Complexes in Rats (April, in rats, “The results demonstrated that co-administration significantly enhanced memory consolidation and increased neuronal proliferation, specifically neuroblasts, without affecting quiescent neural progenitors and astrocytes. These effects were mediated by the potential formation of NPY1R-TrkB heteroreceptor complexes, as suggested by receptor co-localization studies, although further investigation is required to conclusively prove this interaction.“)
- Psilocybin restrains activity-based anorexia in female rats by enhancing cognitive flexibility: contributions from 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor mechanisms (April, in mice, “Together, these findings support the hypothesis that psilocybin could ameliorate cognitive inflexibility in the context of AN and highlight a need to better understand the therapeutic mechanisms independent of 5-HT2A receptor binding.“)
- Neither Amphetamine nor Sub-Anesthetic Ketamine Treatment during Adolescence Impairs Devaluation in Rats Tested during Adulthood (April, in rats, “Our results provided no evidence for impairment of goal-directed action during adulthood after adolescent amphetamine or ketamine exposure.“)
- Psilocybin promotes neuroplasticity and induces rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects in mice (April, in mice, “We observed that a single dose of psilocybin had rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects in both healthy mice and chronic CORT-exposed mice.”)
- Effects of psilocybin, psychedelic mushroom extract and 5-hydroxytryptophan on brain immediate early gene expression: Interaction with serotonergic receptor modulators (April, in mice, “We have shown that PSIL and PME but not 5-HTP (at a dose sufficient to induce HTR), induced a significant increase in cfos and egr1 expression in mouse SSC. Our findings suggest that egr1 and cfos expression may be associated with psychedelic effects.“)
- Psilocybin reduces alcohol self-administration via selective left nucleus accumbens activation in rats (May, in rats, “As in humans, psilocybin reduced ethanol self-administration in rats through the 5-HT2AR within the left nucleus accumbens possibly through increased D2R expression.“)
- Chronic Behavioral and Neurochemical Effects of Four Novel N-Benzyl-2-phenylethylamine Derivatives Recently Identified as “Psychoactive” in Adult Zebrafish Screens (May, in zebrafish, “Collectively, these findings further our understanding of complex central behavioral and neurochemical effects of chronically administered novel NBPEAs and highlight the potential of zebrafish as a model for preclinical screening of small psychoactive molecules.“)
- Metabolism and cytotoxicity studies of the two hallucinogens 1cP-LSD and 4-AcO-DET in human liver and zebrafish larvae models using LC-HRMS/MS and a high-content screening assay (May, in zebrafish, “Several phase I metabolites of both compounds and two phase II metabolites of 4-AcO-DET were produced in vitro and in vivo. After microinjection of 1cP-LSD into the caudal vein of ZL, three out of seven metabolites formed in pHLS9 were also detected in ZL. Twelve 4-AcO-DET metabolites were identified in ZL after exposure via immersion bath and five of them were found in pHLS9 incubations. Notably, unique metabolites of 4-AcO-DET were only produced by ZL, whereas 1cP-LSD specific metabolites were found both in ZL and in pHLS9.“)
- N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, a natural hallucinogen, ameliorates Alzheimer’s disease by restoring neuronal Sigma-1 receptor-mediated endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria crosstalk (May, in mice, “ The anti-AD effects of DMT are associated with its protection of neuronal ER-mitochondria crosstalk via the activation of Sig-1r. DMT has the potential to serve as a novel preventive and therapeutic agent against AD.“)
- ER stress in mouse serotonin neurons triggers a depressive phenotype alleviated by ketamine targeting eIF2α signaling (May, in mice, “Ketamine administration engages downstream eIF2α signaling to trigger rapid neuroplasticity events that rescue the depressive-like effects. Collectively, these data identify ER stress in 5-HT neurons as a cellular pathway involved in the pathophysiology of depression and show that eIF2α is critical in eliciting ketamine’s fast antidepressant effects.“)
- Neurochemical and Neurophysiological Effects of Intravenous Administration of N,N -dimethyltryptamine in Rats (April, in rats, “All three doses of DMT produced head twitch response with most twitches observed after the low dose. DMT caused dose-dependent increases in serotonin and dopamine levels in both cortical sites along with a reduction in EEG spectral power in theta (4-10 Hz) and low gamma (25-55 Hz), and increase in power in delta (1-4 Hz), medium gamma (65-115), and high gamma (125-155 Hz) bands. Functional connectivity decreased in the delta band and increased across the gamma bands. In addition, we provide the first measurements of endogenous DMT in these cortical sites at levels comparable to serotonin and dopamine, which together with a previous study in occipital cortex, suggests a physiological role for endogenous DMT. This study represents one of the most comprehensive characterizations of psychedelic drug action in rats and the first to be conducted with DMT.“)
- MDPV (3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone) administered to mice during development of the central nervous system produces persistent learning and memory impairments (May, in mice, “MDPV administered repeatedly to mice during infancy causes learning and memory deficits that persist into adulthood but are not related to aberrant hippocampal development.“)
- In vitro and in vivo metabolism of psilocybin’s active metabolite psilocin (May, in cells and mice, “MAO-A, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4 are involved in psilocin’s metabolism. The discovery of putative norpsilocin in mice and oxidized psilocin in humans further unravels psilocin’s metabolism.“)
- 5-MeO-DMT induces sleep-like LFP spectral signatures in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of awake rats (May, in rats, “State map analysis of the spectral profile of waking behaviour induced by 5-MeO-DMT revealed similarities to electrophysiological states observed during slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Our findings suggest that the psychoactive effects of classical psychedelics are associated with the integration of waking behaviours with sleep-like spectral patterns in LFPs.“)
- RE104: Synthesis and Activity of a Novel Serotonergic Psychedelic Prodrug of 4-Hydroxy- N, N-diisopropyltryptamine (May, in rats, “The half-life of 4-OH-DiPT was 40 min after subcutaneous administration of RE104 in rats. In a forced swim test, a single dose of RE104 (1 mg/kg) significantly reduced mean immobility time at 1 week compared with vehicle (P < 0.001), confirming translational antidepressant potential. Taken together, these data with RE104 show that the glutarate ester can act as an efficient prodrug strategy for 4-HO-DiPT, a unique short-duration psychedelic with potential in depressive disorders.“)
- Environmental enrichment enhances the antidepressant effect of ketamine and ameliorates spatial memory deficits in adult rats (May, in rats, “The present study showed how environmental enrichment can enhance the antidepressant properties of ketamine while reducing some of its side effects, highlighting the potential of combining pharmacological and sensory-motor manipulations in the treatment of mood disorders.“)
- Ketamine reverses stress-induced hypersensitivity to sunk costs (May, in mice, pre-print, “These findings suggest that the antidepressant effects of ketamine may be mediated in part through changes in the processing of past-sensitive information during on-going decision-making, reducing its weight as a potential source of cognitive dissonance that could modulate behavior and instead promoting more future-thinking behavior.“)
- Exploring Ketamine’s Reinforcement, Cue-Induced Reinstatement, and Nucleus Accumbens cFos Activation in Male and Female Long Evans Rats (May, in mice, “Following drug cue-induced reinstatement test in rats exposed to KET (0.25 mg/kg/infusion) or saline, there was higher cFos protein expression in KET-treated animals compared to saline controls, and higher cFos expression in the core compared to the shell subregions of the Nac. As for reinstatement, there were no notable sex differences reported for cFos expression in the Nac. These findings reveal some sex and dose dependent effects in KET’s reinforcing properties and that KET at all doses induced similar reinstatement in both sexes.”)
- Molecular signatures of astrocytes and microglia maladaptive responses to acute stress are rescued by a single administration of ketamine in a rodent model of PTSD (May, in mice, “Administration of ketamine 24 h after the acute stress event rescued many of the changes observed in vulnerable rats, possibly contributing to support brain homeostasis. Overall, our results suggest that pivotal events, including reactive astrogliosis, changes in brain trophic factors, and neuronal damage are critical determinants of vulnerability to acute traumatic stress and confirm the therapeutic effect of acute ketamine against the development of stress-related psychiatric disorders.“)
- Esketamine induces tripartite motif-containing protein 24 to improve cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease (May, in mice, “[E]sketamine has the potential to improve the cognitive and memory functions of 3xTg-AD mice by repressing neuroinflammation by activating TRIM24 and the downstream PI3K/AKT pathway.“)
- Ahnak in the prefrontal cortex mediates behavioral correlates of stress resilience and rapid antidepressant action in mice (May, in mice, uses ketamine in study)
- Activity of prefrontal cortex serotonin 2A receptor expressing neurons is necessary for the head-twitch response of mice to psychedelic drug DOI in a sex-dependent manner (May, in mice, “Together, these findings suggest that activation of 5-HT 2A Rs in the PFC is not sufficient to induce HTRs in the absence of a 5-HT 2A R agonist but is necessary for induction of HTRs by a 5-HT 2A R agonist in a sex-dependent manner.“)
- Classification of psychedelic drugs based on brain-wide imaging of cellular c-Fos expression (May, in mice, pre-print, “In one-versus-one classifications, psilocybin was discriminated from 5-MeO-DMT, ketamine, MDMA, or acute fluoxetine with >95% accuracy. We used Shapley additive explanation to pinpoint the brain regions driving the machine learning predictions. Our results support a novel approach for screening psychoactive drugs with psychedelic properties.“)
- The 5-HT1A receptor biased agonists, NLX-204 and NLX-101, like ketamine, elicit rapid-acting antidepressant activity in the rat chronic mild stress model via cortical mechanisms (May, in rats, “These data indicate that 5-HT1A receptor biased agonists share with ketamine a common neuroanatomical site for RAAD activity, which can be obtained not only by targeting glutamatergic/NMDA neurotransmission (ketamine’s primary mechanism of action) but also by activating 5-HT1A receptors, as is the case for the NLX compounds.“)
- Pharmacological and behavioural effects of tryptamines present in psilocybin-containing mushrooms (May, in rats, “Collectively, this work suggests that other naturally occurring tryptamines, especially norbaeocystin, may share overlapping therapeutic potential with psilocybin, but without causing hallucinations.“)
- Ketamine and fluoxetine exert similar actions on prelimbic and infralimbic responsivity to lateral septal nucleus stimulation in Wistar rats (May, in rats, “These findings suggest that independent of different actions on neurotransmission, the common final pathway of antidepressants lies in their actions on forebrain structures that are related to emotional regulation.“)
- Psychedelic 25H-NBOMe attenuates post-sepsis depression in rats (May, in rats, “This study demonstrates the effectiveness of 25H-NBOMe, a psychedelic in the phenethylamine class, in treating post-sepsis depression and reducing astrogliosis.“)
- Analysis of the mechanism by which ketamine affects astrocytes in Parkinsonian rats through the PI3K/AKT axis (May, in rats, “After using KET to intervene in PD rats, the behavioral and brain pathological changes were significantly alleviated, and the inflammation and oxidative stress damage of brain tissue were effectively reduced, suggesting the potential therapeutic effects of [ketamine] on [Parkinson’s disease].“)
- Subanesthetic S-ketamine does not acutely alter striatal dopamine transporter binding in healthy Sprague Dawley female rats (May, in rats, “We found no effect of acute S-ketamine administration on striatal DAT binding using [18F]FE-PE2I PET or [3H]GBR-12935 autoradiography. This negative result does not support the hypothesis that DAT changes are associated with S-ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects, but additional studies are warranted.“)
- Effects of esketamine and fluoxetine on depression-like behaviors in chronic variable stress: a role of plasma inflammatory factors (May, in mice, “Together, our findings provide a novel insight that acute esketamine treatment could rescue CVS-produced depressive-like and anxiety-like behaviors in mice by normalizing the expression of inflammatory cytokines; this effect was similar to the repeated administration of fluoxetine.“)
- Psilocybin decreases neural responsiveness and increases functional connectivity while preserving pure-tone frequency selectivity in mouse auditory cortex (May, in mice, “Our results mirror similar findings regarding the effects of serotonergic psychedelics in visual cortex and suggest that psilocybin modulates the balance of intrinsic versus stimulus-driven influences on neural activity in auditory cortex.“)
- A single dose of psilocybin induces lasting changes in metabolic connectivity within biologically informed rat brain networks related to compulsions and anxiety (May, in mice, pre-print, “Our findings of acute and persistent changes in metabolic activity and connectivity within these networks provide new insights towards understanding the mechanism of the therapeutic effects of psilocybin in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders.“)
- Ketamine modulates disrupted in schizophrenia-1/glycogen synthase kinase-3β interaction (May, in rats, “These findings confirmed that acute administration of ketamine decreases in DISC1 levels and axonal growth. Lithium reversed this effect. This interaction provides a link between DISC1 and ketamine-induced neurodegeneration.“)
- Novel psychoplastogen DM506 reduces cue-induced heroin-seeking and inhibits tonic GABA currents in the Prelimbic Cortex (May, in rats, ibogaine analogue, “Tonic GABA current was decreased in slices incubated with DM506 for 2 hours. qPCR analysis did not reveal any differences in the mRNA levels of GABAA receptor α and δ subunits at AD14 in heroin and saline self-administered animals that received vehicle or DM506 at AD1. Overall, our data indicate that DM506 attenuates cue-induced heroin seeking and inhibits tonic GABA current in the prelimbic cortex.“)
- Dose-dependent LSD effects on cortical/thalamic and cerebellar activity: brain oxygen level-dependent fMRI study in awake rats (June, in rats, “The enhanced connectivity between thalamus and sensory motor cortices is consistent with the human literature looking at LSD treatments in healthy human volunteers. The unexpected finding that LSD enhances connectivity to the cerebellar nuclei raises an interesting question concerning the role of this brain region in the psychotomimetic effects of hallucinogens.“)
- Effect of oral tryptamines on the gut microbiome of rats-a preliminary study (June, in rats, “These preliminary findings support the idea that psilocybin and other tryptamines may act on the gut microbiome in a dose- and time-dependent manner, potentially identifying a novel peripheral mechanism for their antidepressant activity. The results from this preliminary study also suggest that norbaeocystin may warrant further investigation as a potential antidepressant, given the similarity of its effects to psilocybin.“)
- Psilocybin reduces heroin seeking behavior and modulates inflammatory gene expression in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex of male rats (June, in rats, pre-print, “Psilocybin regulated 4 genes, including Il17a , and a subset of genes correlated with relapse behavior. Selective inhibition of PFC IL-17a was sufficient to reduce heroin relapse. We conclude that psilocybin reduces heroin relapse and highlight IL-17a signaling as a potential downstream pathway of psilocybin that also reduces heroin seeking.“)
- Ketamine’s Amelioration of Fear Extinction in Adolescent Male Mice Is Associated with the Activation of the Hippocampal Akt-mTOR-GluA1 Pathway (June, in mice, “Providing a comprehensive exploration of ketamine’s mechanisms in adolescent FE, our study suggests that ketamine’s effects on FE in adolescent males are associated with the activation of hippocampal Akt-mTOR-GluA1 signaling, with the vHPC and the left IL vmPFC as the proposed neural correlates.“)
- The ketamine metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine rescues hippocampal mRNA translation, synaptic plasticity and memory in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (June, in mice, “Our findings demonstrate that HNK induces signaling and transcriptional responses that correct synaptic and memory deficits in AD mice. These results raise the prospect that HNK could serve as a therapeutic approach in AD.“)
- Ibogaine Induces Cardiotoxic Necrosis in Rats-The Role of Redox Processes (June, in rats, “Our results show that ibogaine induced dose-dependent cardiotoxic necrosis 6 and 24 h after treatment and that this necrosis was not a consequence of inflammation. In addition, no consistent dose- and time-dependent changes in antioxidant defense or indicators of oxidative damage were observed.“)
- Increased reactivity of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and decreased threat responding in male rats following psilocin administration (June, in mice, “ Psilocin increased stimulus-independent PVN activity as measured by c-Fos expression in male and female rats. Psilocin increased PVN reactivity to an aversive air-puff stimulus in males but not females. Reactivity was restored at 2- and 7-days post-injection with no group differences. Additionally, prior psilocin injection did not affect PVN reactivity following acute restraint stress.“)
- Effects of psilocybin on uncertain punishment learning (June, in rats, “Psilocybin increased behavioral suppression in female rats as punishment associations were learned. After learning, psilocybin decreased behavioral suppression in both sexes. Thus, psilocybin produces divergent effects on action suppression during approach-avoidance conflict depending on when the conflict is experienced.“)
- Ketamine induced synaptic plasticity operates independently of long-term potentiation (June, in mice and cells, “These results provide a mechanistic explanation for how ketamine used for the treatment of depression does not impair the integrity of learning and memory processes encoded by mechanisms such as LTP.“)
- Role of oxidative phosphorylation in the antidepressant effects of arketamine via the vagus nerve-dependent spleen-brain axis (June, in mice, “These findings suggest that the OXPHOS pathway and TGF-β1 in the PFC play significant roles in the antidepressant-like effects of arketamine, mediated through the spleen-brain axis via the vagus nerve.“)
- Bile acids and the gut microbiome are involved in the hyperthermia mediated by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (June, in rats, “MDMA-induced a significant hyperthermic response and reduced the serum concentrations of three BAs 60 min post-treatment. Pretreatment with antibiotics (vancomycin, bacitracin and neomycin) in the drinking water for five days resulted in the depletion of BAs and a hypothermic response to MDMA. Gut bacterial communities in the antibiotic-treated group were distinct from the MDMA or saline treatment groups, with decreased microbiome diversity and alteration in taxa.“)
- Adolescent administration of ketamine impairs excitatory synapse formation onto parvalbumin-positive GABAergic interneurons in mouse prefrontal cortex (June, in mice, “Adolescent administration of ketamine impairs excitatory synapse formation onto parvalbumin-positive GABAergic interneurons in mouse prefrontal cortex.”)
- Effects of the Combination of Caffeine, Nicotine, and 3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on the Hippocampus of Experimental Wistar Rats (June, in rats, “The result showed that there was a significant increase in the level of neurotransmitters, Neuroarchitecture using different staining techniques and neurostructural changes were observed on the hippocampus, especially in the dentate gyrus across the co-administered groups. The coadministration of caffeine, nicotine, and MDMA did not cause any extensive hippocampal degeneration or localized neurodegeneration, however, there was an increase in the number of cells in the dentate gyrus which suggested a possible neurogenesis. Neurobehavioural analysis showed impairment in learning and memory.“)
- A scoping review of the effects of mushroom and fungus extracts in rodent models of depression and tests of antidepressant activity (June, in rodents, review, “These included 19 different species of mushrooms, as well as seven different species of other fungi. Nearly all studies reported antidepressant-like effects of treatment with extracts. Treatments were most commonly delivered orally, in both acute and chronically administered studies to predominantly male rodents. Multiple animal models of depression were used, the most common being unpredictable chronic mild stress, while the tail suspension test and forced swim test were most frequently used as standalone antidepressant screens.“)
- Effects of association between resveratrol and ketamine on behavioral and biochemical analysis in mice (June, in mice, “Resveratrol does not appear to cause summative effects with ketamine on behavioral alterations.“)
- Non-hallucinogenic compounds derived from iboga alkaloids alleviate neuropathic and visceral pain in mice through a mechanism involving 5-HT2A receptor activation (June, in mice, “The functional results showed that ibogalogs potently activate the 5-HT2A and 5-HT6 receptor subtypes, whereas they behave as inverse agonists (except TBG) at the 5-HT7 receptor. Considering previous studies showing that 5-HT6 receptor inhibition, but not activation, and 5-HT7 receptor activation, but not inhibition, relieved chronic pain, we can discard these two receptor subtypes as participating in the pain-relieving activity of ibogalogs. The potential involvement of 5-HT2B/2 C receptor subtypes was also ruled out. In conclusion, the anti-hypersensitivity activity of ibogalogs in mice is mediated by a mechanism involving 5-HT2A receptor activation.“)
- Striking Long Term Beneficial Effects of Single Dose Psilocybin and Psychedelic Mushroom Extract in the SAPAP3 Rodent Model of OCD-Like Excessive Self-Grooming (June, in mice, pre-print, “ice initially treated with vehicle and non-responsive, showed a clear and lasting therapeutic response when treated with a single dose of psilocybin or psychedelic mushroom extract and followed for a further 3 weeks. While equivalent to psilocybin in overall effect on self-grooming, psychedelic mushroom extract showed superior effects in alleviating head-body twitches and anxiety. These findings strongly justify clinical trials of psilocybin in the treatment of OCD and further studies aimed at elucidating mechanisms that underlie the long-term effects to alleviate excessive self-grooming observed in this study.“)
- Effects of psilocybin on body weight, body composition, and metabolites in male and female mice (July, in mice, “In the days immediately following treatment, both male and female mice receiving a single intraperitoneal dose of psilocybin were consistently heavier than saline controls, with no effect of psilocybin on intake or output. Co-administration of the 5-HT2A/2C receptor antagonist ketanserin had no effect on this outcome.“)
- Serotonergic psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT alters plasticity-related gene expression and generates anxiolytic effects in stressed mice (July, in mice, “5-MeO-DMT altered mRNA expression of immediate early genes Arc and ZiF268 in the ACC, BLA, and vCA1, while NR2A expression was decreased after 5 h in the vCA1. We also found a long-term increase in TRIP8b, a gene related to the modulation of neuronal activity, in the vCA1 after 5 days. Behaviorally, 5-MeO-DMT treated mice showed mixed anxiolytic and anxiogenic effects in the elevated plus maze and open field test 24 h or 5 days after treatment.“)
- Antagonistic interaction between caffeine and ketamine in zebrafish: Implications for aquatic toxicity (July, in zebrafish, safety (of aquatic ecosystem), “Based on these results, it is imperative to further assess the environmental risks associated with CF and KET co-pollution.“)
- Study on the antidepressant activity of (2R,6R; 2S,6S)-Hydroxynorketamine (HNK) and its derivatives (July, in mice, “The results of the forced swimming test, locomotor sensitization test, and conditioned location preference test showed that compounds C and D may have certain anti-depressant activity. However, HNK exerts a rapid and significant antidepressant effect within 1 week, but the duration is short.“)
- Lysergic acid diethylamide induces behavioral changes in Caenorhabditis elegans (July, in roundworms, “Our results demonstrate that LSD is absorbed by C. elegans and that the acute treatment reduces animal speed, similar to the role of endogenous serotonin. This response is mediated in part by the serotonergic receptors SER-1 and SER-4.“)
Psychedelic Chemistry and Analysis Articles in 2024
- Unlocking the biosynthesis of psychedelic-inspired indolethylamines (January, spotlight)
- Phylogenomics of the psychoactive mushroom genus Psilocybe and evolution of the psilocybin biosynthetic gene cluster (January, genomic evolution of psychedelic mushrooms)
- Determination of psilocybin and psilocin content in multiple Psilocybe cubensis mushroom strains using liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (January, analysis)
- Psilocybin Promotes Cell-Type-Specific Changes in the Orbitofrontal Cortex Revealed by Single-Nucleus RNA-seq (January, analysis, pre-print)
- Evaluation of the Indazole Analogs of 5-MeO-DMT and Related Tryptamines as Serotonin Receptor 2 Agonists (January, analysis)
- Psychedelika als Medikamente? (January, German, conference presentation by Matthias Liechti)
- The challenge of the psychedelic renaissance is the delineation of therapeutic use (January, French, conference presentation)
- Discovery of novel harmine derivatives as GSK-3β/DYRK1A dual inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease treatment (February, harmine – part of ayahuasca – as a potential Alzheimer’s disease treatment)
- Psilocybin-enhanced fear extinction linked to bidirectional modulation of cortical ensembles (February, in cells, “These results both align with hypotheses that psilocybin enhances behavioral flexibility by recruiting new populations of neurons and introduce a new mechanism involving the suppression of fear-active populations in the retrosplenial cortex.“)
- Uncovering Structure-Activity Relationships of Phenethylamines: Paving the Way for Innovative Mental Health Treatments (February, “ In this study, we employed the quantitative structure-activity relationship methodology to develop three vigorous models for the reuptake of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine through monoamine transporters.“)
- Anticancer Potential of β-Carboline Alkaloids: An Updated Mechanistic Overview (February, ayahuasca components’ possibility in being cancer drugs, “The current body of research emphasizes the potential of β-carbolines as a unique source of bioactive compounds for cancer treatment.“)
- Recreational MDMA doses do not elicit hepatotoxicity in HepG2 spheroids under normo- and hyperthermia (February, in cells, “The MTT reduction assay did not evidence significantly reduced cell viability. Moreover, MDMA did not increase reactive oxygen species production, deplete the mitochondrial membrane potential, arrest the cell cycle, or induce apoptotic cell death.“)
- Deciphering psilocybin: Cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory effects, and mechanistic insights (February, in cells, “Psilocin, but not psilocybin, induced a significant increase of IL-10 in post-treatment, leading to the conclusion that psilocin, but not psilocybin, exerts anti-inflammatory effects on classically activated macrophages.“)
- Synthetic Approaches to Salvinorin A and its Analogues (February, review of Salvinorin A synthesis)
- Optimization of enantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative determination of 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) and its phase-1 metabolites in human biological fluids (February, “While results on the concentration of MDMA and its metabolites in various biological fluids were reported in our recent publication, in the present study an attempt was made to hydrolyze glucuronides in urine samples by using alternatively, hydrochloric acid or glucuronidase and to evaluate the effect of hydrolysis on the concentration and enantiomeric distribution of hydroxy metabolites of MDMA such as HMA and HMMA.“)
- Synthesis and bioactivity of psilocybin analogues containing a stable carbon-phosphorus bond (February, synthesis of psilocybin analogues)
- The use of prodrugs as drugs of abuse (March, analysis of using prodrugs)
- Fabrication of a Controlled-Release Core-Shell Floating Tablet of Ketamine Hydrochloride Using a 3D Printing Technique for Management of Refractory Depressions and Chronic Pain (March, fabrication of controlled-release ketamine tablet)
- Aptasensor Integrated with Two-Dimensional Nanomaterial for Selective and Sensitive Electrochemical Detection of Ketamine Drug (February, detection of ketamine)
- Methyl transfer in psilocybin biosynthesis (March, analysis of biosynthesis of psilocybin)
- Human pluripotent stem cells as a translational toolkit in psychedelic research in vitro (March, in cells, “PSC-based models hold significant promise to illuminate the cellular and molecular substrates of psychedelic-induced phenotypic recovery in neuropsychiatric disorders.“)
- Potential Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor Agonist of Psychoactive Components of Silene undulata Aiton: LC-MS/MS, ADMET, and Molecular Docking Studies (March, molecular analysis, “These findings provide insights into the potential therapeutic benefits of S. undulata, supporting its traditional use as a psychoactive plant. This study investigated the chemical constituents and potential serotonergic agonist activity of S. undulata for the first time.“)
- Derivatization-free determination of chiral plasma pharmacokinetics of MDMA and its enantiomers (April, “An easy-to-use LC–MS method to quantify racemic MDMA and MDA was developed.“)
- Chiral analysis of amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA and MDA enantiomers in human hair samples (April, analysis of MDMA & MDA in hair)
- Characterization of iso-LSD metabolism using human liver microsomes in comparison to LSD and its applicability as urinary biomarker for LSD consumption (March, analysis of LSD through urine)
- Cultivation, chemistry, and genome of Psilocybe zapotecorum (April, identification of compounds in psilocybin mushroom family)
- Bioisosteric analogs of MDMA with improved pharmacological profile (April, pre-print, novel MDMA-like compounds, “Compared with MDMA, all three MDMA bioisosteres (ODMA, TDMA, and SeDMA) showed similar pharmacological activity at human serotonin and dopamine transporters (hSERT and hDAT, respectively) but decreased activity at 5-HT 2A/2B/2C receptors.“)
- Discovery and Structure-Activity Relationships of 2,5-Dimethoxyphenylpiperidines as Selective Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor Agonists (April, novel 5-HT2a receptor agonists, “We report herein the discovery of 2,5-dimethoxyphenylpiperidines as a novel class of selective 5-HT2AR agonists …”)
- Genetic regulation of L-tryptophan metabolism in Psilocybe mexicana supports psilocybin biosynthesis (April, “A comparative transcriptomic approach of gene expression in P. mexicana psilocybin non-producing vegetative mycelium versus producing carpophores identified the upregulation of L-tryptophan biosynthesis genes.“)
- Comparative study of sample preparation procedures to determine the main compounds in ayahuasca beverages by QuEChERS and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis (May, analysis of ayahuasca, “The analytical methodology proved to be accurate and precise, with good linearity, LODs and LLOQs. This method has been fully validated and successfully applied to ayahuasca beverage samples.“)
- In vitro and in silico evaluation of 5-MeO-DMT, LSD, and mescaline’s interaction with CYP450 enzymes (May, in cells, “Based on the IC50 (mM), LSD (0.35) and 5-MeO-DMT (3.47) present the capacity to be inhibitors of CYP2D6. Based on the MMGBSA (kcal/mol), LSD showed the highest binding affinities for all enzymes, while mescaline showed the lowest.“)
- Divergent Effects of Ketamine and the Serotoninergic Psychedelic 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Iodoamphetamine on Hippocampal Plasticity and Metaplasticity (May, in brain cells from mice, “DOI, but not ketamine, induced significant neuroplastic and metaplastic effects at hippocampal CA1 synapses 24 h after treatment, likely in part via a presynaptic mechanism.“)
- An innovative approach for selective and robust screening of NBOHs, NBOMes, and LSD in forensic samples using a 3D-Printed electrochemical double cell (May, identification, “New method for identifying LSD and phenethylamines in forensic samples.“)
- The dual-configured hydrogen bonds induced by polymerized deep eutectic solvents-modified magnetic biochar enhanced the selectivity for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (May, monitoring)
- XOB: A novel phenylalkylamine antagonist of 5-HT2A receptors and voltage-gated sodium channels (May, in cells, novel psychedelic compound XOB, “We synthesized a novel small molecule (XOB) that simultaneously antagonizes two key therapeutic targets of bipolar disorder, 5-HT2A receptors and voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs), in heterologous cells, and inhibits the intrinsic excitability of mouse prefrontal cortex layer V pyramidal neurons in brain slices. XOB represents a valuable new proof-of-principle tool for future preclinical investigations and provides a novel molecular approach to the pharmacological treatment of complex neuropsychiatric disease, which often requires a combination of therapeutics for sufficient patient benefit.“)
- The biosynthetic pathway of the hallucinogen mescaline and its heterologous reconstruction (June, analysis of Peyote/mescaline)
- Psilocin fosters neuroplasticity in iPSC-derived human cortical neurons (June, pre-print, in neuronal cells, psilocybin, “In conclusion, exposure of human neurons to psilocin might induces a state of enhanced neuronal plasticity which could explain why psilocin is beneficial in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders where synaptic dysfunctions are discussed.“)
- Structural characterization and comparative analysis of polymorphic forms of psilocin (4-hy-droxy- N, N-di-methyl-tryptamine) (May, chemistry, different psilocybin (psilocybin) -like compounds)
- Mechanistic Insights into the Neurotoxicity of 2,5-Dimethoxyphenethylamines (2C) and Corresponding N-(2-methoxybenzyl)phenethylamine (NBOMe) Drugs (June, analysis of 2C (and their longer lasting NBOMe cousins) compounds)
- Synthesis and analytical characterization of 1-(2-thienoyl)-6-allyl-nor-d-lysergic acid diethylamide (1T-AL-LAD) (June, analysis of LSD-analogue)
- Modification of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method targeting lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and its primary metabolite (OH-LSD) to include nine LSD analogs (June, analysis of LSD-analogues)
- The Role of Ayahuasca in Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Cell Survival, Proliferation and Oxidative Stress (June, in cells, “It was demonstrated that exposure to the extracts significantly induced apoptosis in Caco-2 cells, while decreasing cell proliferation. MH and MHPH samples significantly reduced oxidative stress and significantly increased glutathione peroxidase activity. No significant differences were found in SOD activity. Overall, it was demonstrated that the decoctions have a potential anticancer activity in Caco-2 cells.“)
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Ketamine Derivatives as NMDAR Antagonists (May, synthesis and evaluation, “Here, we report efforts to design and synthesize a novel series of ketamine derivatives of NMDAR antagonists, among which compounds 23 and 24 have improved activity compared with ketamine, introducing a new direction for the development of rapid-acting antidepressant drugs.“)
- Evaluation of TrpM and PsiD substrate promiscuity reveals new biocatalytic capabilities (June, chemistry)
- Analytical and behavioral characterization of 1-hexanoyl-LSD (1H-LSD) (July, analysis)
- The role of ayahuasca in cell viability and oxidative stress in gastric adenocarcinoma cell line (July, in cells)
- Addressing a major interference in the quantification of psilocin in mouse plasma: Development of a validated liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method (July, analysis)
- Harmine and exendin-4 combination therapy safely expands human β cell mass in vivo in a mouse xenograft system (July, in cells)
- The mitogenomic landscape of Banisteriopsis caapi (Malpighiaceae), the sacred liana used for ayahuasca preparation (July, analysis)
- The versatile binding landscape of the TAAR1 pocket for LSD and other antipsychotic drug molecules (July, in cells, LSD an other antipsychotics on TAAR1 pocket)
- Zinc Supplementation Reduces ROS Production and Prevents MDMA-Induced Apoptosis in TM3 Leydig Cells via the Inhibition of Pro-Apoptotic Proteins (July, in cells, safety)
Reviews and Opinion Papers on Psychedelics in 2024
- Is there credible evidence to assert psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression? (January, perspective, questions the level of evidence there is for Psi-AT for depression)
- Through the Looking Glass: Psychedelics As a Window into Mindfulness and Mind–Body Health (January, perspective)
- A Meta-Analysis of the Antidepressant Responses in Pivotal Trials on Esketamine Nasal Spray and Atypical Antipsychotics (s=12, meta-analysis, “The ESK-NS arms showed numerically larger MADRS score reductions at week-1 and endpoint, and a significantly larger response rate compared with AAP arms. Prospective studies involving direct comparisons are warranted to compare the relative efficacy between these treatment regimens.“)
- Improving Clinical Outcomes and Informing New Interventions (January, editor’s note)
- “Psychedelic Assisted Therapy” Must Not Be Retired (January, letter to the editor)
- Psychotherapy in Psychedelic Treatment: Safe, Evidence-Based, and Necessary (January, letter to the editor)
- Pharmacological and Nonpharmacological Components of Psychedelic Treatments: The Whole is Not the Sum of the Parts (January, letter to the editor)
- Psilocybin Without Psychotherapy: A Cart Without a Horse? (January, letter to the editor)
- Is Poorly Assisted Psilocybin Treatment an Increasing Risk? (January, letter to the editor)
- Misinterpretations and Omissions: A Critical Response to Goodwin and Colleagues’ Commentary on Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy (January, letter to the editor)
- Psychological Support for Psilocybin Treatment: Reply to Letters on Our Commentary (January, reply to the replies)
- Unintentional Ketamine Overdose Via Telehealth (January, letter to the editor)
- If psychedelics heal, how do they do it? (January, news feature)
- The Rapidly Shifting Ketamine Landscape in the US (January, viewpoint)
- Esketamine Nasal Spray versus Quetiapine for Resistant Depression. Reply (January, letter to the editor)
- Capturing Synergy Holistically in Psychedelic Clinical Trials: Assessing Processes in Addition to Outcomes (January, letter to the editor)
- The efficacy and safety of ketamine for depression in patients with cancer: A systematic review (January, review)
- Targeting metaplasticity mechanisms to promote sustained antidepressant actions (January, review, ketamine)
- [Therapeutic applications of classical serotonergic psychedelics: neurobiological mechanisms and neural networks] (January, review, Dutch)
- New psychoactive substances in emergency medicine (January, review, German)
- Behavioural Investigations of Psilocybin in Animals 1962-2021: A Scoping Review (January, review, animal studies with psilocybin)
- Do the therapeutic effects of psilocybin involve actions in the gut? (January, review)
- How should psychotherapy proceed when adjoined with psychedelics? (January, perspective)
- Informed Consent to Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: Ethical Considerations (January, perspective)
- Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: hope and dilemma (January, editorial)
- Synthetic surprise as the foundation of the psychedelic experience (January, review)
- Knowledge gaps in psychedelic medicalisation: Clinical studies and regulatory aspects (January, review)
- The Psychedelic Future of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment (January, review)
- Molecular and Medical Aspects of Psychedelics (January, review)
- Information decomposition and the informational architecture of the brain (January, review, covers psychedelics indirectly)
- AlphaFold found thousands of possible psychedelics. Will its predictions help drug discovery? (January, news, initial skepticism to usefulness of AlphaFold)
- The safety of supported psilocybin use in Oregon (January, correspondence)
- A comparison between psilocybin and esketamine in treatment-resistant depression using number needed to treat (NNT): A systematic review (January, review, “The NNH profile for both aforementioned agents is clinically acceptable.“)
- Modern Psychedelic Microdosing Research on Mental Health: A Systematic Review (January, review)
- Psychedelics in Addiction Treatment-Navigating a Sociopolitical Rift (January, viewpoint)
- Commentary (on) On the need for metaphysics in psychedelic therapy and research (January, commentary)
- Psilocybin, an Effective Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in Adults – A Systematic Review (January, review, “It was found that every study significantly favoured the use of psilocybin in reducing depressive symptoms, with few side effects. This gives psilocybin an advantage over commonly prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which carry more risk and cause more adverse effects.”)
- Psychedelics and inner dimensions of sustainability: A Literature Review (January, review)
- Psychedelics for mental health: a biochemical perspective (January, feature)
- Older adults in psychedelic-assisted therapy trials: A systematic review (January, review, “While existing data in older adults is limited, it suggests that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can be safe and well tolerated in older adults.“)
- Trauma-Informed Care in Psychedelic Therapy Research: A Qualitative Literature Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions in PTSD and Psychedelic Therapy Across Conditions (January, review)
- Therapeutic potential of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in the treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders (January, review)
- Ketamine, an Old-New Drug: Uses and Abuses (January, review)
- Indigenous ayahuasca ceremonies in the European context: structures, purposes, concepts (January, review, ayahuasca use in (ceremony in) Europe)
- The mechanistic divide in psychedelic neuroscience: An unbridgeable gap? (January, review)
- A molecular perspective on mGluR5 regulation in the antidepressant effect of ketamine (January, review)
- The Psychedelic Future of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment (January, review)
- Psychedelics, epilepsy, and seizures: a review (January, review)
- Effects of ketamine and esketamine on preventing postpartum depression after cesarean delivery: A meta-analysis (January, review & meta-analysis, “Ketamine and esketamine appear to be effective in preventing PPD in the one week and four week postoperative periods after cesarean delivery with moderate certainty of evidence. But they can also lead to some short-term complications too.“)
- Trauma-Informed Care in Psychedelic Therapy Research: A Qualitative Literature Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions in PTSD and Psychedelic Therapy Across Conditions (January, review)
- Making Sense Of Psychedelics In The CNS (January, review)
- Psychedelics in Psychiatry, the Nursing Influence, and the Future of Psychedelic Therapies (January, review)
- Serotonergic Psychedelics – a Comparative review Comparing the Efficacy, Safety, Pharmacokinetics and Binding Profile of Serotonergic Psychedelics (January, review)
- Women and MDMA: particularities of gender and sex (January, review, “While women may have a higher susceptibility to hyponatremia, intriguingly, they appear to be less vulnerable to MDMA-induced hyperthermia.“)
- Therapeutic potential of psychedelics: History, advancements, and unexplored frontiers (January, review)
- Psychedelics for Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementia: Unveiling Therapeutic Possibilities and Pathways (January, review)
- Therapeutic potential of psychedelics: History, advancements, and unexplored frontiers (February, review)
- Novel rapid treatment options for adolescent depression (February, review, covers ketamine)
- Metabolomic biomarkers for (R, S)-ketamine and (S)-ketamine in treatment-resistant depression and healthy controls: A systematic review (February, review)
- Opioid use disorder: current trends and potential treatments (February, review, covers psychedelics)
- Altered states and social bonds: Effects of MDMA and serotonergic psychedelics on social behavior as a mechanism underlying substance-assisted therapy (February, review)
- Ayahuasca and Dimethyltryptamine Adverse Events and Toxicity Analysis: A Systematic Thematic Review (February, review)
- Psychedelics in the field of chronic pain. A path to explore? (February, review, French)
- Efficacy and safety of ketamine and esketamine for unipolar and bipolar depression: an overview of systematic reviews with meta-analysis (February, meta-meta review/analysis, ketamine)
- Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, psychedelic methodologies, and the impregnable value of the subjective-a new and evolving approach (February, perspective, argues for the subjective effects of KAP/KAT)
- Multimodal Neuroimaging of the Effect of Serotonergic Psychedelics on the Brain (February, review)
- Perioperative considerations for patients exposed to hallucinogens (February, review)
- New evidence for flexible psilocybin dosing in patients with treatment-resistant depression (February, viewpoint)
- Aggressive Behaviours Associated with MDMA and Psychedelics: A narrative review (February, review, “Of these 17 articles, 14 studies focused on MDMA and three on serotonergic psychedelics. Findings were mixed, with some results demonstrating increased aggression following psychedelics and others suggesting protective effects. Limitations in the current literature include varied definitions of psychedelics, lack of standardized objective outcome measures, and failure to control for confounding.“)
- Keeping the promise: a critique of the current state of microdosing research (February, review of microdosing research up to March 2022)
- Psychedelics: Recent Philosophical Discussions (February, overview of philosophical debates in psychedelics)
- Is Intravenous Ketamine Better Than Intranasal Esketamine for Treating Treatment-Resistant Depression? (February, letter to the editor, argues that IV ketamine is superior to Spravato)
- An Occupational Perspective on Psychedelic Therapy: A Scoping Review (February, review through work (occupational) lens)
- The effect of psilocybin on empathy and prosocial behavior: a proposed mechanism for enduring antidepressant effects (February, review, “In this article we review the effect of psilocybin on empathy and prosocial behavior. Moreover, we propose that psilocybin may induce a positive feedback loop involving empathy and prosocial behavior which helps explain the observed, enduring antidepressant effects.“)
- The effect of psychedelics on the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor: A systematic review and meta-analysis (February, s=9, review, “[T]he documented rise in BDNF levels indicates a neurobiological mechanism by which psychedelics could enhance synaptic plasticity and foster the growth of neurons.”)
- Recent Advances in the Treatment of Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Narrative Review of Literature Published from 2018 to 2023 (February, review, covers psychedelics)
- Are “mystical experiences” essential for antidepressant actions of ketamine and the classic psychedelics? (February, review)
- A Neuroanatomic and Pathophysiologic Framework for Novel Pharmacological Approaches to the Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (February, review, covers psychedelics)
- The Clinical Potential of Dimethyltryptamine: Breakthroughs into the Other Side of Mental Illness, Neurodegeneration, and Consciousness (February, review)
- Efficacy and acceptability of psilocybin for primary or secondary depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (February, review & meta-analysis)
- Psychedelic-assisted therapy for people with gambling disorder? (February, review)
- A Plea for Nuance: Should People with a Family History of Bipolar Disorder Be Excluded from Clinical Trials of Psilocybin Therapy? (February, review, “Balancing the need for effective treatments against the potential for serious adverse events in those undergoing psilocybin therapy with a family history of BD, we argue for caution in psychedelic clinical trials but not outright exclusion of these individuals.“)
- Ketamine in Chronic Pain: A Review (February, review)
- TrkB transmembrane domain: bridging structural understanding with therapeutic strategy (March, review, covers psychedelics as they binding target of psychedelics)
- A Systematic Review of the Neurocognitive Effects of Psychedelics in Healthy Populations: Implications for Depressive Disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (March, review)
- Cognitive Decline After S-Ketamine Use (March, letter to the editor)
- Exploring Esketamine’s Therapeutic Outcomes as an FDA-Designated Breakthrough for Treatment-Resistant Depression and Major Depressive Disorder With Suicidal Intent: A Narrative Review (March, review)
- The impact of ketamine on outcomes in critically ill patients: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of randomized controlled trials (March, review & meta-analysis, null-effect)
- Scoping Review: The Role of Psychedelics in the Management of Chronic Pain (March, review)
- Sexual effects of commonly used recreational psychostimulants in women and the female rat model (March, review, covers MDMA)
- Scanning the new frontier of mental health: psychedelic brain imaging (March, feature)
- Modern Psychedelic Microdosing Research on Mental Health (March, review)
- The Psychological Effects of the Administration of Psychedelics on the Minds of Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review (March, review)
- A Narrative Review of Current and Emerging Trends in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (March, review, covers psychedelics)
- Psychedelic Therapy: A Primer for Primary Care Clinicians-Ketamine (March, review / next several articles give an overview for primary care clinicians)
- Psychedelic Therapy: A Primer for Primary Care Clinicians-3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) (March, review)
- Psychedelic Therapy: A Primer for Primary Care Clinicians—Ibogaine (March, review)
- Psychedelic Therapy: A Primer for Primary Care Clinicians—Psilocybin (March, review)
- Psychedelic Therapy: A Primer for Primary Care Clinicians—N,N-Dimethyltryptamine and Ayahuasca (March, review)
- Psychedelic Therapy: A Primer for Primary Care Clinicians—Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) (March, review)
- Psychedelic Therapy: A Primer for Primary Care Clinicians—Historical Perspective and Overview (March, review)
- A perspective on psychedelics as treatments for addictions: Past, Present, and Future (March, review)
- New pharmacotherapies to tackle the unmet needs in bipolar disorder: a focus on acute suicidality (March, review, covers ketamine)
- Concerns on the Use of Ketamine in the Treatment of Depression (March, letter to the editor)
- The Top 50 Articles and Authors of the New Millennium in Psychiatry: A Bibliometric Analysis (March, review, covers esketamine)
- How the Food and Drug Administration Drug Approval Process Relates to the Potential Approval of Intravenous Racemic Ketamine for Treatment-resistant Major Depression (March, column)
- Formulary Coverage of Esketamine and Ketamine for Depression in Ohio Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicaid Plans (March, column)
- Psychedelics: reconnecting the brain to heal the mind (March, feature)
- Therapeutic Compatibility of Orally Administered Racemic Ketamine with Modafinil, a CYP3A4 Enzyme Inducer, in Treatment-Refractory Major Depressive Disorder (November 2023, letter to the editor)
- Mitochondrial Metabolism in Major Depressive Disorder: From Early Diagnosis to Emerging Treatment Options (March, review)
- Epigenetic drugs and psychedelics as emerging therapies for alcohol use disorder: insights from preclinical studies (March, review)
- Could the medicalization of psychedelics lead to the next generation of antidepressants? (March, feature)
- Efficacy and safety of psychedelics for the treatment of mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis (March, review and meta-analysis, “A small amount of evidence also supports psychedelics improving tobacco addiction, eating disorders, sleep disorders, borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder.”)
- Drug dependence and prescribing ketamine for treatment-resistant depression in Australia and New Zealand (April, review of (medical) ketamine abuse potential in Oceania)
- Effectiveness of Ketamine for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (March, review and meta-analysis, “Ketamine demonstrated significant improvements in PCL-5 scores, both 24 hours after the initial infusion and at the endpoint of the treatment course, which varied between 1 to 4 weeks in each study.“)
- Ecocebo: how the interaction between environment and drug effects may improve pharmacotherapy outcomes (March, review)
- Spectral signatures of psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and ketamine in healthy volunteers and persons with major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review (April, review)
- From Outsider to Insider: A Look at the Subculture of Microdosing (March, sociological ‘review’ of microdosing subculture)
- Safety and risk assessment of psychedelic psychotherapy: A meta-analysis and systematic review (April, meta-analysis & review, “Psychedelics are safe in a controlled setting with appropriate inclusion criteria.“)
- A Comparison of the Efficacy and Adverse Effects of Ketamine and Electroconvulsive Therapy in the Management of Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Systematic Review (March, review)
- The Effects of Ayahuasca on Psychological Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review (March, review)
- Ketamine’s mechanism of action with an emphasis on neuroimmune regulation: can the complement system complement ketamine’s antidepressant effects? (April, review)
- Effect of intraoperative and/or postoperative esketamine administration on preventing postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis (April, review & meta-analysis, “ It was found that intraoperative and/or postoperative administration of esketamine significantly reduced the PPD incidence and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scores in the early postoperative period. Meanwhile, esketamine lowered the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting with no influence on other psychiatric symptoms.“)
- Psilocybin for dementia prevention? The potential role of psilocybin to alter mechanisms associated with major depression and neurodegenerative diseases (April, review)
- A Multi-Level Analysis of Biological, Social, and Psychological Determinants of Substance Use Disorder and Co-Occurring Mental Health Outcomes (April, review)
- Depression, an unmet health need in Africa: Understanding the promise of ketamine (April, review, “Consequently, many ketamine infusion clinics have been established in Africa. However, there is little regulation or guidance for ketamine infusions.“)
- Acute Adverse Effects of Therapeutic Doses of Psilocybin A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (April, review & meta-analysis)
- Treating Bipolar Depression Using Psilocybin-Validity Threats Regarding Efficacy and Safety-Reply (April, reply commentary)
- Essentials of Informed Consent to Psychedelic Medicine (April, ‘special communication’. “Analysis of the challenges of designing and implementing psychedelic informed consent practices revealed 7 essential components, including the possibility of short- and long-term perceptual disturbances, potential personality changes and altered metaphysical beliefs, the limited role of reassuring physical touch, the potential for patient abuse or coercion, the role and risks of data collection, relevant practitioner disclosures, and interactive patient education and comprehension assessment.”)
- Informed Consent to Psychedelic Treatment-A Work in Progress (April, editorial)
- Emerging drugs in phase II and III clinical development for the treatment of alcohol use disorder (April, review, covers psilocybin and ketamine)
- Beneficial and adverse effects of ketamine and its enantiomers, and the underlying mechanisms of ECT and rTMS efficacy (April, editorial)
- Psychedelics, OCD and related disorders: A systematic review (April, review)
- Mechanisms of therapeutic change after psychedelic treatment in OCD (April, review)
- From taboo to treatment: The emergence of psychedelics in the management of pain and opioid use disorder (April, review)
- Current Understanding on Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder: A Review Focusing on Clinical Trials (April, review)
- A Critical View on New and Future Antidepressants (April, covers psychedelics)
- Ketamine Use for Palliative Care in the Austere Environment: Is Ketamine the Path Forward for Palliative Care (April, review)
- Ketamine for the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist: Application in Opioid Use Disorder (April, letter to the editor)
- Number needed to treat (NNT) for ketamine and esketamine in adults with treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis (April, review, “A total of 21 studies with 2042 participants were included. Racemic ketamine treatments had pooled NNTs for response of 7 at 4 h, 3 from one day to one week and 9 for studies at four weeks. Esketamine treatment was found to have a similar efficacy with an NNT of 2 at one day and 11 at four weeks. NNH values indicated low risk for ketamine treatments.“)
- Trips Through the Skin: Reviewing Cutaneous Drug Reactions to Psychedelics and Hallucinogens (April, review)
- Severe enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN) treatment options and their effectiveness: a review of literature (April, review, covers ketamine)
- Exploring the multifaceted potential of (R)-ketamine beyond antidepressant applications (April, review, “[A]n increasing body of research suggests that (R)-ketamine might also have significant applications in the prevention and treatment of medical fields or diseases such as cognitive disorders, perioperative anesthesia, ischemic stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, substance use disorders, inflammatory diseases, COVID-19, and organophosphate poisoning.“)
- Perspectives in treatment-resistant depression: esketamine and electroconvulsive therapy (April, review)
- Ketamine and its enantiomers for depression: a bibliometric analysis from 2000 to 2023 (April, review of literature, noting increase with spike in 2022)
- Introduction to the Special Section on Psychedelics Research and Treatment (April, introduction to series of articles in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine)
- Psilocybin therapy and anorexia nervosa: a narrative review of safety considerations for researchers and clinicians (April, review)
- Psychotherapeutic Interventions in Clinical Trials of Psychedelics for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (April, review)
- Mini-review: Evidence from preclinical and clinical metabolomics studies on the antidepressant effects of ketamine and esketamine (April, review)
- Neurobiology of the Antidepressant Effects of Serotonergic Psychedelics: A Narrative Review (April, review)
- Psychedelic skepticism: back to the sixties? (April, perspective, great short read with valid feedback/criticism)
- In the new era of psychedelic assisted therapy: A systematic review of study methodology in randomized controlled trials (April, review, “ Sixteen publications were identified as meeting the criteria for a systematic review. Our findings suggest that traditional placebo administration is insufficient to control for expectancy confounds.“)
- Psychiatric and legal considerations for ketamine treatment within prison settings (April, perspective, “ Implementing novel psychopharmacological interventions may alleviate the distress experienced by individuals struggling with depressive symptoms and suicidality. At the same time, unprecedented treatment alternatives bring along potential issues, including limited understanding of long-term effects and the risk of abuse.“)
- Exploring the Impact of Music on Response to Ketamine/Esketamine: A Scoping Review (April, review, “With ketamine alone, music reduces dissociation and anxiety and boosts tolerability. In combination drug studies, music promotes relaxation and reduces sedative load.“)
- At the Forefront: Social Workers’ Role in Psilocybin Treatment for Depression and Substance Misuse (May, review/perspective)
- The Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelics Ethics (HOPE) Working Group Consensus Statement (May, editorial/consensus statement)
- Efficacy of psilocybin for treating symptoms of depression: systematic review and meta-analysis (May, review, “Treatment effects of psilocybin were significantly larger among patients with secondary depression, when self-report scales were used to measure symptoms of depression, and when participants had previously used psychedelics.”)
- Please also see this ‘expression of concern‘: “The study analysed data from randomised trials of psilocybin for the treatment of depression in adults. A methodological concern has been raised about an error in the calculation of standardised mean differences. This is likely to have overestimated the benefits of psilocybin. The authors are reviewing and responding to the error and its implications for the findings and conclusions of the paper. The authors’ response will be reviewed by The BMJ who will decide what further action is needed.”
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Training: An Argument in Support of Firsthand Experience of Nonordinary States of Consciousness in the Development of Competence (April, perspective)
- Psilocybin for depression (May, perspective)
- Psychedelics in Medicine: Can Evidence Keep Up With Enthusiasm? (May, editorial)
- Integrating Psychedelics into Digital Health: A New Horizon in Mental Wellness (May, editorial)
- Chronic pain as an emergent property of a complex system and the potential roles of psychedelic therapies (May, review, chronic pain x psychedelics)
- Ketamine as Treatment for Cluster Headache: A Systematic Review of Literature and a Case Series (May, review, case studies for ketamine for cluster headaches (CCH))
- Psychedelics and Evidence-based Psychotherapy: A Systematic Review with Recommendations for Advancing Psychedelic Therapy Research (May, review)
- 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI): From an Obscure to Pivotal Member of the DOX Family of Serotonergic Psychedelic Agents – A Review (May, review of DOI, “Here, we review, for the first time, the historical and current developments that led to DOI becoming a unique, perhaps a landmark, agent in 5-HT2 receptor research.“)
- Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Virtual Reality: A Review on the Simulation of Psychedelic Effects for Treating Psychological Disorders (May, review, VR as psychedelic-like effects)
- Modulating self-referential processing through meditation and psychedelics: is scientific investigation of self-transcendence clinically relevant? (May, letter to the editor)
- What is needed for the roll-out of psychedelic treatments? (May, perspective)
- The Influence of Psychoactive Substances on Nephrotoxicity of the Kidneys (May, review, covers all psychoactive substances including MDMA & mushrooms)
- Clinical Research Trials of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Adolescents Aged 16 to 17 Years: Rationale Balanced With Caution (May, editorial)
- Review of Psilocybin Use for Depression among Cancer Patients after Approval in Oregon (May, review)
- Depression with comorbid borderline personality disorder – could ketamine be a treatment catalyst? (April, review)
- Common side effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy (May, research highlight)
- Ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy for severe depression: A network meta-analysis of efficacy and safety (May, meta-analysis, “Analysis suggests ECT superior to ketamine and their combination for improving depressive severity, but individualized treatment selection warranted. Higher adverse reactions with ketamine + ECT need further study for optimized combined use.“)
- Effect of Ketamine Treatment on Social Withdrawal in Autism and Autism-Like Conditions (May, review, “Two original studies were found, showing mixed results on the use of ketamine for ASD. The use of esketamine found no statistically significant results, whereas the use of intravenous ketamine was shown to alleviate symptoms of social withdrawal especially in the short term. Neither study reported a significant amount of serious adverse events. Five case reports were also included, showing decreased depressive symptoms and evidence of increased social condition.“)
- The entactogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) as a treatment aid in psychotherapy and its safety concerns (May, review)
- Disentangling the acute subjective effects of classic psychedelics from their enduring therapeutic properties (May, review)
- Ketamine for mood disorders, anxiety, and suicidality in children and adolescents: a systematic review (May, review)
- Neuroprotective and neuroregenerative drugs after severe traumatic brain injury : A narrative review from a clinical perspective (May, review, TBI, covers ketamine)
- Navigating the Future of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies in Psychiatry: Ethical Considerations, Nursing Roles, and Research Imperatives (May, perspective)
- Is it now time to prepare psychiatry for a psychedelic future? (May, commentary)
- The Relationship Between Perioperative Use of Esketamine and Postpartum Depression Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (May, review and meta-analysis, “Perioperative use of esketamine contributes to a lower risk of PPD at the early stage of puerperium but not at the middle and later stages.“)
- Psychedelic therapy in depression and substance use disorders (May, review)
- Treatment Recommendations for Psychedelic-assisted Therapy (May, perspective)
- Perspectives and preliminary experiences of psychedelics for the treatment of eating disorders: A systematic scoping review (May, review)
- Efficacy and safety of psilocybin on treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis (May, review and meta-analysis)
- 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy: what the pharmacist needs to know (May, review for pharmacists)
- Ketamine in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Narrative Review (May, review)
- Resetting the Hippocampal Buffer: A Neurocognitive Account of Psychedelic Therapy for Anxiety-Related Psychopathology (May, review)
- Ketamine in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Narrative Review (May, review)
- Unravelling consciousness and brain function through the lens of time, space, and information (May, review/hypothesis)
- Efficacy and safety of peri-partum Esketamine for prevention of post-partum depression in women undergoing caesarian section: A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials (May, meta-analysis & review, “The study found that esketamine, with manageable side effects, reduces the prevalence of post-partum depression (PPD) after one week as well as after four to six weeks.“)
- The Long Road Toward Equitable MDMA Treatment in the United States (May, commentary)
- Exploring Psychedelics for Alleviating Existential and Spiritual Suffering in People With Serious Illnesses: Links to the Theory of Self-Transcendence (May, review)
- Alterations in brain network connectivity and subjective experience induced by psychedelics: a scoping review (May, review)
- Efficacy of ketamine versus esketamine in the treatment of perioperative depression: A review (May, review)
- Depression: Managing Resistance and Partial Response to Treatment (May, review, covers ketamine)
- Non-hallucinogenic psychedelic psychotherapy: Decreasing risk and increasing access, or missing the point? (May, perspective)
- Facts and myths about use of esketamine for treatment-resistant depression: a narrative clinical review (May, review)
- Underlying mechanisms of ( R,S )-ketamine’s treatment efficacy for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression: a review (June, review)
- Drug-induced musical hallucination (May, review, covers ketamine)
- Perspectives on new fast-acting antidepressants (May, editorial, covers ketamine)
- A meta-analysis of the effects of ketamine on suicidal ideation in depression patients (June, meta-analysis, ketamine for SI, “Our study suggests that, ketamine has a significant therapeutic effect on suicidal ideation throughout the treatment cycle. We performed network meta-analyses(NMA) and pairwise meta-analyses to compare the efficacy of ketamine in the reduction of suicidal ideation. There was a significant reduction in suicidal ideation within the first day after treatment (NMA ketamine day1 RR = 10.02, 95%CI = 4.24 to 23.68). In repeated treatment, the degree of recovery of suicidal ideation after the last dose was significantly greater than that after the first dose (RR = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.51 to 0.62). Recovery of suicidal ideation was also significantly better in the treatment end point than in the placebo group at the same time point (NMA ketamine day26 RR = 4.29, 95%CI = 1.41 to 13.08). This is the first network meta-analysis to demonstrate the role of ketamine in the alleviation of suicidal ideation.“)
- Ketamine, Dissociation, and Depression: What is ‘Special’ About Ketamine? (Revisited) (June, review)
- The effects of psilocybin on cognition and emotional processing in healthy adults and adults with depression: a systematic literature review (June, review)
- The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor hypothesis of ketamine’s antidepressant action: evidence and controversies (June, review)
- Substances led to Psychosis: A Systematic Review (June, review, briefly covers psychedelics(-like) compounds as causes of psychosis)
- Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects (June, review)
- Ketamine versus electroconvulsive therapy for major depressive episode: An updated systematic review and non-inferiority meta-analysis (June, review and meta-analysis, “The ECT group had a higher reduction in depression scores, but without difference in remission and relapse rates. Regarding safety outcomes, ketamine had better posttreatment cognition scores and reduced muscle pain rate compared with ECT, albeit with an increased rate of dissociative symptoms. In a subanalysis with only inpatients, ketamine was inferior to ECT in response rate (RD -0.15; 95 % CI -0.27 to -0.03; p = 0.014; I2 = 25 %), remission, and change in depression scores. These findings support the use of ECT over ketamine for inpatients.“)
- Up-to-Date on clinical and preclinical studies of psilocybin therapy (June, review, Japanese)
- Resolvin E1 as a potential lead for the treatment of depression (June, review, Japanese, ketamine-like compound)
- The Therapeutic Effects of Classic Psychedelics in Alcohol Use Disorder (June, review)
- (R)-(-)-Ketamine: The Promise of a Novel Treatment for Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders (June, review)
- Are ketamine and its enantiomers the answer to treatment-refractory depression? (June, editorial, “In conclusion, ketamine and its enantiomer, esketamine, present promising avenues for the treatment of TRD.“)
- Is there evidence for using ketamine among individuals with dementia? (June, review, “ Although the use of ketamine in the treatment of depression and agitation associated with dementia has potential, the current evidence remains limited. High-quality prospective studies are needed to confirm the observations of these case reports before ketamine can be used to treat behavioral disturbances in individuals with dementia.“)
- Unlocking the healing power of psilocybin: an overview of the role of psilocybin therapy in major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorder (June, review)
- Efficacy and safety of eight enhanced therapies for treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of RCTs (June, review and meta-analysis, “The results advocate for ECT, Ketamine, Esketamine, and Psilocybin as preferred treatments for TRD, guiding clinical practice with evidence-based recommendations for enhancing treatment outcomes. This study underscores the importance of considering both efficacy and safety in selecting augmentation strategies for TRD.“)
- Perioperative esketamine administration for prevention of postpartum depression after the cesarean section: A systematic review and meta-analysis (June, review, “Our review highlights the potential impact of esketamine in PPD prevention, as well as in alleviating depressive symptoms post-C/S, regardless of PPD occurrence, therefore suggesting the benefits of adding esketamine to peri-C/S analgesic regimen.“)
- Cognitive functioning associated with acute and subacute effects of classic psychedelics and MDMA – a systematic review and meta-analysis (June, review, “Our qualitative analyses reveal that executive functioning and creativity may be increased during a window of at least 24 h after the acute effects of psychedelics have subsided, whereas no such results have been observed for MDMA.“)
- Use of ketamine in Super Refractory Status Epilepticus: a systematic review (June, review, “Ketamine demonstrates safety and effectiveness in SRSE, offering advantages over GABAergic drugs by acting on NMDA receptors, providing neuroprotection, and reducing vasopressor requirement.“)
- (R)-(-)-Ketamine: The Promise of a Novel Treatment for Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders (June, review)
- Vitalism and Naturopathy in Psychedelic Medicine (June, review, “In this article, the authors describe why naturopathic doctors, with additional training, are well suited to provide psychedelic therapy.“)
- The Use of Ketamine for the Treatment of Anhedonia in Depression (June, review)
- Down the rabbit hole – the psychological and neural mechanisms of psychedelic compounds and their use in treating mental health and medical conditions (June, editorial)
- 1-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI): From an Obscure to Pivotal Member of the DOX Family of Serotonergic Psychedelic Agents – A Review (June, review)
- The efficacy and safety of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials (June, review and meta-analysis, “The results revealed that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy effectively reduced the change from baseline score in the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale in patients with PTSD compared with either placebo or active controls. However, MDMA causes a series of adverse events, including muscle tightness, nausea, and decreased appetite. To a certain extent, MDMA-assisted psychotherapy may improve symptoms in patients with PTSD. However, side effects and abuse issues still seriously hinder clinical application of MDMA.“)
- Ketamine treatment for anhedonia in unipolar and bipolar depression: a systematic review (June, review)
- Ketamine vs Electroconvulsive Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial (June, review, “In this secondary analysis of the ELEKT-D randomized clinical trial of ECT vs ketamine, greater improvement in depression was observed with intravenous ketamine among outpatients with nonpsychotic TRD who had moderately severe or severe depression, suggesting that these patients may consider ketamine over ECT for TRD.“)
- Repurposing Ketamine in the Therapy of Depression and Depression-Related Disorders: Recent Advances and Future Potential (June, review)
- Rapid and prolonged antidepressant and antianxiety effects of psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, ayahuasca, and 3, 4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (June, pre-print, review and meta-analysis)
- The use of psychedelic drugs as a treatment for depressive disorders (June, review)
- Advancements in Psychoactive Alkaloid Delivery, Neuroenhancement, and Psychedelic Therapies: Exploring the Frontiers of Modern Pharmacology (June, editorial)
- Neurological Effects of Stimulants and Hallucinogens (June, review)
- Psychedelics and disorders of consciousness: the current landscape and the path forward (June, review)
- Commentary on Darke et al.: Expanded psychedelic access requires new safety monitoring systems (June, commentary, safety)
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of ketamine in pediatric status epilepticus (June, review and meta-analysis, “Pediatric RSE is difficult to treat, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Without strong recommendations and evidence regarding preferred agents, this review provides evidence that ketamine may be considered in managing SE in the pediatric population.“)
- The cyclical revival of psychedelics in psychiatric treatment (June, review)
- Exploring the Transformative Potential of Out-of-Body Experiences: A Pathway to Enhanced Empathy (June, review, covers psychedelics)
- Therapeutic modulation of the kynurenine pathway in severe mental illness and comorbidities: A potential role for serotonergic psychedelics (June, review)
- Targeting NMDAR/AMPAR: a promising pharmacotherapeutic approach for depressive disorders (June, review, Russian)
- Clarifying the ethical landscape of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (June, perspective)
- Beyond therapeutic potential: a systematic investigation of ketamine misuse in patients with depressive disorders (July, review, safety)
- Research trends and hotspots of ketamine from 2014 to 2023: a bibliometric analysis (June, review)
- Shamanism and Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences (July, book chapter)
- Disability rights and experiential use of psychedelics in clinical research and practice (July, perspective)
- A rapid narrative review of the clinical evolution of psychedelic treatment in clinical trials (July, review)
- Psychedelics in developmental stuttering to modulate brain functioning: a new therapeutic perspective? (June, review)
- Protective Behavioral Strategies for Psychedelic Use: A Mini Review of the Evidence (July, review)
- Ethnoracial inclusion in clinical trials of psychedelics: a systematic review (July, review)
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelics on Reducing Rumination: A Mini-Review (July, review)
- Bridging Psilocybin-Induced Changes in the Brain’s Dynamic Functional Connectome With an Individual’s Subjective Experience (July, commentary)
- Applying the EU regulatory framework for the clinical use of psychedelics (July, commentary)
- Ketamine in the effective management of chronic pain, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder for Veterans: A meta-analysis and systematic review (June, review and meta-analysis, “This review provides a preliminary synthesis of available evidence which suggests that ketamine may be a potential option for the treatment of depression, PTSD, and chronic pain in military populations.“)
- Shared effects of electroconvulsive shocks and ketamine on neuroplasticity: A Systematic Review of Animal Models of Depression (July, review)
- Potential differences in psychedelic actions based on biological sex (July, review)
- Brain Networks, Neurotransmitters and Psychedelics: Towards a Neurochemistry of Self-Awareness (July, review)
- Contributions of the compassionate care approach to psychedelic-assisted therapies in hospice and palliative care (July, review/perspective)
- Ketamine and Its Two Enantiomers in Anesthesiology and Psychiatry: A Historical Review and Future Directions (July, review)
- Esketamine in depression: putative biomarkers from clinical research (July, review)
- Another ketamine analogue on the horizon (July, letter to the editor)
- Current Perspectives on the Clinical Research and Medicalization of Psychedelic Drugs for Addiction Treatments: Safety, Efficacy, Limitations and Challenges (July, review)
- Is the antidepressant effect of ketamine separate from its psychotomimetic effect? A Review of rodent models (July, review of rodent studies)
- Psychedelic experiences and long-term spiritual growth: a systematic review (July, review, “Spiritual growth was often related to mystical experiences, with higher mystical experience ratings associating positively with perceived spiritual growth.“)
- Novel treatments of depression: bridging the gap in current therapeutic approaches (July, review, covers psychedelics)
- Critical review of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: Unanswered questions and future directions (July, review)
Human Studies With Psychedelics (not in database) in 2024
- Cerebrospinal fluid exploratory proteomics and ketamine metabolite pharmacokinetics in human volunteers after ketamine infusion (January, n=9, 35/70kg iv ketamine, “Proteins in the classes of tyrosine kinases, cellular adhesion molecules, and growth factors, including insulin, were most affected, suggesting an interplay of altered neurotransmission, neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and neural network functions following ketamine administration.“)
- Case series of intravenous ketamine infusion in patients with suicidal thought (January, n=5, repeated doses 35/70kg, “The finding indicates that ketamine infusion had a rapid, antisuicidal effect and is safe when used for a short period.“)
- Exploring Predictors of Ketamine Response in Adolescent Treatment-Resistant Depression (January, n=19, re-analysis, ketamine for adolescents, “Subjects who had fewer medication trials of both antidepressant medications and augmentation treatments were more likely to experience depression symptom improvement with ketamine.“)
- Ketamine cystitis following ketamine therapy for treatment-resistant depression – case report (January, n=1, case study, “To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of KIC in a patient receiving treatment-dose ketamine as part of their antidepressant therapy.“)
- Ketamine for postoperative avoidance of depressive symptoms: the K-PASS feasibility randomised trial (January, n=32, “This single-centre, triple-blind, placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial included adult patients with depression scheduled for inpatient surgery … Between baseline and post-infusion day 4 (pre-specified time point of interest), median depressive symptoms decreased in both groups, with difference-in-differences of -1.00 point.”)
- Esketamine Augmentation in Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Retrospective Chart Review (January, n=8, (es)ketamine for OCD)
- Long-term quality of life after repeated ketamine infusions in anxious and nonanxious patients with depression (January, n=107, open-label, ketamine for depression, “The improvement in depression symptoms and QoL following ketamine treatment was not impacted by the presence or absence of anxiety in patients who were depressed prior to treatment.“)
- Clinical Outcomes of Intravenous Ketamine Treatment for Depression in the VA Health System (January, n=215, retrospective, ketamine for depression, “While only a minority of patients treated with IV ketamine for depression experienced response or remission, symptom improvements achieved within the first 6 weeks were sustained over at least 6 months with decreasing infusion frequency.“)
- Esketamine pretreatment during cesarean section reduced the incidence of postpartum depression: a randomized controlled trial (January, n=319, esketamine for PPD, “Intraoperative injection of esketamine (0.2 mg/kg) prevented the occurrence of depression (EPDS score > 9) at 4 days after delivery but not 42 days.“)
- Treating Treatment-resistant Depression with Esketamine Nasal Spray When All Therapeutic Options Have Been Exhausted: Clinical Experience from a Spanish Cohort of Expanded Use (January, n=16, observational, “Esketamine showed a rapid, robust effect in improving depressive symptoms, with no specific correlation between outcome and any demographic or clinical traits evaluated.“)
- EEG-vigilance regulation is associated with and predicts ketamine response in major depressive disorder (January, n=24, “treatment responders showed a distinct EEG pattern characterized by a decrease in high-vigilance stage A1 and an increase in low-vigilance B2/3, regardless of whether placebo or ketamine had been given“)
- Ketamine in multiple treatment-resistant depressed inpatients: A naturalistic cohort study (January, n=77, observational, “Depression severity and suicidality decreased in the acute treatment phase and these changes persisted during the maintenance therapy phase. A total of 28.9 % of the patients met the criteria for response, and 15 % met the criteria for remission.“)
- Esketamine-induced post-traumatic stress disorder flashbacks during treatment-resistant depression indication: is it just a side effect? (January, n=22, pre-print, retrospective analysis, “Our results suggest that the occurrence of esketamine-induced traumatic flashbacks does not hinder clinical response. On the contrary, when managed appropriately and combined with targeted psychotherapy, it could even contribute to positive outcomes.“)
- Ketamine for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder: Double-blind active-controlled crossover study (January, n=25, “Overall, 14/25 patients (56%) were responders (⩾50% reduction at 24 h compared with baseline) for either ketamine dose for the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and 18/25 (72%) were responders for the HADS-anxiety scale. After fentanyl, only 1/25 (HADS-depression) and 3/25 (HADS-anxiety) were responders.“)
- Treatment resistant patients with baseline suicidal ideation required more treatments to achieve therapeutic response with ketamine/esketamine (January, n=52, “This study suggests that patients with baseline suicidal ideation require more treatments to achieve a response with ketamine or esketamine. The antisuicidal response seemed similar between IV ketamine and IN esketamine.“)
- Ketamine in the treatment of refractory and super-refractory status epilepticus: Experience from two centres (January, n=58, ketamine for seizures, “Ketamine is an effective drug with few adverse effects. Prompt administration should be considered in patients with RSE requiring anaesthesia, in patients with SRSE, and in patients with RSE who do not respond to standard antiseizure drugs and in whom mechanical ventilation is not advised.“)
- Music as an Intervention to Improve the Hemodynamic Response of Ketamine in Depression (February, n=32, brief report on music during ketamine for depression, “The MUSIK trial found that music significantly decreased ketamine-induced systolic BP changes. Music may thus represent a feasible, benign, nonpharmacological approach to improving the hemodynamic response of subanesthetic ketamine infusions for TRD.“)
- Listening to music during intranasal (es)ketamine therapy in patients with treatment-resistant depression correlates with better tolerability and reduced anxiety (February, n=37, similar (but different participants) study on music during (es)ketamine, “istening to music during intranasal (es)ketamine therapy appears to be linked to reduced anxiety and lower blood pressure, stable or increased dissociation levels, and improved tolerance for higher doses.“)
- Cortical thickness of the posterior cingulate cortex is associated with the ketamine-induced altered sense of self: An ultra-high field MRI study (February, n=35, ketamine healthy volunteers fMRI study, “We observed a negative correlation between the PCC cortical thickness and the disembodiment scores (R = -0.54, p < 0.001). In contrast, no significant association was found between the pgACC cortical thickness and the ketamine-induced altered sense of self.“)
- Cognitive outcomes from the randomised, active-controlled Ketamine for Adult Depression Study (KADS) (February, n=86 (across two cohorts), “Results showed that in Cohort 1, there were no differences between ketamine and midazolam in cognitive outcomes. For Cohort 2, there was similarly no difference between conditions for cognitive outcomes.“)
- Hippocampal volume changes after (R,S)-ketamine administration in patients with major depressive disorder and healthy volunteers (February, n=44 + 47, ketamine, reanalysis, “At 10 days post-infusion, a slight increase was observed between ketamine and placebo scans in whole left amygdalar volume in individuals with TRD.“)
- Neurophysiological evidence that frontoparietal connectivity and GABA-A receptor changes underpin the antidepressant response to ketamine (February, n=30, ketamine for MDD, “We found a significant increase in parietal-to-frontal AMPA-mediated connectivity and a significant decrease in the frontal GABA time constant. Both parameter changes were correlated across participants with the antidepressant response to ketamine. Changes to the NMDA receptor time constant and inhibitory intraneuronal input into superficial pyramidal cells did not survive correction for multiple comparisons and were not correlated with the antidepressant response.”)
- Repeated dosing with oral racemic ketamine as a successful rescue intervention for coping with life events in recurrent major depressive disorder (February, case report, n=1, ketamine for MDD)
- Case report: Adult with bipolar disorder and autism treated with ketamine assisted psychotherapy (February, case report, n=1, ketamine for bipolar and autism)
- Anhedonia and depression severity measures during ketamine administration in treatment-resistant depression (February, n=28, post-hoc analysis of ketamine study, open-label, “Results show that responders significantly improve in anhedonia over time (p=0.0084) and at the 7th infusion and follow-up (both p<0.05). Non-responders reported significant reduction in anhedonia over time (p=0.0011) and at the 5th, 7th infusion and at the follow-up (all p’s<0.05).“)
- Ketamine for depressive symptoms: A retrospective chart review of a private ketamine clinic (February, n=154, retrospective, real-world, ketamine for depression)
- Psilocybin and the Development of Serotonin Toxicity (February, n=1, serotonin syndrome after psilocybin in combination with SSRIs)
- Patient-reported outcomes on sleep quality and circadian rhythm during treatment with intravenous ketamine for treatment-resistant depression (March, n=40/29 (follow-up), ketamine for TRD, open-label “IV ketamine may improve sleep quality and advance circadian rhythm in individuals with TRD. Effects may differ in individuals with mixed features of depression as compared to those without.“)
- Perioperative Adjunctive Esketamine for Postpartum Depression Among Women Undergoing Elective Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Clinical Trial (March, n=298, RCT, esketamine for PPD, “The prevalence of depression symptoms was significantly lower among patients given esketamine compared with controls (23.0% [34 of 148] vs 35.3% [53 of 150]; odds ratio, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.33-0.91; P = .02) on postpartum day 7.“)
- Efficacy and safety of ketamine for pediatric and adolescent super-refractory status epilepticus and the effect of cerebral inflammatory conditions (March, ketamine for epilepsy, “Ketamine administration was associated with fewer serious adverse events and a reduced seizure frequency. Additionally, inflammatory conditions may weaken the efficacy of ketamine in patients with SRSE.‘)
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met and CYP2B6 polymorphisms as predictors for ketamine effectiveness in patients with treatment-resistant depression (March, n=85, genetic differences x ketamine efficacy, “ Val66Met and CYP2B6 did not significantly predict changes in symptoms of depression, suicide, anxiety, or average dissociation.“)
- Synergistic use of deep TMS therapy with IV ketamine infusions for major depressive disorder: a pilot study (March, n=235, TMS or TMS + ketamine, “In both treatment groups, depressive symptoms were significantly reduced from pre-to-post and there were no significant differences in response between the TMS + ketamine condition and the TMS-only condition.“)
- Depressed and Nowhere to go for help: Using Telepsychiatry and Intramuscular Ketamine to Treat a Suicidal Patient with Huntington’s Disease in the General Hospital (March, n=1, case study, “Here we present a case of a patient with Huntington’s disease, depression, and active suicidal thinking where intramuscular ketamine was used and psychiatric care was delivered virtually to a medical unit.“)
- Predicting non-response to ketamine for depression: An exploratory symptom-level analysis of real-world data among military veterans (March, n=120, ketamine for depression, “[W]e could identify 22 % of patients who would not respond based purely on their baseline symptoms. This approach could inform rational treatment recommendations to avoid additional treatment failures.“)
- Single arketamine in treatment resistant depression: Presentation of 3 cases with regard to sick-leave duration (March, n=3, case series, “Case analyses revealed significant symptom reduction and improved social and vocational functioning, with reduced sick leaves and hospitalizations post-treatment. However, one case developed a substance use disorder, underscoring the need for vigilant monitoring.“)
- Effectiveness of psilocybin on depression: a qualitative study (March, n=10, qualitative interview study)
- High-order brain interactions in ketamine during rest and task: A double-blinded cross-over design using portable EEG (March, n=30, pre-print, ketamine neuroimaging study, “Ketamine appears to increase redundancy and genuine HOI across metrics, suggesting these effects correlate with consciousness alterations towards dissociation.“)
- Exploring the Efficacy of Ketamine as an Anesthetic and Antidepressant in Postpartum Depression: A Case Study Analysis (February, n=1, case study, “We present a case of a woman with a history of depression who delivered four children by cesarean section with debilitating postpartum depression in two births and no symptoms of depression in the births where she received ketamine during delivery.“)
- Effects of esketamine nasal spray on depressive symptom severity in adults with treatment-resistant depression and associations between the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (April, tbd)
- Acute Dissociation and Ketamine’s Antidepressant and Anti-Suicidal Ideation Effects in a Midazolam-controlled Trial (April, n=40, “We did not find evidence that ketamine’s acute, transient dissociative or psychotomimetic effects are associated with its antidepressant or anti-suicidal ideation actions.“)
- Ketamine Infusion in a Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patient in Bangladesh with Severe Suicidal Ideation: A Case Report (April, n=1, case study, “ The improvement was sustained until discharge (one week after the last infusion) and subsequent follow-up in the sixth and 12th weeks.”)
- From Psychedelic Exploration to Psychosis: A Unique Case Report Demonstrating the Susceptibility to Schizophrenia Unveiled by a Single LSD Experience (April, n=1, case study, poster presentation)
- A First Trimester Exposure to Ketamine and Esketamine for Depression: A Case Report (April, n=1, case report)
- Ketamine can produce oscillatory dynamics by engaging mechanisms dependent on the kinetics of NMDA receptors (April, n=1, case study (EEG), high (anaesthetic dose of ketamine), “We have discovered how impaired NMDA-receptor kinetics can cause disinhibition in neuronal circuits and how a disinhibited interaction between NMDA-receptor-mediated excitation and GABA-receptor-mediated inhibition can produce gamma oscillations at high and low doses, and slow-delta oscillations at high doses.“)
- Psychotic Symptoms Following Ayahuasca Use in a Ceremonial Setting (n=1, case study, “We present a case of persistent psychotic symptoms following ayahuasca use in a patient with no history of psychiatric disorders.“)
- Efficacy of Esketamine among patients with treatment resistant depression in a ‘real world’ health-care setting in Israel (April, n=94, real-world study of esketamine for depression (MDD), “Linear improvement of depressive symptoms was revealed in both phases. A sub-analysis of patients with comorbid personality disorder revealed a similar improvement pattern in the acute phase with milder improvement during the maintenance phase, compared to the other patients.“)
- Cerebrospinal fluid metabolomes of treatment-resistant depression subtypes and ketamine response: a pilot study (April, n=29, retrospective analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), “This small pilot study suggests that complex treatment-resistant depression can be mapped onto a 2-dimensional pathophysiological domain.”)
- Long-term follow-up of participants in ketamine clinical trials for mood disorders (April, n=203, follow-up study, “Participants who received ketamine in an NIMH clinical trial were more likely to receive ketamine/esketamine post-discharge, but none reported symptoms indicating abuse.“)
- Long-term benefits to psychological health and well-being after ceremonial use of Ayahuasca in Middle Eastern and North African immigrants and refugees (April, n=15, longitudinal survey study, “Our findings revealed ceremonial use of ayahuasca is associated with significant improvements in mental health, well-being, and psychological functioning, including reductions in depression, anxiety, and shame, and increases in cognitive reappraisal and self-compassion. Most participants reported no lasting adverse effects and experienced notable positive behavioral changes persisting months after ingestion.“)
- Feasibility and effectiveness study of applying a hallucinogen harm reduction and integration model to a mindfulness thinking intervention using virtual reality: A randomized controlled trial (April, n=76, RCT of VR with harm reduction education, “ The VR positive thinking program developed based on PHRI can significantly increase the positive thinking state and emotional arousal and activation of the general population participants but does not directly lead to the growth of positive emotions.“)
- A retrospective analysis of iv ketamine outcome on hospitalizations in an unselected psychiatric sample (April, n=46, shows the effectiveness of ketamine (short-term) but no impact on hospitalizations (long-term))
- Palliative care patients’ attitudes and openness towards psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for existential distress (May, n=32, “This pilot study provides insights into the attitudes and concerns toward PAT among patients with incurable illnesses. Over half of participants expressed interest. However, concerns regarding its use were identified, with patients’ concern for the risk of exploitation associated with PAT as an especially novel concern documented in this patient population.”)
- Is Use of Psychedelic Drugs a Risk or Protective Factor for Late-Life Cognitive Decline? (May, analysis of survey data, n=2500, “After controlling for covariates, the finding revealed that psychedelic usage was independently associated with more favorable changes in executive function (β=.102, SE=0.047, p=.031) and less depressive symptoms (β=−.090, SE=0.021, p<.001). The same effect was not found for episodic memory (β=.039, SE=0.066, p=.553).“)
- Subcutaneous ketamine reduces suicide risk and improves functioning in depression: A proof-of-concept study (May, n=26, “A clear dose-response relationship was established, indicating that higher doses of ketamine were associated with more significant improvements in depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and overall functionality. Follow-up assessments suggested that these improvements were sustained over time.“)
- Rapid and sustained antidepressant effects of intravenous ketamine in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation: a randomized clinical trial (May, n=64, ketamine (35mg/70kg), finds immediate effect)
- The Complexities of Kratom: Insights on an Increasingly Frequent Clinical Encounter (May, n=1, case report, “Notably, our case highlights kratom’s contributions to a medically complex presentation and potential kratom-drug interactions due to its posited inhibitory effect on cytochrome P450 enzymes and Pglycoprotein.”)
- Very Low-Dose Sublingual Ketamine for Borderline Personality Disorder and Treatment-Resistant Depression (May, n=1, case report, “We present a case report of a woman with BPD and TRD who responded to treatment with very low-dose sublingual ketamine.“)
- Treatment of catatonia using ketamine in a patient with physical comorbidities (May, n=1, case report, “This case report describes the successful use of intravenous ketamine in a bipolar catatonic patient with narrowed treatment options due to several medical comorbidities.“)
- Treatment Patterns, Acute Healthcare Resource Use, and Costs of Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression Completing Induction Phase of Esketamine in the United States (May, n=322, real-world esketamine (Spravato) use, “Patients generally required more time than label recommendation to complete esketamine induction treatment, and most went on to have 12 or more esketamine sessions. Completion of induction treatment correlated with reductions in mean all-cause and MH-related acute healthcare costs. Larger reductions were seen in the subgroup of prior acute healthcare users.“)
- Psychedelics Use and the Risk of Reduced Formal Mental Health Care (May, pre-print, using data from NSDUH, “Overall, the results suggest psychedelic users are less likely to use formal mental health care, even when they are particularly distress, indicating a heightened societal risk of self-medication as these drugs become more widely available.“)
- Stutterers’ Experiences on Classic Psychedelics: A Preliminary Self-Report Study (May, analysis of Reddit posts, n=114, effects of psychedelics on stuttering, “Descriptive statistics revealed that the majority of users (74.0%) reported positive overall short-term effects particularly related to behavioral and emotional change (e.g., reduced stuttering and anxiety), but negative (9.6%), mixed (positive and negative; 4.8%), and neutral overall experiences (11.6%) were also reported. The results support the possibility that psychedelics my impact stuttering, but caution must be applied in their interpretation given the entirely uncontrolled research setting and potential adverse health effects of psychedelics as reported elsewhere.“)
- Comparison of Effects of Propofol Combined with Different Doses of Esketamine for ECT in the Treatment of Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol (May, RCT, n=111, “This study aimed to compare the effects of propofol combined with different doses of esketamine for ECT. The results may provide a better choice for ECT anesthesia.“)
- Oral ketamine effects on dynamics of functional network connectivity in patients treated for chronic suicidality (May, n=39, “These findings suggested that ketamine enhanced brain changes among different synchronisation patterns and enabled high synchronisation patterns in the long term, providing a possible biological pathway for its suicide-prevention effects. Moreover, differences in cognitive control states at baseline may be used for precise ketamine treatment planning.“)
- A retrospective study of the characteristics and toxicology of cases of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)- and psilocybin-related death in Australia (May, safety, n=43, “Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)- and psilocybin-related death in Australia from 2000 to 2023 was primarily due to traumatic injury, whether through accident or self-harm. Cases of acute toxic reactions that were attributed solely to LSD were rare.“)
- A thematic analysis of MDMA-related harm and harm reduction experiences and knowledge in Aotearoa New Zealand (May, n=60, interview study, “We discuss the implications for MDMA consumers and aim to inform national drug policy and the harm reduction practices of consumers and organisations, for the ultimate purpose of reducing MDMA-related harm in Aotearoa New Zealand.“)
- Efficacy of addition of the anti-inflammatory, IV glutathione to standard ketamine IV therapy in major depressive disorder (May, RCT, n=30, “here were significant drops in BDI-II scores from day 1 to day 14, PHQ- scores from day 1 to day 14 and PHQ-9 scores day 14 to day 28, suggesting the overall treatment was effective. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups over time. However, a sustained improvement in depressive symptoms was observed for 14 days post-infusion in both groups.“)
- Recurrent Serotonin Syndrome After Ketamine-assisted Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature (May, case report, n=1, “We describe the case of a 72-year-old woman who developed recurrent [serotonin syndrome] on 2 occasions in similar circumstances involving the administration of ketamine for ECT.”)
- Increasing the bioavailability of oral esketamine by a single dose of cobicistat: A case study (May, case report, n=1, “Our findings demonstrate that cobicistat effectively increases the bioavailability of oral esketamine.“)
- From Wheelchair Bound to Working: A Case Study of Intravenous Ketamine Infusions in Treating Stiff Person Syndrome (May, case report, n=1, “This case illustrates the potential benefits of IV ketamine treatment for patients with treatment-resistant SPS and similar neurologic and autoimmune disorders.“)
- Results of esketamine administration in a Greek population; a case series (May, case series, n=5, “Patients followed an individualized treatment plan for seven to twelve months depending on the achievement of an adequate response. Statistical analysis of the results revealed a significant improvement (p<0.05) on all scales used. All participants maintained their level of improvement at follow-up after twelve months.”)
- Efficacy of a single low dose of esketamine after childbirth for mothers with symptoms of prenatal depression: randomised clinical trial (May, RCT, n=364, “For mothers with prenatal depression, a single low dose of esketamine after childbirth decreases major depressive episodes at 42 days post partum by about three quarters.“)
- Long-COVID symptoms improved after MDMA and psilocybin therapy: A case report (May, case study, n=1, “We present a case of a 41-year-old fully vaccinated female with Long-COVID syndrome who obtained significant symptomatic relief by self-prescribing psilocybin and MDMA.“)
- At-home, telehealth-supported ketamine treatment for depression: Findings from longitudinal, machine learning and symptom network analysis of real-world data (May, n=11.411 data from patients analysed, “At-home, telehealth-supported ketamine administration was largely safe, well-tolerated, and associated with improvement in patients with depression. Strategies for combining psychedelic-oriented therapies with rigorous telehealth models, as explored here, may uniquely address barriers to mental health treatment.“)
- Navigating Treatment Challenges: A Case Study on Refractory Psychosis in a Chronic MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) User (May, n=1, case study, “We describe a case of a 23-year-old woman with chronic MDMA use disorder and childhood trauma, who presented with severe psychosis and catatonic features. While initial diagnostic possibilities included drug-induced psychosis and mood disorders, the patient’s history and presentation supported a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder with psychotic features, which was exacerbated by MDMA use.“)
- Subanaesthetic ketamine suppresses locus coeruleus mediated alertness effects – a 7T fMRI study (June, n=35, “The results shed new light on the neural correlates of ketamine beyond the glutamatergic system and underpin a new concept of how it may unfold its antidepressant effects.“)
- A Case of Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy After Ketamine Infusion (May, case report, n=1, “She received a ketamine infusion as a mental health treatment shortly before the development of symptoms, suggesting that this medication may have precipitated her cardiomyopathy.“)
- Effects of ketamine on the severity of depression and anxiety following postoperative mechanical ventilation: a single-blind randomized clinical trial in Iran (May, RCT, n=50, ketamine after operation, “The mean scores of depression at 2 months (P=0.01) and 6 months (P=0.03) after discharge were significantly lower in the ketamine group than in the midazolam and morphine group. The mean anxiety scores were significantly lower in the ketamine group 2 weeks (P=0.006) and 6 months (P=0.002) after discharge.“)
- Ketamine Induced Acute Systolic Heart Failure (April, case study, n=1, “Ketamine use disorder can lead to severe cardiovascular complications, including acute systolic heart failure, likely due to its direct negative inotropic effects and dose-dependent impact on cardiac function.Clinicians should consider screening for ketamine use disorder in young adults presenting with acute systolic heart failure, especially when other common aetiologies have been ruled out.“)
- Improvement in depressive symptoms in a patient with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa and comorbid major depressive disorder using psychotherapy-assisted IV ketamine : a case report (June, n=1, case report, “Our case is unique in that it demonstrates the successful usage of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in a hospital setting with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa and comorbid major depressive disorder.“)
- Ketamine Therapy in Complex Cases: A Cautionary Tale of Exacerbated Personality Traits and the Crucial Role of Comprehensive Follow-Up and Psychosocial Interventions (June, n=1, case report, “This case underscores the importance of cautious administration of ketamine, especially in patients with personality disorders, and calls for deeper understanding and individualized treatment plans in mental health care.“)
- Hypertensive Emergency Secondary to Combining Psilocybin Mushrooms, Extended Release Dextroamphetamine-Amphetamine, and Tranylcypromine (June, n=1, case report, “ We suspect phenylethylamine, found in Psilocybe cubensis and other species of psilocybin mushrooms, interacted with tranylcypromine and dextroamphetamine-amphetamine to produce this hypertensive emergency.”)
- Ketamine reduces the neural distinction between self- and other-produced affective touch: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study (June, n=30, RCT, ketamine, “These results demonstrate that disrupting the self-experience through ketamine administration affects neural activity associated with self-other-differentiation in a region involved in touch perception and social cognition, especially with regard to social touch by someone else. This process may be driven by ketamine-induced effects on top-down signaling, rendering the processing of predictable self-generated and unpredictable other-generated touch more similar.“)
- Psilocybin: Medicine for My Soul. Relief from Emotional and Spiritual Pain as a Hospice Nurse Diagnosed with Cancer (June, n=1, case study)
- Rapid and long-lasting effects of subcutaneous esketamine on suicidality: An open-label study in patients with treatment-resistant depression (June, n=18, esketamine for SI, open-label, “Moreover, notably, 61% of patients achieved remission on suicidality (MADRS). These results suggest that weekly subcutaneous esketamine injections offer a cost-effective approach that induces a rapid and sustained response to anti-suicide treatment.“)
- Modulation of habenular and nucleus accumbens functional connectivity by ketamine in major depression (June, n=58, open-label, “Subanesthetic ketamine modulates functional pathways linking the Hb and NAc with visual, parietal, and cerebellar regions in MDD. Overlapping effects between Hb and NAc functional systems were associated with ketamine’s therapeutic response.“)
- Can Past Psychedelic Use Mitigate the Severity of Opioid Use Disorder?: Case Report of a Musician (June, n=1, case report, “We present a case of an award winning musician with an extensive history of hallucinogen use during his early life and how this impacted his overall wellbeing and opioid experience.“)
- Blood pressure changes during ketamine infusion for the treatment of depression (July, n=138, retrospective chart study, “Ketamine infusions can cause significant blood pressure increases, particularly in older and hypertensive patients, highlighting the need for careful cardiovascular monitoring to mitigate risks during treatment.“)
- Intravenous Ketamine for Cancer Pain: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis Comparing Fixed-Rate Versus Weight-Based Dosing (July, n=105, retrospective review, “Responders had lower fixed-rate ketamine doses compared to non-responders (median[IQR] 15 mg/hr[10-15] vs. 15 mg/hr[15-20], p = 0.043), but no difference in retrospectively calculated weight-based doses (0.201 ± 0.09 mg/kg/hr vs. 0.209 ± 0.08 mg/kg/hr, p = 0.59). Responders had higher daily opioid requirements at baseline compared to non-responders (p = 0.04). Though underpowered, our findings suggest that weight-based ketamine dosing may not convey additional benefit over fixed-rate dosing.“)
- Understanding profiles of patients with treatment-resistant depression by stringency of health plan prior authorization criteria for approval of esketamine nasal spray (July, n=168, retrospective real-world data analysis, “Regardless of health plan stringency, on average, patients exceeded US label-mandated number of antidepressant trials before esketamine initiation, which questions the need for health insurance plans PA criteria above label.“)
- Treatment-emergent symptoms during short-term ketamine administration in treatment-resistant bipolar depression: A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study (July, n=22, retrospective, “Treatment-emergent symptoms TES were defined as symptoms absent at baseline but present at the conclusion of the study. The most common TES included decreased appetite, increased weight, hypersomnia, and diurnal mood variation. Conversely, feelings of sadness, altered perceptions of the future, decreased interest in sex, and physical discomfort were absent in all patients. Notably, 13.6 % of patients reported thoughts of death or suicide.“)
- A randomized controlled pilot study of daily intravenous ketamine over three days for treatment-resistant depression (July, =20, RCT, “Intravenous ketamine given for three consecutive days did not show a notable antidepressant advantage when compared to the active placebo midazolam, highlighting the need for further research into effective treatments schedules for treatment-resistant depression.“)
- Tratamiento con microdosis de hongos con psilocibina en trastorno depresivo mayor: reporte de un caso (July, Spanish, n=1, case report, “The intervention resulted in complete symptomatic remission, suspension of conventional pharmacological treatment, with no discontinuation symptoms, and improvements in communication, social interaction, and general well-being.“)
- The psychedelic mind: Current user perceptions of psychedelic drugs and their use (July, n=19, interview study, “Four themes were produced: (1) a negative historical influence on current perceptions of psychedelics; (2) knowledge is key but not everyone has it; (3) prohibition is not working, policy needs to change; (4) psychedelics have therapeutic potential. These themes emphasise key features of people with experience of psychedelic drugs’ current views and highlight potential areas for future investigation and intervention.“)
- Effects of Low-Dose Ketamine Infusion on the Positive and Negative Domains of Hopelessness and Suicidal Thoughts (July, n=84, RCT, “A single infusion of low-dose ketamine resulted in a brief (∼4 hours) yet significant reduction in hopelessness. Subjective antisuicidal effects of ketamine were noted on Day 2 postinfusion. Further studies are needed to elucidate the neuromechanisms underlying the antihopelessness and antisuicidal effects of ketamine.“)
Other Studies on Psychedelics in 2024
- ‘Everybody’s creating it along the way’: ethical tensions among globalized ayahuasca shamanisms and therapeutic integration practices (January, ethnographic study, “Practitioners and ayahuasca centers are left with navigating globalized concepts of mental health and ethics while attempting to remain authentic to local ontologies of healing, care, and safety.“)
- [Feeling unwell after eating a piece of chocolate] (January, Dutch, n=1, case report, psilocybin/psilocin chocolate ingestion)
- Criticality supports cross-frequency cortical-thalamic information transfer during conscious states (January, neuroscience of consciousness, covers psychedelics)
- A fatal case of aspiration due to consumption of the hallucinogenic tryptamine derivative dipropyltryptamine (DPT) (January, n=1, case report, “Autopsy revealed a state after deep aspiration of gastric contents with consecutive brain edema due to oxygen deprivation. Dipropyltryptamine [DPT] concentrations were approximately 210 ng/ml, 110 ng/ml and 180 ng/ml in antemortem serum, postmortem cardiac blood and urine, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first reported concentrations of dipropyltryptamine in a fatal case.“
- Differed spontaneous dissociative symptoms following the use of esketamine intranasal spray in a patient suffering from treatment-resistant depression: a case report (January, n=1, case report, “Our main hypothesis suggests that esketamine may act as a ‘pattern’ for dissociative experiences, heightening the patient’s ability to discern these phenomena during other instances of dissociation, such as acute anxiety attacks.“)
- New-Onset Seizures in an Adolescent Following Use of LSD while on Low-Dose Lithium Therapy: A Case Study (January, n=1, adolescent LSD use, “Although the definitive causal link cannot be established, this case report suggests an increased seizure risk with combination of LSD and lithium…”)
- Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Severe Alcohol Use Disorder: Protocol for a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, 7-month ParallelGroup Phase II Superiority Trial (January, study protocol)
- Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, Safety and Tolerability, and Therapeutic Potential of an Innovative Psychedelic AyahuascaAnalogue containing N,N-Dimethyltryptamine and Harmine (January, thesis)
- Attitudes and knowledge on psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (January, thesis)
- Clinician Education: Optimizing Music Choices for Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (January, thesis)
- On the advances in machine learning and complex network measures to an EEGdataset from DMT experiments (January, machine learning x EEG data from DMT experiments)
- Trends in hallucinogen-associated emergency department visits and hospitalizations in California, USA, from 2016 to 2022 (January, “Observed hallucinogen-associated ED visits increased by 54% between 2016 and 2022, from 2260 visits to 3476 visits, compared with a 20% decrease in alcohol-associated ED visits and a 15% increase in cannabis-associated ED visits.“)
- Longitudinal associations between psychedelic use and psychotic symptoms in the United States and United Kingdom (January, n=9732, longitudinal survey, “psychedelic use during the study period was not associated with a change in number of psychotic symptoms unless it interacted with a personal or family history of bipolar disorder, in which case the number of symptoms increased, or with a personal (but not family) history of psychotic disorders, in which case the number of symptoms decreased.”)
- Perceived Risk of Trying Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in the United States from 2015 to 2019: Are Americans Assessing Lysergic Acid Diethylamide’s Risk Profile More Favorably? (January, survey data, “Overall, Americans appear to be assessing LSD’s risk profile more favorably in recent years, though most Americans still perceive great risk in trying LSD.“)
- Minorities’ diminished psychedelic returns: Cardio-metabolic health (January, survey data, “Results demonstrate that Lifetime Psychedelic Use is associated with better cardio-metabolic health. However, regression models by race find that there is no association between LCPU and cardio metabolic health for Black people, while the positive associations remain significant for white people. Overall, results lend support for the MPDR theory.“)
- Social acceptability of psilocybin-assisted therapy for existential distress at the end of life: A population-based survey (January, survey data, “Overall, 79.3% considered psilocybin-assisted therapy a reasonable medical choice for a patient suffering from existential distress at the end of life, 84.8% agreed that the public health system should cover the costs of the intervention and 63.3% would welcome the legalisation of psilocybin for medical purposes.”)
- Validation of the Danish Translation of the Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) and Possible Impact of Setting, Dose and Intention (January, translation of MEQ)
- Assessment of psychedelic–induced states: Norwegian translation and adaptation of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30) (July, translation of MEQ)
- Psychedelic Drugs & The Prior Art Problem (January, psychedelics and patents)
- Factors associated with the use of psychedelics, ketamine and MDMA among sexual and gender minority youths in Canada: a machine learning analysis (January, n=1414, survey, “The use of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine among 2SLGBTQ+ individuals appeared to be largely driven by those who used them together with other drugs. Depression scores also appeared in the top 10 factors associated with these illicit drugs, suggesting that there were individuals who may benefit from the potential therapeutic value of these drugs.“)
- Safety, feasibility, tolerability, and clinical effects of repeated psilocybin dosing combined with non-directive support in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: protocol for a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial with blinded ratings (January, study protocol for Efficacy of Psilocybin in OCD: a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.)
- Psilocybin-assisted therapy for severe alcohol use disorder: protocol for a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 7-month parallel-group phase II superiority trial (January, study protocol for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Severe Alcohol Use Disorder)
- Neural Geometrodynamics, Complexity, and Plasticity: A Psychedelics Perspective (January, “We explore the intersection of neural dynamics and the effects of psychedelics in light of distinct timescales in a framework integrating concepts from dynamics, complexity, and plasticity.”)
- Psychedelic Drug Microdosing Practices: A Qualitative Online Exploration (January, exploration on how people microdose)
- Analyzing the Effects of Psychedelic Experience on Social Connectedness With a New Measure: The Aliveness Task (February, thesis, new psychedelic experience scale)
- Strong Bipartisan Support for Controlled Psilocybin Use as Treatment or Enhancement in a Representative Sample of US Americans: Need for Caution in Public Policy Persists (February, public perception/policy)
- National and regional trends in seizures of shrooms (psilocybin) in the United States, 2017–2022 (February, more shroom-related law enforcement)
- Development of the Japanese version of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI) (February, scale development, EDI in Japan)
- Psychedelic Microdosing among Young Adults from Southern California (February, survey, n=2400, 12% of young adults (18-22) had heard of microdosing, 3% had ever microdosed)
- MDMA-assisted dialectical behavioral therapy for borderline personality disorder: A qualitative study of mental health clinicians (February, n=3, interview study, “An exploratory, qualitative, interview-based study assessed clinicians’ perspectives of MDMA-assisted therapy and BPD and increased our understanding of underlying therapeutic mechanisms and processes and the role of pharmacological factors in these treatment modalities, optimizing treatment context, and leading to improved clinical responses and patient recovery.”)
- PAM trial protocol: a randomised feasibility study of psychedelic microdosing–assisted meaning-centred psychotherapy in advanced stage cancer patients (February, study protocol for A feasibility study of Psychedelic Microdosing-Assisted Meaning Centred Psychotherapy in advanced stage cancer patients (PAM Trial))
- Clarifying and measuring the characteristics of experiences that involve a loss of self or a dissolution of its boundaries (February, n=386, survey on ego dissolution, covers psychedelics)
- Treatment of Hallucinogen-Persisting Perception Disorder: A case report on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation targeting the right temporoparietal junction (February, n=1, case study, “Hereby, we present a case of a 29-year-old male diagnosed with type-2 HPPD successfully treated with TMS.“)
- Exploring inner depths: a qualitative investigation of patients’ lived experiences with psychedelic treatments of depression (February, thesis)
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for smoking cessation (February, related for psychedelics, rTMS for smoking cessation)
- Exploring the discourses around microdosing psychedelics within the r/microdosing online community (February, review of microdosing community on Reddit, finds ‘how to’ topics popular)
- Flicker light stimulation enhances the emotional response to music: a comparison study to the effects of psychedelics (February, flicker light stimulation (FLS) as comparison with psychedelics with regards to music enjoyment)
- The origin of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM, STP) (February, history)
- Psilocybin Exposures Reported to US Poison Centers: National Trends Over a Decade (February, psilocybin use in the US)
- The Mystical Experience Questionnaire 4-Item and Challenging Experience Questionnaire 7-Item (February, development of shorter versions of the MEQ and CEQ to respectively 4 and 7 questions)
- Psychedelics in PERIL: The Commercial Determinants of Health, Financial Entanglements and Population Health Ethics (March, analysis of hypothetical scenario in structured framework, “Our analysis suggests financial relationships with the corporate psychedelic sector may create varying degrees of risk to a research program’s purpose, autonomy and integrity. We argue that the commercial determinants of health provide a useful framework for understanding the ethics of industry-healthcare entanglements and can provide an important population health ethics lens to examine nascent industries such as psychedelics, and work toward potential solutions.“)
- Study Protocol for “Psilocybin in patients with fibromyalgia: Brain biomarkers of action” (March, study protocol)
- Diminished psychedelic returns on distress: Marital status and household size (March, analysis of the NSDUH dataset, “Results indicate that LCPU is independently associated with better health, but the association between LCPU and health varies across levels of household size. Larger households are associated with higher levels of distress, which are then exacerbated among psychedelics users. Furthermore, three-way interactions reveal that the negative association between household size and distress gets larger among psychedelic users who are married, divorced, and widowed.“)
- Psychedelic substitution: altered substance use patterns following psychedelic use in a global survey (March, n=5,268 survey, “Nearly three-quarters (70.9%; n = 3,737/5,268) reported ceasing or decreasing use of one or more non-psychedelic substances after naturalistic psychedelic use. Among those with previous use, 60.6% (n = 2,634/4,344) decreased alcohol use, 55.7% (n = 1,223/2,197) decreased antidepressant use, and 54.2% (n = 767/1,415) decreased use of cocaine/crack. Over a quarter of the sample indicated that their decrease in substance use persisted for 26 weeks or more following use of a psychedelic.“)
- Perception of hallucinogen use risks and associated hallucinogen use in the United States: results from a large national sample (March, survey data from NSDUH, “Respondents who thought trying LSD once or twice may bring moderate to great risks to human health were less likely to use LSD and other types of hallucinogens. Respondents who thought using LSD once or twice per week may bring moderate to great risks to human health also were less likely to use LSD and other types of hallucinogens.”)
- UK medical students’ self-reported knowledge and harm assessment of psychedelics and their application in clinical research: a cross-sectional study (March, survey, n=132, “Most students (83%) reported that they were aware of psychedelic research and only four participants (3%) said that they were not interested in learning more about this type of research. Although medical students’ harm assessment of psychedelics closely aligned with that of experts, only 17% of students felt well-educated on psychedelic research.“)
- Implementation of a ketamine programme for treatment-resistant depression in the public health system: Lessons from the first Australian public hospital clinic (March, public health outcomes for Australian ketamine in public health system)
- 5-MeO-DMT in the complete resolution of the consequences of chronic, severe sexual abuse in early childhood—a retrospective case study (March, n=1, case study)
- Harm reduction behaviours and harm experiences of people who use 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in Aotearoa New Zealand (March, harm reduction strategies)
- Exploring the discourses around microdosing psychedelics within the r/microdosing online community (March, analysis of online discourse around microdosing)
- Wastewater surveillance to assess cocaine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine use trends during a major music festival in Brazil (March, analysis of drugs (including MDMA) in wastewater)
- Cultural Divergence in Psychedelic Use among Medical Students: An ESPAD-Adapted Survey among Poles and Iraqis (March, survey of students’ psychedelic use)
- Social Determinants Associated with Substance Use and Treatment Seeking in Females of Reproductive Age in the United States (March, analysis of NSDUH data, “Pregnancy status was not associated with substance use or treatment seeking. Past-month substance use was associated with high educational attainment, an annual income <$20,000, a history of criminality, low religiosity, and having health insurance. Past-month treatment-seeking behavior was associated with older age, an annual income >$20,000, a history of criminality, and greater religiosity. Behavioral health support seeking in the past month was associated with some college education. Higher depression severity was associated with all the three models.“)
- Making “Medical”: How Psychedelics Are Becoming Legal in Canada (April, legal history of psychedelic medicalisation in Canada)
- Use of Prescribed and Non-Prescribed Treatments for Cluster Headache in a Swedish Cohort (March, survey, n=479, only 0-8% had tried psychedelics for cluster headaches)
- Ketamine for Bipolar Depression (April, review, thesis)
- The Promise of Therapeutic Psilocybin: An Evaluation of the 134 Clinical Trials, 54 Potential Indications, and 0 Marketing Approvals on ClinicalTrials.gov (April, analysis of trials – noting the lack of Phase 3 trials)
- A taxonomy of regulatory and policy matters relevant to psychedelic-assisted therapy in Australia (April, policy in Australia, “The taxonomy provides a roadmap for health services establishing and implementing a psychedelic-assisted therapy program, or for government and other policymakers when determining areas that may require further regulation.“)
- Trainees Unprepared for Advances in Psychedelic Medicine: A Survey Study (April, survey, n=221, “ There is limited structured education available, and although overall knowledge is low, participation in programming at home institutions did predict greater psychedelic literacy.“)
- Psychotherapy for Ketamine’s Enhanced Durability in Chronic Neuropathic Pain: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (April, study protocol)
- Nurses’ Perceptions of Psychedelics to Address Mental Health Problems in the United States (April, n=1133, survey of nurses, “Nurses and their health care professional counterparts require additional education and new competency development to appropriately and knowledgeably support evidence-based psychedelic use to treat various mental health conditions.”)
- Patients’ Experiences Discussing Psychedelics for Therapeutic Purposes with Physicians and Other Health Care Providers (April, n=791, psychedelic users, “A majority (80%) of the 791 adult psychedelic users (Mage = 37, SD = 1.28; 46% female) endorsed using PTPs. Nearly a third of therapeutic users (30%; n = 190) reported discussing psychedelic use with their physician.”)
- Religion, Psychedelics, Risky Behavior, and Violence (April, analysis of NSDUH data, “Binary logistic regression models conducted in Stata 17 reveal that LCPU and religion (salience and influence) are independently associated with reduced violence. Additionally, two-way interactions indicate that the association between risky behavior and violence is smaller among individuals with high levels of religious salience. Furthermore, a three-way interaction suggests that the association between risky behavior and violence is smaller for those who have used psychedelics, with the largest effect observed among individuals with high religious salience.”)
- The ‘PSILAUT’ protocol: an experimental medicine study of autistic differences in the function of brain serotonin targets of psilocybin (April, study protocol)
- Tripping into the unknown: Exploring the experiences of first-time LSD users through Global Drug Survey insights (April, using GDS 2018 data, “Among 3,340 respondents who used LSD in the past year, their first-time experiences generally exceeded expectations, with 97.7% expressing excitement. Adverse and unwanted side effects were rarely reported and only 17 individuals needed EMT. Feelings of fear were reported by most (64.1%), but only very mildly and not enough to put them off from wanting to use LSD again.“)
- Deconstructing Psychedelic Phenomenology: A thematic analysis of discrete phases of the psychedelic experience (May, analysis of psychedelic experience themes)
- Content analysis of Reddit posts about coadministration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and psilocybin mushrooms (May, analysis of Reddit posts, “8% of posts reported negative physical or psychological effects resulting from coadministration. These included 13 reports that may reflect serotonin toxicity, and 1 concerning for a psychotic/manic episode. 54% of posts described reduced intensity of the acute psilocybin experience, but 39% reported unchanged intensity with SSRI coadministration.“)
- Protocol for a randomised controlled trial of ketamine versus ketamine and behavioural activation therapy for adults with treatment-resistant depression in the community (May, study protocol)
- Use Cases for Ar Use Cases for Art Therapy Intervention in Clinical Psychedelic Praxis (May, thesis)
- Trip Away the Gay? LSD’s Journey from Antihomosexual Psychiatry to Gay Liberationist Toy, 1955–1980 (May, history)
- Expanding mindscapes: A global history of psychedelics (May, history)
- Evolving Guidelines for the Use of Touch During a Clinical Trial of Group Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy (May, guidelines for psychedelic facilitation/clinical trial)
- Measuring psychotherapeutic processes in the context of psychedelic experiences: Validation of the General Change Mechanisms Questionnaire (GCMQ) (May, validation of new questionnaire)
- The psychedelic call: analysis of Australian Poisons Information Centre calls associated with classic psychedelics (May, analysis of poison centre calls in Australia related to psychedelics, sees upwards trend)
- Minorities’ Diminished Psychedelic Returns: Income and Educations Impact on Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians (May, survey, NSDU data, “The results indicate that, after controlling for socioeconomic status, there is no association between Black and Hispanic psychedelic use and distress. However, white psychedelic use remains associated with lower levels of distress. Additionally, despite having higher levels of education and income, psychedelic use among minority groups does not appear to be linked to reduced stress. In fact, for Asians with higher education and income, certain psychedelic use is associated with increased distress.“)
- Ketamine can produce oscillatory dynamics by engaging mechanisms dependent on the kinetics of NMDA receptors (May, computational model, “By developing a biophysical model of cortical circuits, we demonstrate how NMDA-receptor antagonism by ketamine can produce the oscillatory dynamics observed in human EEG recordings and nonhuman primate local field potential recordings. We have identified how impaired NMDA-receptor kinetics can cause disinhibition in neuronal circuits and how a disinhibited interaction between NMDA-receptor-mediated excitation and GABA-receptor-mediated inhibition can produce gamma oscillations at high and low doses, and slow-delta oscillations at high doses.“)
- Effect of MDMA-assisted therapy on mood and anxiety symptoms in advanced-stage cancer (EMMAC): study protocol for a double-blind, randomised controlled trial (May, study protocol)
- Hype or hope? Ketamine for the treatment of depression: results from the application of deep learning to Twitter posts from 2010 to 2023 (May, analysis of Reddit posts, “In summary, the public’s multifaceted perception leans towards a hopeful stance on ketamine’s therapeutic potential for depression.“)
- The association between ketamine and esketamine with alcohol and substance misuse: Reports to the Food and Drug Administration adverse event reporting system (FAERS) (May, safety, “Mixed RORs were observed across aspects of SUD and AUD for both ketamine and esketamine. Due to limitations in the FAERS, establishing causal links between new onset alcohol and substance misuse with either agent remains inconclusive. Possible beneficial effects on measures of SUD and AUD were observed. It is currently unclear, but possible, whether both agents have differential ameliorative effects across dimensions of SUD and AUD, which is a focus of ongoing research.”)
- Widespread reductions in cortical thickness following ketamine abuse (May, safety, case report, “This study provided evidence that, compared with healthy controls, chronic ketamine users have widespread reductions in cortical thickness.“)
- Psilocybin, peyote, mescaline, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) use in a nationally representative population by cancer history (May, NSDUH survey data, “Results suggest differential psychedelic use by cancer history and age.”)
- Tripping into the unknown: Exploring the experiences of first-time LSD users through global drug survey insights (May, GDS survey data, “Among 3340 respondents who used LSD in the past year, their first-time experiences generally exceeded expectations, with 97.7% expressing excitement. Adverse and unwanted side effects were rarely reported, and only 17 individuals needed EMT. Feelings of fear were reported by most (64.1%), but only very mildly and not enough to put them off from wanting to use LSD again.“)
- Community-based psychedelic integration and social efficacy: An ethnographic study in the Southeastern United States (May, ethnographic study, “Overall, the participants in the integration group see the group as critical to their ability to effectively process their psychedelic experiences. The group is important as a supportive community of like-minded people that facilitates enduring cognitive and affective transformation.“)
- Real-world evidence of the collective effects of psychedelic therapy: Evaluating from the grassroots (May, study protocol)
- Psychedelics: A New Form of Treatment for Adolescent Depression (May, legal perspective, review)
- Unveiling Perspectives: A Qualitative Exploration of Mental Health Therapist Views on Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (May, thesis)
- Psychoanalyst attitudes towards psychedelic-assisted therapy (June, attitudes of n=130 psychoanalysts, “The study found that psychoanalysts were cautiously supportive of PAT, open to their clients engaging in PAT, and optimistic about PAT’s potential in treating mental disorders. Additionally, they reported that PAT would be ineffective in treating substance use disorders (SUDs). Lastly, participants who reported a history of psychedelic use were significantly more likely to have greater positive attitudes toward PAT than those who had not.“)
- Endorsement of metaphysical idealism mediates a link between past use of psychedelics and wellbeing (June, survey, n=701, “The results indicate that Idealism specifically, not non-physicalist beliefs generally, mediate a link between the use of psychedelics and wellbeing. Future research is required to establish whether the link is causal, and to understand what the Idealism factor means.“)
- Crafting effective regulatory policies for psychedelics: What can be learned from the case of cannabis? (June, policy, “The lessons of cannabis policy also suggest a need to challenge hyping of psychedelic research findings; to promote rigorous clinical research on dosing and potency; to minimize the influence of for-profit industry in shaping policies to their economic advantage; and to coordinate federal, state, and local governments to regulate the manufacture, sale and distribution of psychedelic drugs (regardless of whether they are legalized for medical and/or recreational use).”)
- Attitudes of European psychiatrists on psychedelics: a qualitative study (June, n=12, qualitative survey, “Our respondents-psychiatrists acknowledged the potential of PAP but remained cautious and did not yet perceive its evidence base as robust enough. Education on psychedelics is lacking in medical and psychiatric training and should be improved to facilitate the involvement of mental health experts in decision-making on PAP.“)
- Validation of the Swiss Psychedelic Side Effects Inventory: Standardized assessment of adverse effects in studies of psychedelics and MDMA (June, pre-print, validation of side effect measure)
- State Cannabis and Psychedelic Legislation and Microdosing Interest in the US (June, regulations, “In this cross-sectional study, an analysis of Google Trends data from January 2010 to December 2023 revealed a notable increase in searches for microdosing across the US.“)
- Pharmacovigilance of esketamine nasal spray: an analysis of the FDA adverse event reporting system database (June, safety of Spravato (esketamine), “A total of 14,606 reports on AEs with ESK-NS as the primary suspected drug were analyzed. A total of 518 preferred terms signals and 25 system organ classes mainly concentrated in psychiatric disorders (33.20%), nervous system disorders (16.67%), general disorders and administration site conditions (14.21%), and others were obtained. Notably, dissociation (n = 1,093, ROR 2,257.80, PRR 899.64, EBGM 876.86) exhibited highest occurrence rates and signal intensity.“)
- Psychedelics and schizoanalysis: Towards a critical philosophy on the production of subjectivity (June, philosophy)
- The way of O: phenomenology of psychedelic use and the path to ultimate reality (June, philosophy, “This paper outlines the neurophenomenology of psychedelic use, the concept of O, and their clinical significance vis-à-vis contemporary psychodynamic thinking.“)
- Considering Alternatives to Psychedelic Drug Prohibition (June, policy analysis from the RAND Corporation)
- Attitudes on Psychedelics in a Sample of Croatian Mental Health Professionals: A Cross-Sectional National Survey Study (June, n=218, survey of mental health professionals in Croatia, “ In conclusion, we can say that mental health professionals are open but also wary of psychedelics. Openness motivates them to learn. For this reason, additional education could have an impact on the attitudes of psychiatrists and psychologists and prepare them for the practical use of psychedelics.“)
- The Global Psychedelic Survey: Consumer characteristics, patterns of use, and access in primarily anglophone regions around the world (June, n=6379, survey, GPS, “In this large sample of adult psychedelic consumers from regions around the world, infrequent psychedelic use centered around life enhancement was common. Respondents indicated preference for legal access via quality-controlled sources. Jurisdictional differences in access and usage patterns likely reflect region-specific regulations and traditional practices.“)
- Attitudes toward psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapy among potential mental health service users and the general population in Australia (June, n=502, survey in Australia, “While a large proportion of Australians are in favor of legalizing psychedelics for medical purposes, concerns about safety remain. People with self-identified mental illness, those with previous recreational psychedelic experience and those with greater knowledge of psychedelics were more likely to have positive attitudes toward psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapy.“)
- Does LSD confer lasting psychological resilience? an investigation of naturalistic users experiencing job loss (June, NSDUH data, “LSD use prior to job loss was associated with a higher likelihood of severe psychological distress following job loss, regardless of whether sociodemographic variables were controlled for or not.“)
- Development of the Japanese version of the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (June, translation of CEQ)
- Developing the Open Psychedelic Evaluation Nexus consensus measures for assessment of supervised psilocybin services: An e-Delphi study (June, n=36, expert evaluation development)
- The association between ketamine and esketamine and suicidality: reports to the Food And Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) (June, (es)ketamine adverse events reporting analysis, “Mixed RORs across aspects of suicidality were observed with ketamine and esketamine. Limitations of the FAERS database prevent any determination of causal effects new onset suicidality to either agent. The lower RORs for suicide attempt with ketamine and esketamine is noted but cannot be interpreted as a direct therapeutic effect.“)
- Therapeutic Implications of Psilocybin in the Wake of Decriminalization (June, perspective on economic impact of decriminalization)
- Who believes psychedelic-assisted therapies work? Risky cannabis use and other factors are associated with positive treatment-outcome expectancies (June, pre-print, survey, n=732, “Consistent with our hypothesis, riskier cannabis use was significantly associated with more positive expectancies. However, neither riskier drinking nor other drug use were significant predictors. Prior engagement with psychedelic-related media and exposure to other peoples’ psychedelic experiences also predicted treatment-outcome expectancies.“)
- Stigma, psychedelics use, and the risk of reduced formal mental health care (June, NSDUH data, “Interaction terms revealed that as perceptions of stigma increases, psychedelics users are even less inclined to seek formal mental health care compared to nonpsychedelic users. Overall, the results suggest that using psychedelics is associated with less treatment seeking among those who perceive stigma, indicating a heightened societal risk of reduced formal mental health care as psychedelics become more widely available.“)
- Hepatic injury and hepatic failure adverse events in 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine users reported to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (June, safety data, “In this study, we surveyed a larger, over 1,500, and a more diverse set of reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System and found 23 cases of hepatic injury and hepatic failure, in which MDMA was reported to be taken in addition to one or more substances. Interestingly, 22 out of 23 cases had one or more listed drugs with a known DILI concern based on the FDA’s DILIrank dataset. Furthermore, only one report had MDMA listed as the primary suspect.“)
- Engaging Mood Brain Circuits with Psilocybin (EMBRACE): a study protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled and delayed-start, neuroimaging trial in depression (July, study protocol)
- Meaningfulness and attachment: what dreams, psychosis and psychedelic states tell us about our need for connection (June, hypothesis and theory)
- The nature of nonduality: The epistemic implications of meditative and psychedelic experiences (July, response to epistemic article on edge of psychedelics and meditation)
- Race and ethnicity moderate the associations between lifetime psilocybin use and past year hypertension (June, NSDUH data, “Hispanic identity moderated the associations between psilocybin use and past year hypertension. Furthermore, individuals who used psilocybin and identified as Non-Hispanic White had reduced odds of hypertension (aOR: 0.83); however, these associations were not observed for any other racial or ethnic groups in our study for individuals who used psilocybin.“)
- To Dose or Not to Dose? Exploring digital biomarkers for objective assessment of mood and sleep for wellbeing (July, thesis)
- Study protocol for “Psilocybin in patients with fibromyalgia: brain biomarkers of action” (July, study protocol)
- Magic of the Mushrooms: Effects of Psilocybin Decriminalization (July, policy)
- MDMA-assisted brief cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD: Study protocol for a pilot study (July, study protocol for this trial)
- Simultaneous cannabis and psychedelic use among festival and concert attendees in Colorado: characterizing enhancement and adverse reactions using mixed methods (July, survey, n=128, safety, “Themes included tension reduction and balancing of drug effects (N = 27, 50%), enhancement to psychological processes (N = 11, 20.4%), intensified psychedelic drug effects (N = 12, 22.2%), enhanced psychedelic come-down experience (N = 8, 14.8%), and overall ambiguous enhancement (N = 7, 13%). Among participants reporting an adverse reaction, individual responses included increased anxiety and intensity of the experience, decreased sociability, increased negative affect, sleepiness, disassociation, and confusion.“)
- “He’s used drugs – he’s biased! He’s not a drug user – what would he know!”: A Cross-sectional, Online Study of Drug Researchers’ Experiential Knowledge of Drug Use and Disclosure (July, n=669, survey, “Most (86%) reported lifetime drug use and 47% past 3-month use. Among 557 researchers who used drugs, 59% disclosed their use to institutional colleagues, 59% to colleagues outside their institution, 25% to research participants, and 11% in their research/scholarship.“)
- A replication study using the World Health Organization pharmacovigilance database (VigiBase®) to evaluate whether an association between ketamine and esketamine and alcohol and substance misuse exists (July, analysis of FAERS database, “Esketamine was not associated with an increased [reporting odds ratio] for any parameter of alcohol and/or substance use disorder.“)
- Structural Evaluation of Mechanisms Underlying Serotonin Receptor Function (July, thesis, next to serotonin receptor focusses on 5-MeO-DMT)
- Psychedelic public health: State of the field and implications for equity (July, policy)
- Chemical composition of Ecstasy tablets seized in Poland between 2005 and 2020 (July, safety)
- A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of repeated microdoses of lysergic acid diethylamide in healthy volunteers (July, thesis)
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