Psychedelic Research Links December 2022

This is all the other psychedelic research that came out in December 2022. These papers don’t (yet) have their own page in our database.

You can find all interesting papers in our Papers Database.

Related Papers

In Rodents

• Ketamine, a trauma analgesic with sex-specific immunomodulatory function (in rats, sex differences “Our findings suggest heterogeneous sex-related changes in cytokine levels following an IV ketamine infusion in rats”)
• Intranasal (R, S)-ketamine delivery induces sustained antidepressant effects associated with changes in cortical balance of excitatory/inhibitory synaptic activity (in mice, “ E/I balance was shifted in favor of excitation rather than inhibition in the mPFC but more robustly with IN KET than with a single intraperitoneal (IP) dose“)
• The effects of acute and repeated administration of ketamine on memory, behavior, and plasma corticosterone levels in female mice (in female mice, “Acute ketamine exposure decreased locomotor activity and increased anxiety-like behavior in the open field test compared to controls, while repeated ketamine exposure impaired memory in the novel object recognition test. There were no effects of acute or repeated ketamine exposure on depression-like behavior in the Porsolt forced swim test or on plasma corticosterone levels. “)
• Rapid antidepressant-like effect of non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analog lisuride, but not hallucinogenic psychedelic DOI, in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice (in mice, “Both lisuride and (R)-ketamine significantly ameliorated the increased immobility time of forced swimming test, and the decreased dendritic spine density in the prelimbic region of medial prefrontal cortex, CA3 and dentate gyrus of hippocampus of LPS-treated mice. In contrast, DOI did not improve these changes produced after LPS administration.“)
• Use of the head-twitch response to investigate the structure-activity relationships of 4-thio-substituted 2,5-dimethoxyphenylalkylamines (in mice, … “ there were close parallels between the HTR data and the known SAR governing activity of phenylalkylamines at the 5-HT_2A receptor. These findings further support the classification of 2C-T compounds as psychedelic drugs.“)
• Psychedelic-Induced Serotonin 2A Receptor Downregulation Does Not Predict Swim Stress Coping in Mice (in mice, “When DOI was administered 1 day before the forced swim test, a low dose (0.2 mg/kg i.p.) unexpectedly increased immobility while a high dose (2 mg/kg i.p.) had no significant effect on immobility. Nevertheless, DOI evoked a dose-dependent decrease in 5-HT_2A levels in the mPFC of mice previously exposed to swim stress. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that the downregulation of 5-HT_2A receptors in the mPFC contributes to the antidepressant-like properties of serotoninergic psychedelics.“)
• Effects of a single dose of psilocybin on cytokines, chemokines and leptin in rat serum (in rats (serum), “Psilocybin induces the release of multiple immune factors, consistent with a generalized activation of the immune system, which can persist for at least seven days after a single dose. “)
• Use of the head-twitch response to investigate the structure–activity relationships of 4-thio-substituted 2,5-dimethoxyphenylalkylamines (in mice, “there were close parallels between the HTR data and the known SAR governing activity of phenylalkylamines at the 5-HT_2A receptor. These findings further support the classification of 2C-T compounds as psychedelic drugs.“)
• Effect of psilocybin on decision-making and motivation in the healthy rat (in rats, “Results from this study demonstrated that exposure to 1 mg/kg psilocybin did not affect decision-making in the probability and delay discounting tasks and did not reduce response rates in the progressive ratio task. However, psilocybin treatment did cause the expected increase in head twitch responses in both male and female rats, demonstrating that the drug was delivered at a pharmacologically relevant dosage.“)
• TIAM1-mediated synaptic plasticity underlies comorbid depression–like and ketamine antidepressant–like actions in chronic pain (in mice)
• Acute Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Does Not Influence Reward-Driven Decision Making of C57BL/6 Mice in the Iowa Gambling Task (in mice)
• Subanesthetic dose of S-ketamine improved cognitive dysfunction via the inhibition of hippocampal astrocytosis in a mouse model of post-stroke chronic stress (in mice, “…subanesthetic doses of S-ketamine improved cognitive dysfunction via the inhibition of hippocampal astrocytosis in a mouse model of PSCS.”)
• Astroglial mediation of fast-acting antidepressant effect in zebrafish (in zebrafish!, “…ketamine exerts its antidepressant effects by inhibiting an astroglial population that integrates futility and changes behavioral state. Astroglia play central roles in modulating circuit dynamics, and our work argues that targeting astroglial signaling may be a fruitful strategy for designing new rapid-acting antidepressants.”)

Chemistry

• Matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization–mass spectrometric imaging of psilocybin and its analogues in psychedelic mushrooms using a cesium chloride-coated target plate (identification)
• Determination of tryptamine analogs in whole blood by 96-well electromembrane extraction and UHPLC-MS/MS (identification)
• Chiral LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of (R,S)-ketamine, (R,S)-norketamine, and (2R,6R;2S,6S)-hydroxynorketamine in mouse plasma and brain (“The calibration curves for plasma and brain showed a good linearity in the range of 3-1000 ng/mL and 1.5-500 ng/g, respectively. The accuracy ranged from 90.0% to 104.0% in within-run and between-run.“)
• A Review of Synthetic Access to Therapeutic Compounds Extracted from Psilocybe (review, methods of synthesizing psilocybin)
• DNA Authentication and Chemical Analysis of Psilocybe Mushrooms Reveal Widespread Misdeterminations in Fungaria and Inconsistencies in Metabolites (“Our data show that, apart from a few well-known species, the taxonomic accuracy of specimen determinations is largely unreliable, even at the genus level.“)
• Phylogenomics of the psychoactive mushroom genus Psilocybe and evolution of the psilocybin biosynthetic gene cluster (“Molecular clock analysis suggests the stem lineage arose ∼66 mya and diversified ∼53 mya. We also show that psilocybin biosynthesis first arose in Psilocybe, with 4–5 possible horizontal transfers to other mushrooms between 40 and 22 mya. Moreover, predicted orthologs of the psilocybin biosynthetic genes revealed two distinct gene orders within the cluster that corresponds to a deep split within the genus, possibly consistent with the independent acquisition of the cluster.”)
• Genome sequencing progenies of magic mushrooms (Psilocybe subaeruginosa) identifies tetrapolar mating and gene duplications in the psilocybin pathway (“Psilocybe subaeruginosa and its relatives have three copies of PsiH genes but their impact on production of psilocybin and its analogues is unknown. Genetic improvement in Psilocybe will require access to genetic diversity from the centre of origin of different species, identification of genes behind traits, and strategies to avoid inbreeding depression.“)
• Direct Quantitation of Psilocybin and Psilocin by One-Dimensional 1H and 31P qNMR in a revived Greek specimen of Psilocybe cyanescens (poster presentation, “Surprisingly, the spores of the specimen dried almost twenty-three years ago were germinated, producing mycelium which was subsequently studied for the production of the secondary metabolites of interest.“)
• Rapid Detection and Quantification of Hallucinogenic Salvinorin A in Commercial Salvia divinorum Products by DART-HRMS (“The average salvinorin A content in raw Salvia leaves was determined to be 1.54 mg/g, while the salvinorin A quantified in enhanced Salvia leaf extracts was between 13.0 and 53.2 mg/g.“)
• Repeated use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine is associated with the resilience in mice after chronic social defeat stress: A role of gut–microbiota–brain axis (in mice, “MDMA may contribute to stress resilience through gut–microbiota–brain axis.”)

Perspectives/Opinions

• An Innovative Approach to Extending the Antidepressant Effects of Intravenous Ketamine in Major Depression (editorial)
• New Therapeutic Approaches Involving Psychopharmacology, Digital Technology, and fMRI Neurofeedback (editorial, includes ketamine)
• The economics of psychedelic-assisted therapies: A research agenda (research agenda for the economic analysis of PAT)
• The therapeutic potential of psychedelics (perspective)
• The glutamate hypothesis of mood disorders: Neuroplasticity processes, clinical features, treatment perspectives (editorial)
• High time? Psychedelics on cannabis-like fast track to legalization (perspective, Canada medicalisation)
• Research into Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anorexia Nervosa Should be Funded (perspective)
• Psilocybin for Depression: From Credibility to Feasibility, What’s Missing? (opinion)
• The varieties of psychedelic law (good commentary on psychedelic law-changes)
• Malpractice and Other Civil Liability in Psychedelic Psychiatry (perspective)
• Progress and Puzzles in Psychedelic Therapy (commentary)
• Psychedelics and Veterans’ Mental Health (perspective)

Reviews

• Towards mapping neuro-behavioral heterogeneity of psychedelic neurobiology in humans (review)
• Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Psychedelic Science: A Review and Perspective on Opportunities in Neurosurgery and Neuro-Oncology (review)
• Role of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the antidepressant effects of ketamine (review)
• Seeking the Psilocybiome: Psychedelics meet the microbiota-gut-brain axis (review/theory-building)
• New frontiers in the pharmacological treatment of social anxiety disorder in adults: an up-to-date comprehensive overview (review, briefly covers ketamine as promising)
• NMDA receptors as therapeutic targets for depression treatment: Evidence from clinical to basic research (review, ketamine)
• Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Depression (review)
• Uso De 3,4-metilenodioxmetanfetamina No Tratamento De Transtorno De Estresse Pós-traumático (review, Portuguese)
• Probing the antidepressant potential of psilocybin: integrating insight from human research and animal models towards an understanding of neural circuit mechanisms (review)
• Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression: Therapeutic Trends, Challenges and Future Directions (review, briefly covers psychedelics)
• Efficacy and safety of ketamine for the treatment of depressive symptoms in palliative care: A systematic review (review)

Other

• Transformative agents of change and investigative neurotechnologies: A qualitative study of psychedelic technology identities (interviews with Australian psychedelic researchers, identifies two ‘identities’: “psychedelics as transformative agents of change and as investigational neurotechnologies“)
• Psychedelics and fNIRS neuroimaging: exploring new opportunities (new method of brain imaging)
• The content of complex psychedelic experiences resulting from inhalation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (synthesis of online reports about the DMT experience)
• Do Psychedelic Trips Open the Door to Messages from God, Spirits, Transcendent Realities, or the Devil? Links with Attitudes About Psychedelics, Opinions About Legalization, and Interest in Personal Use (survey, n=800, “… many people see psychedelics as potential sources of supernatural messages. These supernatural attributions, in turn, are closely linked with attitudes, behaviors, and past experiences related to psychedelic use.“
• Characteristics of poisonings involving ketamine in the United States, 2019-2021 (safety, ketamine-related poison-control data, from 37 to 67 incidences per quarter in the US (2019-2021))
• Intranasal racemic ketamine for patients hospitalized with treatment-resistant depression: A retrospective analysis (retrospective, ketamine for TRD, n=30, 67% responders)
• Psychedelic Drug Legislative Reform and Legalization in the US (analysis of legislative changes regarding psychedelics)
• Rumors of Psychedelics, Psychotropics and Related Derivatives in Vachellia and Senegalia in Contrast with Verified Records in Australian Acacia (identification of psychedelic compounds in plants)
• ACNP 61^st Annual Meeting: Poster Abstracts P271-P540 (includes poster presentations on psychedelics; 341; 346; 349; 352; 358; 360; 361; 362; 425; 426; 470)
• Tune in, Turn on: Religious Music and Spiritual Power in the History of Psychedelic Therapy (history of using music during psychedelic use)
• Experimental strategies to discover and develop the next generation of psychedelics and entactogens as medications (ideas/trends in discovering novel psychedelics)
• A unique case of very low-dose subcutaneous ketamine use: Maintenance option of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression (n=1, case report, “… demonstrates ketamine’s longitudinal effectiveness, tolerability, and safety in a patient suffering from treatment-resistant depression.“)
• Psychotherapists’ openness to engage their patients in Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for mental health treatment (n-119, “While 77.4 % of psychologists agreed they would inform eligible patients about PAT, 91.6 % stated they would still recommend psychotherapies that do not involve psilocybin first. 76.5 % endorsed that knowledge on psilocybin would increase their likelihood to inform patients about PAT. “)
• Therapeutic and Safety Outcomes of Intravenous Ketamine for Treatment-refractory Depression in a Veteran Population: A Case Series (n=8, ketamine for TRD, repeated (~15 times over 24 months), significant improvements)
• Mass Multiplication, Production Cost Analysis, and Marketing of Psilocybe Mushroom (book chapter, cost-analysis, abstract seems translated/weird English)
• Experiências e percepções de usuários de Ayahuasca sobre sua ação terapêutica (Portugese, n=478, “The results discussed demonstrate a qualitative association in relation to the use of ayahuasca as a form of treatment for mental disorders and chemical dependence.“)
• Standards Without Labs: Drug Development in the Psychedelic Underground (analysis of how Clusterbusters uses real-world data/sampling to ‘standardize’ the dose of psilocybin)
• LSD Ising modeling study dataset (dataset)
• In Becoming. The Relationality of Psychedelic Substances (“I pose the question of how the border between what is an “illicit drug” and what is a “medicine” is stabilized and destabilized through the embodied users’ practices and scientific discourses.“)
• Evaluation of Ethnicity Effect on Intranasal Esketamine Pharmacokinetics by Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling Using Data From a Japanese Phase 2b Study (“In conclusion, the popPK model of esketamine and noresketamine was successfully updated and suggested that interindividual variability of esketamine exposures can be better explained by body weight, rather than by race/ethnicity.“)
• Electrophysiological phenotypes of suicidality predict prolonged response to oral ketamine treatment (follow-up analysis, “Given auditory evoked power may index serotonin neurotransmission, these results suggest that a prolonged response to ketamine may, in part, be mediated by pre-treatment serotonergic functioning“)
• The Incidental Resolution of Severe Alcohol Use Disorder during Esketamine Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Case Report (case report, n=1, “This case presents the first documented example of the safe and effective use of intranasal esketamine in patient with treatment resistant MDD in which there was incidental resolution of their comorbid severe AUD. This suggests that esketamine can be used without risk of SUD onset or exacerbation.“)
• Ketamine as a Treatment Option for Severe Borderline Personality Disorder: A Case Report (n=1, case report, ketamine for borderline)
• Neural correlates of anti-suiciDal rEsponse to kEtamine in treatment-resistant biPolar depression (DEEPP-Study): Protocol for a Pilot, Open-Label Clinical Trial (study protocol, ketamine for bipolar disorder)
• Association of intranasal esketamine, a novel ‘standard of care’ treatment and outcomes in the management of patients with treatment-resistant depression: protocol of a prospective cohort observational study of naturalistic clinical practice (study protocol, naturalistic esketamine for TRD study)
• Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy for Infusions (KAP-I): Guidelines for Practice (guidelines)