Science

Older people who use psychedelics show fascinating brain functions

A recent survey of 3,294 US adults, aged between 42 and 92, has found that… compared to those who did not use psychedelics, those who did scored higher on tests… which assessed inductive reasoning, verbal fluency, working memory, processing speed, attention switching, and inhibitory control. Psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and other psychedelics appear to stimulate new connections between…

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Science

F.D.A. warns against ‘microdosing’ mushroom chocolate bars

Some bars branded as “mushroom” edibles may contain psilacetin, sometimes called c, a compound that produces similar effects to psilocybin, said Dr. Mason Marks, a law professor at Harvard University and Florida State University who specializes in psychedelic regulation.  At least 26 people in 16 states have fallen ill after eating Diamond Shruumz-brand Microdosing Chocolate Bars and…

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Science

Youth marijuana use in Colorado continues to decline since legalization took effect…

“There have been no substantial increases at all,” said Marsha Lopez, chief of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) epidemiological research branch. “In fact, they have not reported an increase in perceived availability either, which is kind of interesting.” Another earlier analysis from CDC found that rates of current and lifetime cannabis use among high…

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Science

Psychological effects of psychedelics in adolescents

…if new research is any indication of the efficacy of psychedelics for teens, parents may no longer have to rely on anecdotes and their instincts to help them decide whether the compounds are the right choice for their child’s treatment… parent-led inquiries on psychedelics have steadily increased over the past few years… …however… challenges are…

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Science

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health acknowledges psilocybin’s therapeutic potential…

An annual nationally representative survey on drug use and health reported that 9.68 percent of U.S. adults have used psilocybin at least once in their lifetime, based on data gathered between 2015 and 2018. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), which is part of the National Institutes of Health… posted page about psilocybin…

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Science

The double face of fentanyl: the neuronal basis of opioid addiction

…fentanyl… triggers the activation of the dopamine neurons in the mesolimbic system (also known as the reward system), which includes the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accubens. The neurons then release a large quantity of dopamine. Normally, dopamine neurons are under the control of inhibitory GABA cells. However, opioids block GABA neurons, which makes…

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Science

…psychedelic returns on distress…

…the individual level where the psychedelic is consumed sits “atop of a more fundamental collective level, which frames and gives shape” to set-and-setting available… …the results did not find a direct interaction between Lifetime Classic Psychedelic Use (LCPU) and marital status alone…. marital status and family sizes effect on psychedelic returns; to understand how marital…

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How cannabis and psilocybin might help some of the 50 million Americans who are experiencing chronic pain

I want to help understand how to effectively use cannabis and psilocybin as potential tools for pain management. …lethal overdoses from cannabis are almost unheard of. This is remarkable considering that nearly 50 million Americans use it each year… a group of cannabis and pain specialists published a proposed guideline for clinical practice in early 2024 to…

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Science

Psilocybin enhances insightfulness in meditation: a perspective on the global topology of brain imaging during meditation

…in which a novel topological data analysis (TDA) method is applied to the neurophysiological study of the synergistic effects of meditation and psychedelics. …intriguing evidence of similarities in the phenomenology and neurophysiology of meditation and psychedelics has been found… recent reviews suggest that meditation and psychedelics exhibit similarities and complementary differences, which may indicate potential…

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