In a paper published… in the journal Cell Reports, a team of researchers showed evidence that psychedelic drugs can induce structural changes in nerve cells — a trait called neuroplasticity — that could, in turn, help repair brain dysfunction in people with mood and anxiety disorders. “The structure of neurons affects their function, and in the case of…
The international medical journal The Lancet published a study showing that any level of alcohol consumption, regardless of the amount, leads to loss of healthy life. “The health risks associated with alcohol are massive,” said Dr Emmanuela Gakidou of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington (United States of America),…
“Our findings set the stage for heterologous production of [psilocybin] in a controlled place for pharmaceutical purposes, using engineered microbial hosts, should the re-discovered pharmaceutical value lead to increased demands,” the researchers write in their report. After four decades of virtually ignoring the science of psychedelics, researchers tentatively returned to investigating how substances such as…
Qualitative data from the survey revealed that microdosers reported positive effects of the practice including migraine reduction, improved focus and productivity, and better connection with others. In quantitative results, microdosers scored lower than non-microdosing respondents on negative emotionality and dysfunctional attitude. The data yielded interesting results, including important information about how much of the drug…
Its scientific advisory board includes Tom Insel, the former director of the National Institutes of Mental Health.While most of the research is being led by universities and non-profit research institutions, Compass, a for-profit company founded in 2016, sees itself as helping to fill in the gaps … For the trial, which is set to begin within…
This study was not about marijuana. It was about a chemical called “WIN 55,212-2.” This chemical is a synthetic cannabinoid, which means it binds to the same receptors in the brain as marijuana’s active chemicals Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). But it’s not the same as marijuana, and it’s not derived from marijuana. In the paper,…
We are now hearing calls to increase psychedelics’ clinical availability; i.e., “legalizing psychedelics.” … Most important, only those with specialized training would be allowed to administer psychedelics to humans. Psychedelics possess unique characteristics that do not fit neatly into the criteria used to define schedule placement. Their safety and efficacy [ideally] exist… within highly structured specialized…
The positive effects were not only structural, but functional – electrophysiological recordings found that the frequency and strength of neural currents were increased for many hours after the psychedelic compounds had been removed. Patients who suffer from depression and post-traumatic-stress-disorder tend to have impaired neurogenesis and neuroplasticity – their brain cells grow more slowly and…
Greg Boyce, a member of Kasson’s team, looked at all the chemicals found in the white fungal plugs of the various cicadas. And to his shock, he found that the banger-wings were loaded with psilocybin—the potent hallucinogen found in magic mushrooms. “At first, I thought: There’s absolutely no way,” he says. “It seemed impossible.” After…
Small doses of a THC compound found in marijuana have made old mice suddenly come alive with a “young brain, according to a study by a team of Bonn University researchers and colleagues from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, published in the journal Nature Medicine. When asked how they had tested a mouse’s memory, Professor…
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