Science

Can psilocybin stimulate neurogenesis in the hippocampus?

Increasing evidence suggests psilocybin may promote neuroplasticity, contributing to its antidepressant effects. In some people, postmortem studies indicate, depression may be related to disrupted adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN)—the birth and growth of new neurons in the hippocampus. This mechanism is important for regulating mood and maintaining spatial learning and memory throughout life, and it is critical for brain plasticity……

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Science

Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period

Juvenile mice find social experiences more rewarding than do adults. The discovery [is] that psychedelics can re-engage the social neural circuits for varying durations in adults… Gül Dölen, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.; …ibogaine, ketamine, LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin, can reopen the “critical periods” of brain…

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Modern Culture

…setting yourself up for a good trip…

Like cannabis, psychedelic substances have been used across the globe for many purposes. And, like cannabis, psychedelics are relatively safe and have a low chance of dependence. And again, like cannabis they are not without risks, and there are steps that consumers can take to reduce the chance of harm. With cannabis buds, it is…

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Biography/Memoir

Cops bust psilocybin grow operation in northeast portland mansion

On June 8, 2023, court documents show, police busted a psilocybin grow house and major interstate mushroom-and-weed distribution operation in a 5,000-square-foot mansion bordering a Northeast Portland country club. …$1.3 million home on the border of the Columbia Edgewater Country Club, which features panoramic views of the golf course, a “unique triple barrel-vaulted ceiling” and…

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Spirituality

Study suggests psychedelics promote positive mental health through increased spirituality and emotion regulation

The study found evidence of a pathway whereby the use of psychedelics increases spirituality, and in turn, leads to better emotion regulation. This improved emotion regulation then appears to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and disordered eating. Study authors Adele Lafrance and her colleagues say that increased spirituality and improvements in emotion regulation have been…

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Psychology

Psychedelic users show greater psychological strengths and improved well-being, study finds

The paper titled “Psychedelics and Psychological Strengths” discusses findings from three studies conducted through online surveys from a total of 3,157 participants. The researchers used controls for demographic variables, subjects’ use of other psychoactive drugs, and their beliefs about the potential benefits of psychedelic substances. The findings revealed that classical psychedelic users have “greater psychological…

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Biography/Memoir

Making the invisible visible: …psychiatry, midwifery, and psychedelics

 I draw on the records of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center LSD Training Program Study and the papers of Grof to explore the “unexpected entanglements” between psychiatry, midwifery, and psychedelics. Grof observed “astounding parallels” between psychedelic experiences and the clinical stages of delivery, believing that the common denominator between the two was the trauma of…

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Politics

…community mushrooms in… Colorado

[Colorado] voters passed a referendum in 2022 to decriminalize certain… [naturally-occurring psychedelics] by a wider margin than one to allow grocery stores to carry wine. Denver had done the same a few years prior. In the 2022 election, Colorado passed Proposition 122, which decriminalized the consumption, cultivation and possession of a handful of psychedelic drugs,…

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Science

…fentanyl crisis…

…based on figures released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 195 Americans died every single day in 2021 In Multnomah County, Oregon, fatal opioid-related overdoses saw a fivefold increase between 2018 and 2022, according to public health data. A record-high 209 people in the county died from fentanyl overdoses last year. Andrew Suchocki… medical director……

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