Science

The first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of psychedelics [was] published in 2012… 

December 4, 2024By

[In December 2024]; a [new] synergistic, multi-level understanding of psychedelics; a novel, synergistic understanding of psychedelics arising from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of three hierarchical levels of analysis: (1) subjective experience (phenomenology), (2) neuroimaging and (3) molecular pharmacology. The Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) scale is one popular questionnaire that captures several of these subjective…

READ MORE
Science

Isolation of psychedelic-responsive neurons underlying anxiolytic [anxiety] behavioral states

November 15, 2024By

…performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing in psychedelic-activated neurons in mouse medial prefrontal cortex. The psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI), a 5HT2A receptor agonist with anxiolytic-like effects in mice, activated a specific subset of neurons in this brain region. Equipped with a fluorescent map of the neurons activated by DOI, the team [David E. Olson, et. al]… used optogenetics,…

READ MORE
Science

Scientists uncover fascinating link between psychedelic experiences and heart activity

November 11, 2024By

“Most psychedelic research has focused on the brain, but I became increasingly convinced that we were overlooking something crucial. This idea was reinforced by the growing field of somatic therapy and the way psychedelics seem to help reconnect people’s minds with their bodies,” said study author Valérie Bonnelle, an independent researcher who received a PhD…

READ MORE
Science

…’terrifying’ threat from xylazine…

October 31, 2024By

“Almost 100% of our drug supply is fentanyl and 80% to 90% of that fentanyl is adulterated with xylazine,” said Dr. Elizabeth Krans, a physician and researcher at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh. Xylazine is a potent animal tranquilizer normally used by veterinarians. For reasons that aren’t completely clear, drug gangs began mixing it into…

READ MORE
Science

Cactus dreams: Revealing the secrets of mescaline making

October 19, 2024By

In a new study published in Molecular Plant, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have made the first, crucial move toward ensuring sustainable production of mescaline: They have revealed, step by step, how exactly it is manufactured in peyote. “Learning how to copy this natural process with biotechnology will help ensure a steady supply of mescaline for the development…

READ MORE
Science

Psychedelic mushrooms are getting much, much stronger

October 10, 2024By

Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, one of the species most commonly consumed, are among the most heavily inbred… Cultivators are using genetic sequencing and are hybridizing cultivars from ever more distant lineages to hunt for improvements, plus sheer aesthetic novelty. Technological advancements have allowed for fungal cells to more easily be manipulated during breeding, and developments in chromatographic…

READ MORE
Science

Different hierarchical reconfigurations in the brain by psilocybin and escitalopram for depression

August 6, 2024By

The results showed that the two pharmacological interventions created significantly different hierarchical reconfigurations of whole-brain dynamics… the main hypothesis is that psychedelics can bring about a relaxation of the precision of high-level priors or ‘beliefs’ (REBUS), allowing (anarchic) bottom–up information flow, consistent with ‘anarchic’ (that is, hierarchy-free) system dynamics. This theory is consistent with our…

READ MORE
Science

New method tracks how psychedelics affect neurons in minutes

August 6, 2024By

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a rapid, noninvasive tool to track the neurons and biomolecules activated in the brain by psychedelic drugs. The protein-based tool, which is called Ca2+-activated Split-TurboID, or CaST… This research provides scientists with a new technique that could be used to track step by step the molecular…

READ MORE