Science

From Psilocybin to MDMA: Researchers are in the throes of a psychedelic revival

Those who reported a “mystical experience” had the most success in breaking their addiction. Griffiths’s lab pressed ahead with their work in a 2014 study on the possibility of treating nicotine addiction with psilocybin, the psychedelic component of “magic mushrooms.” Participants had three psilocybin sessions and three cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions to diminish cravings. Eighty percent…

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Science

[LSD] …lights up the brain’s visual cortex and points at the brain regions involved in “altered consciousness.”

“What they discovered could have major effects on the way we use psychedelics to model and treat psychiatric diseases.” Rather than using LSD itself as a psychological drug — there are certainly other scientists working on that — Carhart-Harris and his team used it as a probe for understanding what they refer to as the…

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LSD researcher explains brain scan study

Neuropsychopharmacology researcher Robin Carhart-Harris explains his LSD brain scan study and possible therapeutic uses of the drug. “We found that regions normally don’t talk to each other began to talk to each other much more. There was a much more global integration in the brain that was quite surprising.” Original Article (CNN):LSD Researcher explains brain…

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Science

Rolling in the deep

“So far the studies indicate that MDMA assisted psychotherapy significantly reduces PTSD symptoms”. Although MDMA has been administered to more than 1,000 subjects with only one report of an unexpected serious adverse event (which ended when the drug wore off), the drug doesn’t come without risks. It can increase heart rate and blood pressure and…

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Science

Neuroimaging in moderate mdma use: A systemic Review

There is no convincing evidence that moderate MDMA use is associated with structural or functional brain alterations in neuroimaging measures. The lack of significant results was associated with high methodological heterogeneity in terms of dosages and co-consumption of other drugs, low quality of studies and small sample sizes. Original Article (Elsevier): Neuroimaging in moderate MDMA…

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