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42 papers
This article follows cannabis from its earliest known uses about 12,000 years ago in Central Asia through its spread around the world and long history of medical and practical uses, to modern science that identified THC in 1964 and the body's endocannabinoid system in the 20th century. It notes archaeological…
This review looks at studies in humans and animals that link anxiety and stress with poorer cognitive flexibility — the ability to change strategies when rules or goals change. It describes evidence that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is central to flexible behavior, that anxiety or PFC disruptions are associated with…
Researchers collected and read 15 studies where patients described their own experiences with psychedelic treatments for mental disorders. These studies looked at about 180 patient accounts across different drugs and different illnesses. Even though the drugs and treatment settings were very different, many patients described similar helpful processes, such as…
Kratom is a tropical plant whose leaves are made into tea, powders, or extracts. The review says kratom can act like a stimulant at low doses and like an opioid at higher doses, producing pain relief and euphoria, and that use is rising in parts of the world. The authors…
Past large trials found that using combined estrogen and progestin was linked to higher heart-related risk, and hormone therapy (HT) use fell a lot afterward. In the last 20 years, research shows that when HT starts (age and time since menopause) and how it is given (route) affect heart disease…
This page describes ibogaine as a plant-derived psychedelic that some researchers are studying for addiction, depression, and PTSD. It says ibogaine can cause strong hallucinations that start within hours and may last up to 24 hours. The page reports some studies and a 2022 review that suggest ibogaine may reduce…
Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration (PHRI) is a clinical model for working with people who use or are thinking about using psychedelics. It blends harm-reduction therapy with methods from psychedelic-assisted therapy, can be used in short or ongoing psychotherapy, and aims to be compassionate and non-stigmatizing rather than focused only…
This systematic review looked at clinical studies that paired psychedelics with a structured psychotherapy. It found that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy can give promising results across many clinical conditions when given to carefully screened people in controlled settings, but some patients relapse or do not respond. The review highlights that individual and…
This review brings together reports from 38 papers (published 1994–2019) describing experiences of 322 practitioners and 163 clients who did talking therapy in outdoor natural spaces. The authors used a mixed-method thematic synthesis to build a framework of themes about how outdoor work is done, what practical steps are needed,…
This meta-analysis combined 48 experimental studies with 7,679 people to test how seeing “upward” comparison targets on social media (people who seem better off) affects users’ feelings about themselves. Overall, exposure to upward comparisons produced a small but statistically significant negative effect on self-evaluations and emotions (g = −0.24, p…
Many studies show that physical exercise helps brain health and can slow age-related thinking problems and lower the risk of some brain diseases and psychiatric disorders. A key part of these benefits is higher levels of the brain protein BDNF, which supports new brain cells and plasticity for learning and…
This study tested tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in animal models of nausea and vomiting. In rats, THCA at 0.05 and 0.5 mg·kg−1 reduced LiCl-induced conditioned gaping, a behavior linked to nausea. In the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus), the same THCA doses reduced LiCl-induced vomiting. These effects were reversed by the…
