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Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior MEDLINE

7 papers

Psychedelic Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Patient Experiences in Qualitative Studies

Joost J. Breeksema, Alistair Niemeijer, Erwin Krediet, Eric Vermetten, Robert A. Schoevers
CNS Drugs Summary & key facts 2020 207 citations

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…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies Ayahuasca Ibogaine

Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy—A Systematic Review of Associated Psychological Interventions

Cavarra, Mauro, Falzone, Alessandra, Ramaekers, Johannes G., et al.
www.frontiersin.org Summary & key facts 2022 122 citations

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…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Therapeutic effect of psilocybin in addiction: A systematic review

van der Meer, Pim B., Fuentes, Juan J., Kaptein, Ad A., et al.
www.frontiersin.org Summary & key facts 2023 111 citations

This systematic review searched for clinical trials of psilocybin for substance use problems up to September 2, 2022. The authors found four trials with 151 patients that tested psilocybin combined with psychotherapy for alcohol or tobacco use. These small trials, including one randomized placebo-controlled trial, reported reductions in heavy drinking…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Therapeutic (Sub)stance: Current practice and therapeutic conduct in preparatory sessions in substance-assisted psychotherapy—A systematized review

Sascha Thal, Michelle Wieberneit, Jason M. Sharbanee, Petra Skeffington, Paris Baker, Raimondo Bruno, et al.
Journal of Psychopharmacology Summary & key facts 2022 23 citations

The authors reviewed 83 papers and guides about how therapists prepare people for substance-assisted psychotherapy — therapy that uses drugs like psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, or ketamine together with psychological support. They found clear agreement that good preparation before a drug session is important for safety and for helping people get…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies Ibogaine Ketamine

Therapeutic frameworks in integration sessions in substance-assisted psychotherapy: A systematised review

Sascha Thal, Paris Baker, Jonathon Marinis, Michelle Wieberneit, Jason M. Sharbanee, Raimundo Bruno, et al.
PubMed Summary & key facts 2023 19 citations

This review looked at how therapists help people integrate insights after taking serotonergic psychedelics or entactogens in therapy. The authors searched PsycINFO, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library and included 75 sources up to 11 November 2022. They found that studies use many different therapy styles—most from the humanistic–experiential tradition—but there…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Effects of psychoplastogens on blood levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in humans: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abigail E. Calder, Adrian Hase, Gregor Hasler
Molecular Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2024 10 citations

Researchers pooled results from 29 human studies that measured blood levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, after people received so-called psychoplastogen drugs such as ketamine or psychedelics. They found no clear change in blood BDNF after these drugs. The authors say this does not prove the…

Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies Treatment of Major Depression Ayahuasca Ketamine

Perspectives and preliminary experiences of psychedelics for the treatment of eating disorders: A systematic scoping review

Karolina Cuerva, Dean Spirou, A. García Cuerva, Chantal P Delaquis, Jayanthi Raman
European Eating Disorders Review Summary & key facts 2024 6 citations

While preliminary research suggests psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy may be a viable treatment option for ED symptoms, further research with more robust research designs is required to increase confidence in its efficacy, generalisability, and safety as a therapeutic medium.

Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies
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