Psychedelic Research Links October 2023

This is all the other psychedelic research that came out in October 2023. These papers don’t (yet) have their own page in our database.

You can find all the added papers in our Papers Database.

Related Papers

In Rodents

• Exploring the role of esketamine in alleviating depressive symptoms in mice via the PGC-1α/irisin/ERK1/2 signaling pathway (in mice, “Overall, the PGC-1α/irisin/ERK1/2 signaling activation may be a new mechanism underlying the antidepressant activity of esketamine, denoting that irisin may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of depression.“)

• The role of CD38 in inflammation-induced depression-like behavior and the antidepressant effect of (R)-ketamine (in mice, “[H]hippocampal CD38 is closely linked to depressive behaviors in an inflammation model, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for antidepressant development.“)

• Changes in neurotrophic signaling pathways in brain areas of the chronic mild stress rat model of depression as a signature of ketamine fast antidepressant response/non-response (in rats, “We showed here for the first time that both stress and ketamine induced brain area and subcellular fraction specific changes in these pathways.“)

• The PrLGlu→avBNSTGABA circuit rapidly modulates depression-like behaviors in male mice (in mice, ketamine for depression pathway)

• Ketamine evoked disruption of entorhinal and hippocampal spatial maps (in mice, “Together, these findings demonstrate ketamine-induced dysfunction of the MEC-hippocampal circuit at the single cell, local-circuit population, and network levels, connecting previously demonstrated physiological effects of ketamine on spatial cognition to alterations in the spatial navigation circuit.“)

• A pilot study of cerebral metabolism and serotonin 5-HT2A receptor occupancy in rats treated with the psychedelic tryptamine DMT in conjunction with the MAO inhibitor harmine (in rats, pharmahuasca, “Results confirmed that co-administration of harmine inhibited the formation of the DMT metabolite indole-3-acetic acid (3-IAA) in brain, while correspondingly increasing the cerebral availability of DMT. However, we were unable to detect any significant occupancy by DMT at 5-HT2A receptors measured ex vivo, despite brain DMT concentrations as high as 11.3 µM.“)

• Psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonism: neuronal signatures and altered neurovascular coupling (in mice, “Dissociation between neuronal and hemodynamic signals emphasizes a need to consider neurovascular effects of psychedelics when interpreting blood-oxygenationdependent neuroimaging measures.“)

• Prophylactic effects of arketamine, but not hallucinogenic psychedelic DOI nor non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analog lisuride, in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice and mice exposed to chronic restrain stress (in mice, “These findings suggest that, unlike to arketamine, both DOI and lisuride did not exhibit long-lasting prophylactic effects in mouse models of depression.“)

• Acute but not long-lasting antidepressant-like effect of psilocybin in differential reinforcement of low-rate 72 schedule in rats (in rats, “Using DRL 72s schedule of reinforcement, we demonstrated the acute antidepressant-like effect of psilocybin but not of LSD, and failed to detect their persistent antidepressant-like efficacy.“)

• Sustained antidepressant effect of ketamine through NMDAR trapping in the LHb (in mice, “Here we demonstrate that after a single systemic injection, ketamine continues to suppress burst firing and block NMDARs in the lateral habenula (LHb) for up to 24 h.“)

• Temporal dynamics of BDNF signaling recruitment in the rat prefrontal cortex and hippocampus following a single infusion of a translational dose of ketamine (in rats, “We have captured previously unknown dynamics of the early effects of ketamine showing rapid activation/deactivation of BDNF and its downstream signaling in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, following a precise temporal profile.“)

• Effects of psilocybin, the 5-HT2A receptor agonist TCB-2, and the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist M100907 on visual attention in male mice in the continuous performance test (in mice, “Psilocybin, TCB-2, and M100907 impaired performance of the CPT. However, this may be in part due to drug-induced locomotor changes. The results provide little support for the idea that psilocybin alters visual attention, or that 5-HT2A receptors modulate this process.“)

• Ketamine produces antidepressant effects by inhibiting histone deacetylases and upregulating hippocampal BDNF levels in a DFP-based rat model of Gulf War Illness (in rats, “Our research offers evidence supporting the involvement of epigenetic histone pathways in the antidepressant effects of ketamine (KET) in a rat model of Gulf War Illness (GWI)-like depression.“)

• Sub-Chronic Ketamine Administration Increases Dopamine Synthesis Capacity in the Mouse Midbrain: a Preclinical In Vivo PET Study (in mice, “Using this optimised method for quantifying 18F-DOPA uptake in the midbrain, we found that elevated striatal DA synthesis capacity in the sub-chronic ketamine model extends to the midbrain. Interestingly, the dysconnectivity between the midbrain and striatum seen in this model is also evident in the clinical population. “)

• Aromatase inhibition and ketamine in rats: sex-differences in antidepressant-like efficacy (in rats, “The present results demonstrated a sex-specific role for aromatase inhibition with letrozole in the antidepressant-like response induced by ketamine in male rats.“)

• Ethopharmacological evaluation of antidepressant-like effect of serotonergic psychedelics in C57BL/6J male mice (in mice, “These results suggest that 5-HT2A contributes to the antidepressant effects of serotonergic psychedelics rather than anxiolytic effects.“)

• Serotonin 2C receptors are also important in head-twitch responses in male mice (in mice, “These findings showed that while 5-HT2AR is the main initiator of HTR, the 5-HT2CR also has a distinct property that renders it effective in inducing HTR in male mice.”)

Chemistry

• Structural analysis of an lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) analogue N-methyl-N-isopropyllysergamide (MiPLA): Insights from Rotamers in NMR spectra (chemistry/synthesis)

• Comprehensive detection of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in forensic samples using carbon nanotube screen-printed electrodes (identification)

• Rapid Synthesis of Psychoplastogenic Tropane Alkaloids (synthesis)

Perspectives/Opinions

• Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: Is the Whole Greater than the Sum of its Parts? (perspective)

• Understanding clinically significant risks in intravenous ketamine therapy (commentary)

• Lifeboat ethics, risk, and therapeutic opportunity: an appeal for equitable psychedelic therapy access in the “high-risk” addiction patient (perspective)

• Intellectual Property of Psychedelics for Addiction Treatment: Enabling Access and Protecting Innovation Opportunities Through Preserving the Public Domain (perspective)

• Tuning the default mode network with behavioral interventions to address the youth mental health crisis (commentary)

• The Corporadelic Set and Setting (commentary)

• The Key Role of Intracellular 5-HT2A Receptors: A Turning Point in Psychedelic Research? (opinion)

• Psychedelic Research and Therapeutic Practices: Embracing Communities, Groups, and Traditional Knowledge (perspective)

• Esketamine More Effective Than Quetiapine for Hard-to-Treat Depression (perspective/news)

• Psychedelics as a Holistic Cognitive Enhancement (commentary)

• Methodological concerns in psychedelic research: The issues of nonequivalent psychological support and generalizability (commentary)

• Assessing potential of psilocybin for depressive disorders (expert opinion)

• Choosing Between Ketamine and Electroconvulsive Therapy for Outpatients With Treatment-Resistant Depression-Advantage Ketamine? (viewpoint)

• Ketamine for Depression-Knowns, Unknowns, Possibilities, Barriers, and Opportunities (viewpoint)

• Profit and Prudence: Navigating Psychedelic Commercialization Through Lessons from the Prescription Opioid Crisis (perspective)

• Activation of σ1-Receptors by R-Ketamine May Enhance the Antidepressant Effect of S-Ketamine (commentary)

Reviews

• Storm on predictive brain: a neurocomputational account of ketamine antidepressant effect (review)

• Reverse engineering therapeutic mechanisms of ketamine and Psychedelics: Insights from Translational Oncology for Research in Psychiatry (review)

• Chronic Pain Syndromes: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (review, briefly covers ketamine)

• Potential use of psilocybin drugs in the treatment of depression (review)

• Novel treatments for anorexia nervosa: InsigKetamine and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in a Low-Income Culturally Diverse Sample: A Phenomenological Studyhts from neuroplasticity research (review)

• Psilocybin, Depression, and Synaptogenesis: Insights into the Field’s Past, Present, and Future (review)

• Potential use of psilocybin drugs in the treatment of depression (review)

• From Altered States to Metaphysics: The Epistemic Status of Psychedelic-induced Metaphysical Beliefs (review/theory building)

• Use of ketamine for depression and suicidality in cancer and terminal patients: Review of current data (review)

• Promising new pharmacological targets for depression: the search for efficacy (review)

• Psychedelic and nutraceutical interventions as therapeutic strategies for military-related mild traumatic brain injuries (review)

• Bedside to bench: the outlook for psychedelic research (review)

• A systematic review of the incidence of medical serious adverse events in sub-anesthetic ketamine treatment of psychiatric disorders (review)

• Cardiovascular safety of psychedelic medicine: current status and future directions (review)

• Preclinical models of treatment-resistant depression: challenges and perspectives (review, covers psychedelics)

• Psychedelics action and schizophrenia (review)

• A Comprehensive Review of the Current Status of the Cellular Neurobiology of Psychedelics (review)

Other

• Set and Setting of the Brain on Hallucinogen (academic book chapter)

• Prevalence and Correlates of Past Year Ecstasy/MDMA Use in the United States (0.9% prevalence of MDMA in 2015-2020)

• Hallucinogen-Induced Persisting Perception Disorder: A Case Report (n=1, case report, saw improvements in HPPD after lamotrigine use)

• Outpatient Ketamine Infusions for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Syndrome: A Case Report (n=1, case study, ketamine for fibromyalgia)

• Resolution of stuttering during ketamine treatment: a case report (n=1, case study, “A 60-year-old white non-Hispanic woman who had been a near lifelong stutterer was prescribed ketamine for an unrelated condition and experienced an almost immediate resolution of her stuttering.“)

• Ibogaine as a Treatment For Alcohol Use Disorder: a Preclinical Investigation (thesis)

• Spatiotemporal brain dynamics induced by propofol and ketamine in humans (thesis)

• Comparing the Anti-Depressive Effect of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Versus Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in the Treatment of Patients with Depression (ECT & TMS, alternative treatments to PAT – compared separately – not head-to-head)

• An open-label pilot trial assessing tolerability and feasibility of LSD microdosing in patients with major depressive disorder (LSDDEP1) (study registration/information)

• Manic episode following psilocybin use in a man with bipolar II disorder: a case report (case report)

• Efficacy of insula deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with varenicline for smoking cessation: A randomized, double-blind, sham controlled trial (TMS for smoking cessation, 82% effective rate at 12 weeks, but non-significant at 26 week follow-up)

• Disruption as an opportunity or threat: A qualitative analysis of factors influencing the attitudes of experts in serious illness care toward psychedelic-assisted therapies (n=17, qualitative, therapist interviews)

• Examining risk and risk perception on LSD and MDMA in online marketplaces (investigation of LSD/MDMA risk perception in online (dark)web marketplaces)

• Learning About STP (history of STP by Matt Baggott)

• The Rising Use of LSD among Business Managers (survey data from NSDUH, 168k respondents, finds business managers use proportionally more LSD over time than general population)

• Use of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide by Major Depression Status (see last article, but finds those with depression increase use of LSD between 2008-2019)

• Effects of NMDA-receptor blockade by ketamine on mentalizing and its neural correlates in humans: a randomized control trial (RCT, ketamine, healthy participants, fMRI)

• Multidisciplinary development of guidelines for ketamine treatment for treatment-resistant major depression disorder for use by adult specialist mental health services in New Zealand (ketamine for TRD treatment guidelines in NZ)

• Predictors of Pharmacy Students’ Attitudes About the Therapeutic Use of Psilocybin (survey, n=161, “Pharmacy students may lack information and training regarding psilocybin and report a desire to learn more about it. Their attitudes about medical psilocybin may be driven by this desire to learn in addition to concerns about adverse effects and legalization issues.“)

• Psychometric and next day electrodermal activity data from an experiment involving midazolam, ketamine, and painful stimulation (ketamine, healthy participants)

• Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy for Mental Health Conditions (thesis)

• Survey study of challenging and mystical experiences after consuming psilocybin mushrooms in New Zealand (thesis)

• Assessment of the activation of 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B and 5-HT2C receptors by PSYLO synthetic drugs (thesis, on novel drugs by PSYLO)

• Ketamine and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy in a Low-Income Culturally Diverse Sample: A Phenomenological Study (thesis)

• Ketamine and Psychedelics in PTSD and Depression: The New Frontier or the New Pandemic? (academic book chapter)

• Spiritual Care (academic book chapter)

• Hippocampal subfield volumes in treatment resistant depression and serial ketamine treatment (n=66, “These results provide new evidence to suggest that hippocampal subfield volumes at baseline may present a biomarker for neurocognitive improvement following ketamine treatment in TRD.“)

• The Study of Ketamine for Youth Depression (SKY-D): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of low-dose ketamine for young people with major depressive disorder (study protocol)

• Persistent Brain Connectivity Changes in Healthy Volunteers Following Nitrous Oxide Inhalation (N02, a psychedelic-like substance, neurological effects in healthy participants)

• Underlying Hippocampal Mechanism of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Outcome: Evidence From Two Clinical Trials (study, covers ketamine, “Elucidating increased hippocampal volume as one of the neural mechanisms predictive of therapeutic outcome for individuals with larger pretreatment hippocampal volume may help identify clinical targets for this subgroup.“)

• A Comparison between Single and Double-Dose Intravenous Ketamine Administration in Bipolar Mood Disorder: A Double-Blind Controlled Clinical Trial (finds no difference between single and double-dose with ketamine for Bipolar)

• Individualized fMRI connectivity defines signatures of antidepressant and placebo responses in major depression (related, fMRI connectivity for those responding to antidepresants)

• A protocol for a scoping of psychedelic interventions to alleviate psychological suffering in populations coping with end-of-life issues (protocol)

• Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD in UK armed forces veterans: A feasibility study protocol (protocol)

• Introduction to Deleuze and Guattari and the Psychedelic Revival (history)

• Psychedelic Crystals in Cinema: Opening Virtual Dimensions and Potential Healing (history/cinema analysis)

• Psychedelics and Moral Psychology: The Case of Forgiveness (academic book chapter)

• The revival of the psychedelic experience scale: Revealing its extended-mystical, visual, and distressing experiential spectrum with LSD and psilocybin studies (psychometrics, “The study yields a new validated 6-factor structure for extended mystical experience (MEQ40: MEQ30 + Paradoxicality + Connectedness) and covers psychedelic experience as a whole more comprehensively than has hitherto been possible within a single questionnaire (PES48).”)

• Hallucinogen-Induced Persisting Perception Disorder: A Case Report (n=1, case report, HPPD)