Blossom Pulse Archive
What happened in psychedelic research in 2004
10 events from 2004, dated by when they happened rather than when we logged them. Papers as they published, trials starting and finishing, programme milestones, and the news coverage around them, grouped by week.
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Week of 1 November 2004
Phase I modified dose-escalation pilot (Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson; collaborator: University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio) of oral psilocybin in 9 adults (7 male, 2 female, ages 26–62, mean 40.9 ± 13.2) with DSM-IV obsessive-compulsive disorder and at least one prior adequate serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) trial failure (mean 3.4 ± 1.9 treatment failures; baseline Y-BOCS 18–36, mean 24.1 ± 5.9). Up to four single-dose exposures per subject were administered at least one week apart under medical supervision in an outpatient psychopharmacology research clinic with subsequent overnight observation on an affiliated psychiatric inpatient unit. Dose levels: very low (VLD) 25 µg/kg, low (LD) 100 µg/kg, medium (MD) 200 µg/kg, and high (HD) 300 µg/kg. LD, MD, and HD were assigned in fixed ascending order (open-label); the VLD was inserted randomly and in double-blind fashion at any time after the first dose. Subjects wore eyeshades, listened to a standardised music programme, and were accompanied by trained sitters during each 8-hour session. Primary outcomes: Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and a visual analog scale (VAS) for overall OC symptom severity at 0, 4, 8, and 24 hours post-ingestion; Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS) at 8 hours; vital signs at 0, 1, 4, 8, and 24 hours. Twenty-nine total psilocybin doses were administered (all 9 received LD; 7 received VLD and MD; 6 received all four). Approved by the University of Arizona Human Subjects Committee and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under an Investigational New Drug application. Funded by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the Heffter Research Institute (with support from Peggy Hitchcock), and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. No public registry ID exists: the trial pre-dates the 2005 ICMJE registration mandate and the 2007 FDAAA requirement, and the paper reports no NCT/IND/protocol number.
Psilocybin
Week of 26 July 2004
This randomised, quadruple-blind, crossover study (n=67) tests a single 35 mg/70 kg IV ketamine infusion (40 min) versus placebo for rapid antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder.
Ketamine
Week of 7 June 2004
Using LORETA on EEG from 18 volunteers given encapsulated ayahuasca (0.85 mg DMT/kg), the study found significant decreases in alpha‑2, delta, theta and beta‑1 power 60–90 minutes after dosing versus placebo. These reductions were localised to the temporo‑parieto‑occipital junction and temporomedial/frontomedial regions, paralleled increased Hallucinogen Rating Scale scores, and implicate unimodal/heteromodal association cortices and limbic structures in ayahuasca’s psychological effects.
AyahuascaDMTNeuroimaging & Brain Measures
Week of 26 April 2004
This study (2004) discusses ayahuasca as a possible therapeutic agent and details the challenges that need to be overcome for clinical studies utilizing ayahuasca in the United States to become viable.
AyahuascaAlcohol Use Disorder (AUD)Substance Use Disorders (SUD)Healthy Volunteers
Week of 29 March 2004
This double-blind cross-over trial (n=12) investigates the effects of psilocybin (14 mg/70 kg; 0.2 mg/kg) versus active niacin placebo on anxiety in advanced-stage cancer patients.
Psilocybin
Week of 8 March 2004
This Phase II, triple-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study (n=23) evaluates MDMA-assisted therapy (125 mg + 62.5 mg) across two 8-hour sessions for chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD.
MDMA
Week of 1 March 2004
This double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects study investigated various dosages of psilocybin (placebo -; 22mg/70kg) and found dose-dependent increases in altered states of consciousness (5D-ASC) and physiological measures (but only small and transient effects).
PsilocybinAnxiety DisordersHealthy Volunteers
Week of 9 February 2004
Randomised, double-blind, within-subject crossover study (n=187) examining acute MDMA effects and pharmacokinetics at placebo, 1.0 mg/kg and 1.6 mg/kg with concurrent fMRI and biological sampling.
MDMA
Week of 26 January 2004
This seminal review paper (2004) reviews the psychedelics literature up to this point. It specifically looks at how the psychedelics influence the brain (regions). The main conclusion is that psychedelics increase prefrontal cortical metabolism, and correlations have been developed between activity in specific brain areas and psychological elements of the psychedelic experience. The paper foreshadows the research on the practical uses of psychedelics for (mental) illnesses.
LSDPsilocybinAlcohol Use Disorder (AUD)Substance Use Disorders (SUD)SchizophreniaNeuroimaging & Brain MeasuresSafety & Risk Management
Week of 29 December 2003
This unregistered trial (n=59) was an evaluator-blind, randomised controlled trial of multiple versus single ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions for heroin dependence in detoxified adults, which found that repeated sessions significantly improved long-term abstinence rates.
Ketamine
Showing 10 of 10 in 2004