Blossom Pulse Archive
What happened in psychedelic research in 2008
23 events from 2008, 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 December 2008
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 10 November 2008
This paper (2008) extensively reviews the pharmacology and psychopharmacology of LSD.
LSDHeadache Disorders (Cluster & Migraine)Palliative & End-of-Life DistressSchizophreniaMedicinal Chemistry & Drug DevelopmentChronic PainDepressive DisordersAnxiety Disorders
Week of 27 October 2008
Randomized, parallel-group Phase II study (n=73) comparing a single IV ketamine infusion (0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes) to active comparator midazolam (0.045 mg/kg) for treatment-resistant depression.
KetamineDouble-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised crossover study (n=60) testing single-dose MDMA (75 mg) and metyrapone (750 mg) versus placebo in ecstasy users to assess memory performance and cortisol responses.
MDMASingle-group Phase I dose-ranging study (n=14) characterising subjective and behavioural effects of salvinorin A in healthy volunteers, administered via inhalation.
Salvia DivinorumThis review (2008) summarises the published research into hallucinogen-induced stimulus control in phenethylamine- and tryptamine-based hallucinogens, highlighting the receptors involved in their mechanism of action.
LSDMescalinePsilocybinSubstance Use Disorders (SUD)Schizophrenia
Week of 15 September 2008
This paper argues that psychological distress following ayahuasca ceremonies among Western users often occurs alongside profound spiritual experiences and is usefully framed as a "spiritual emergency" within a liminality framework. Drawing on indigenous shamanic initiation ethnography and three case studies, the author emphasises that therapists trained to treat spiritual crises can help clients make meaning and recover, while cautioning against romanticising Western users as shamans.
Ayahuasca
Week of 1 September 2008
This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (n=26) aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of ketamine and riluzole in patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. Additionally, the study will assess whether lamotrigine can mitigate ketamine-associated side effects.
KetamineRandomised, parallel-group study (n=82 actual) comparing a single high-dose psilocybin session (30 mg/70 kg) plus CBT versus standard transdermal nicotine patch plus CBT for nicotine-dependent smokers.
PsilocybinThis small double-blind placebo-controlled study (n=6) studied the safety (psychological & physiological) of a low dose of MDMA (50-75mg) in women with chronic PTSD and found no adverse effects.
MDMAPTSDAnxiety DisordersSet & SettingEquity and Ethics
Week of 28 July 2008
This qualitative interview study (n=32) analysed the self-report of interviewees, recruited from the community of the Santo Daime Church, who use ayahuasca as a religious sacrament. Interviewees attributed psychological and physical benefits to their ayahuasca use and reported the remission of psychiatric disorders and drug abuse.
AyahuascaAlcohol Use Disorder (AUD)Substance Use Disorders (SUD)Healthy VolunteersThis review (2008) summarizes convergent evidence in support of the serotonergic model of psychedelics, schizophrenia, and psychosis, and concludes that the serotonergic system contributes to psychotic states only by interacting with other neurotransmitter systems in the brain.
SchizophreniaNeuroimaging & Brain Measures
Week of 14 July 2008
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject study of 15 healthy men, MDMA (1.6 mg/kg) impaired sustained attention and visuospatial memory but spared executive functions and produced subjective effects including increased “positive derealisation” and “dreaminess”. Pre‑treatment with the mixed beta-adrenoceptor blocker/5‑HT1A antagonist pindolol did not significantly alter the cognitive impairments and only modestly affected two subjective measures, arguing against a major causal role for 5‑HT1A receptors in MDMA’s human effects.
MDMAAnxiety DisordersAdolescentsNeurocognitive DisordersHealthy Volunteers
Week of 30 June 2008
Randomised, placebo-controlled crossover neuroimaging study (n=50) using oral dexfenfluramine (40–60 mg) challenge with [18F]-altanserin PET to compare 5-HT release capacity in current MDMA users, former users, and MDMA‑naïve controls.
Week of 26 May 2008
In a double‑blind study of 36 hallucinogen‑naïve adults, a high dose of psilocybin given under supportive conditions occasioned mystical‑type experiences that 14 months later were rated by many participants among the five most personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives and increased well‑being for 64%. Regression analyses showed that the intensity of the mystical experience on the session day mediated these long‑term attributions, and it was the only measured construct to change from screening.
PsilocybinThis paper reviews the psychological risks of human research with classical hallucinogens and provides practical safety guidelines—rigorous screening, preparatory rapport, a controlled physical setting and interpersonal support from at least two monitors—to minimise acute distress (“bad trips”) and the risk of prolonged psychosis. The authors conclude that persisting adverse reactions are rare when these safeguards are followed, allowing ethically conducted research that may advance psychiatric treatment and basic science.
Anxiety DisordersObsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Substance Use Disorders (SUD)SchizophreniaSet & SettingEquity and EthicsMedicinal Chemistry & Drug Development
Week of 31 March 2008
This double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects study (n=21) investigated the effects of psilocybin (0.84, 8.05, & 17.5mg/70kg) on time perception and found that it increased the loss rate of internal time representation even within the microdose range. This may indicate psilocybin's subjective effects, such as the experience of ‘time standing still'.
PsilocybinMicrodosing
Week of 25 February 2008
This commentary (2008) reviews the historical link between psychedelics and creativity, noting that while 1960s studies were methodologically flawed, the topic warrants renewed investigation using modern neuroscientific methods.
LSDCreativity
Week of 28 January 2008
Randomised, double-blind, active-placebo controlled Phase II pilot (n=12) testing two LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions (200 µg vs 20 µg) in people with anxiety related to potentially fatal illness.
LSDThis observational study (n=241) investigated the prevalence of PTSD with respect to perioperative low-dose ketamine use in burned soldiers undergoing surgery. Results indicate that PTSD was less prevalent amongst soldiers who were treated with ketamine, despite having larger burns, higher injury severity score, undergoing more operations, and spending more time in the ICU compared to soldiers who did not receive it as a treatment.
KetamineVeteransPTSDChronic PainThis double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, crossover, counterbalanced study (n=33) investigated whether ketamine-induced (20.5mg/70kg) dissociative mental state is blocked via pretreatment with the glutamate release inhibitor lamotrigine (300mg/70kg). Ketamine produced dissociative effects which corresponded to decreased activity in the ventromedial frontal cortex, including the orbitofrontal cortex and subgenual cingulate, and increased activity in mid-posterior cingulate, thalamus, and temporal cortical regions. Most of these effects were mitigated by lamotrigine, thereby indicating that the dissociative effects of ketamine are mediated by glutamate release.
KetamineSchizophreniaNeuroimaging & Brain MeasuresHealthy Volunteers
Week of 31 December 2007
This commentary (2008) recalls the history of unauthorized research on cluster headaches that started out from individual claims in online forums to the implementation of systematic surveys conducted by medical professionals. Psilocybin, LSD, and LSA (contained in Hawaiian baby woodrose and morning glory seeds) now appear to be at least as effective as the conventional medication to treat cluster headache.
PsilocybinLSDHeadache Disorders (Cluster & Migraine)Chronic PainThis commentary (2008) investigates the religious implications/importance of experiences that people have had on high doses of psilocybin.
PsilocybinSet & Setting
Showing 23 of 23 in 2008