Episode 24:
Seriously Psilocybin!
Seriously Psilocybin!
BY LEONA WRENN, OLIVIA PISTOR, ARIEL STEWART, & SKYE LEWIS
Psilocybin has been posited as a groundbreaking, yet controversial, treatment for severe depression. But what does the research say about it? In this episode, we discuss the history, mechanisms, legal standing, and efficacy of psilocybin in a therapeutic setting.
This episode was produced as part of an upper level course on Neuropharmacology taught by Angel Kaur during Fall 2020 at UNC Asheville.
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Articles Referenced
- Anderson, T., et al. Microdosing psychedelics: personality, mental health, and creativity differences in microdosers. Psychopharmacology 236, 731–740 (2019).
- Carbonaro T. et. al. Survey study of challenging experiences after ingesting psilocybin mushrooms: acute and enduring positive and negative consequences. Journal of Psychopharmacology 30, 1268–1278 (2016).
- Carhart-Harris, R.L. et. al. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. The Lancet Psychiatry 3, 619–627 (2016).
- Carhart-Harris, R.L. et al. Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Sci Rep. 7, 13187 (2017).
- Carhart-Harris, R.L. et al. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. Psychopharma. 235, 399–408 (2018).
- Griffiths, R. et. al. Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial. Journ. of Psychopharma. 30, 1181–1197 (2016).
- Halpern J., Pope H., Do hallucinogens cause residual neuropsychological toxicity? Drug Alcohol Dependence 53, 247–256 (1999).
- Hibicke, M. et al. Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant- like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 11, 864-871 (2020).
- Mertens, L. et al. Therapeutic mechanisms of psilocybin: Changes in amygdala and prefrontal functional connectivity during emotional processing after psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Journ. Of Psycopharm. 34, 167-180 (2020).
- Roseman, L., Nutt, D. J., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Frontiers in Pharma. 8, 1 (2018).
Related Reading
- Frone, M. Employee psychoactive substance involvement: Historical context, key findings, and future directions. Annual Review of Organ. Psycho. and Organ. Behavior 6, 273-297 (2019).
- Geiger, H. et al. DARK Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Psilocybin. ACS Chem. Neuro. 10, 2438-2447 (2018).
- Johnson M.W. et al. The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act. Neuropharmacology 142, 143–166 (2018).
- Lopez, G. The federal drug scheduling system, explained. Vox. (2016).
- Nutt, D. Psychedelic drugs- a new era in psychiatry?. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 21, 139-147 (2019).
Episode Transcript (PDF)
Credits
Written, Directed, and Featuring: Leona Wrenn, Olivia Pistor, Ariel Stewart, Skye Lewis
Scientific Research by: Leona Wrenn, Olivia Pistor, Ariel Stewart, Skye Lewis
Additional Sound Engineering: Cat Sawyer
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