Hallucinogens/psychedelics resurrected as new tools in psychiatric therapy

Santos, Rafael G. dos; Bouso, José Carlos; Hallak, Jaime Eduardo Cecílio

doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2020-1035

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The term “hallucinogen” was used by several pioneering authors of the field, such as American biologist Richard Evans Schultes (considered the father of modern ethnobotany), Albert Hofmann (who synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD] and isolated and synthesized psilocybin), and American anthropologists Marlene Dobkin de Rios, Peter Furst, and Michael Harner (Dobkin de Rios, 1972 ; 1984 ; 2008; Furst, 1972; 1976; Harner, 1973 ; Schultes & Hofmann, 1992 ; 1980 ). Furthermore, the terms are commonly used alone or together with “psychedelics” by several relevant research groups in this field (including in our own work) (Barrett & Griffiths, 2018 ; dos Santos & Hallak, 2020 ; dos Santos et al, 2020 ; Griffiths & Grob, 2010 ; Johnson et al, 2008 ; Preller & Vollenweider, 2019 ; Vollenweider, 2001 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Bouso

Oña

Kohek

et al. 2023

Cult Med Psychiatry

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Hallucinations are currently associated almost exclusively with psychopathological states. While it is evident that hallucinations can indicate psychopathology or neurological disorders, we should remember that hallucinations also commonly occur in people without any signs of psychopathology. A similar case occurs in the case of hallucinogenic drugs, which have been long associated with psychopathology and insanity. However, during the last decades a huge body of research has shown that certain kinds of hallucinations, exerted by hallucinogenic drugs, may serve to improve mental health. We propose that, in light of historical, epidemiological, and scientific research, hallucinations can be better characterized as a common phenomenon associated sometimes with psychopathology but also with functional and even beneficial outcomes. In the last sections of the manuscript, we extend our argument, suggesting that hallucinations can offer a via regia to knowledge of the mind and the world. This radical shift in the cultural interpretation of hallucinations could have several implications for fields such as drug policy, civil law, and psychiatry, as well as for the stigma associated with mental disorders.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Bouso

Oña

Kohek

et al. 2023

Cult Med Psychiatry

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“…The wider acceptance and de-stigmatisation of psychedelics 1 is allowing researchers to investigate their potential for the treatment of psychopathology (Marks and Cohen, 2021;Dos Santos, 2020). A growing amount of experimental evidence suggests that psychedelics could eventually become a breakthrough new treatment paradigm in psychiatric, social, and palliative care (Enos, 2022;Gründer, 2021;Gründer and Jungaberle, 2021;Hutchison and Bressi, 2021), although the approach is not without risks or critique (Hall, 2022;Johnstad, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pattern Breaking: A Complex Systems Approach to Psychedelic Medicine

Hipólito¹,

Mago²,

Rosas³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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There is growing evidence for the safety and efficacy of psychedelic therapy in mental health care. What is less understood however, is how psychedelics act to yield therapeutic results. In this paper we propose that psychedelics act as destabilisers — both in a psychological and a neurophysiological sense. Our proposed framework builds on the ‘entropic brain’ hypothesis, according to which psychedelics increase the entropy of spontaneous cortical activity and, in parallel, the richness or depth of content of psychological experience. The so-called ‘RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics’ (REBUS) model is a predictive-coding inspired extension to this hypothesis, which states that psychedelics’ entropic action is paralleled by a relaxation of prior assumptions. Here we adopt a complex systems theory (CST) perspective, proposing that psychedelics act as destabilisers of excessively reinforced fixed points — or ‘attractors’ — which translates as the breaking of excessively reinforced or overweighted patterns of thinking or behaving. Our CST approach explains how psychedelic-induced increases in brain entropy destabilise neurophysiological set-points that are synonymous with overweighted priors, thereby augmenting and enriching the account given by REBUS. We believe that this perspective helps inspire conceptualisations of psychedelic psychotherapy — bearing relevance both to the peak psychedelic experience and subsequent sub-acute period of potential recovery. We discuss implications for risk mitigation and treatment optimization in psychedelic medicine.

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“…Parallel with the pandemic, several studies have been published regarding the potential therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (24)(25)(26)(27), especially for the treatment of mental health issues (25,(28)(29)(30). Other studies have shown their potential for the treatment of pain (31,32) and neurodegenerative disorders (33,34).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-Sectional Associations Between Lifetime Use of Psychedelic Drugs and Psychometric Measures During the COVID-19 Confinement: A Transcultural Study

et al. 2021

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Background: One of the main public health strategies adopted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic consisted of implementing strict lockdowns to stop the transmission of the virus. Despite being an effective measure, the confinement and the associated social isolation create a stressful, potentially lengthy situations that has been proven to have several psychological consequences. Given the potential benefits that certain psychedelic drugs have shown for the treatment of psychological disorders, this study aimed to assess the impact of lifetime psychedelic drug use on mental health in relation to the first strict lockdown adopted by various countries (April-July 2020).Methods: Subjects completed an online survey that inquired about sociodemographic factors, activities, and lifestyle factors during confinement, as well as health and mental health related factors. Subjects were asked about their lifetime use of psychedelic drugs (MDMA, ayahuasca, psilocybin-containing mushrooms, LSD, peyote, San Pedro, Bufo alvarius or 5-MeO-DMT, and others), being classified as regular users (more than once per 6 months), occasional users, or non-users. The survey included psychometric tests used to assess psychological distress, peritraumatic stress, social support, psychopathological symptoms, and personality. Linear regressions were performed with psychedelic drug users as the independent variable and psychometric factors as the outcomes, while correcting for age, gender, language, religion, spirituality, and use of non-psychedelic drugs.Results: The study included 2,974 English, Portuguese, and Spanish speakers (497 regular users of psychedelic drugs, 606 occasional users, and 1,968 non-users). On average, respondents were 36 years old and 70% were female. Psychedelic drug users, especially regular ones, reported less psychological distress, less peritraumatic stress, and more social support. Regarding personality measures, psychedelic drug users scored higher on the novelty-seeking and self-transcendence scales, and lower on cooperativeness.Conclusion: Our findings showed that regular users of psychedelic drugs had less psychological stress and some personality differences when compared to occasional users and non-users. This suggests that either the use of psychedelics might be a protective factor itself or people with certain previous traits are more prone to frequently using psychedelic drugs. Future prospective longitudinal research should investigate the underlying processes observed in this study to develop consistent hypotheses.

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Hallucinogens/psychedelics resurrected as new tools in psychiatric therapy

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Pattern Breaking: A Complex Systems Approach to Psychedelic Medicine

Cross-Sectional Associations Between Lifetime Use of Psychedelic Drugs and Psychometric Measures During the COVID-19 Confinement: A Transcultural Study

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