Studies with psychedelic drugs in human volunteers

Sellers, Edward M.; Romach, Myroslava K.; Leiderman, Deborah B.

doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.11.029

“…It has been estimated that there were more than one thousand scientific and clinical studies of classic psychedelics including LSD and psilocybin published through the 1960s (Drug Enforcement Administration, 1995; Grinspoon, 1981; Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1979; Johnson and Griffiths, 2017), and several thousand more published since the 1960s (Sellers et al, 2017).…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Abuse Potential Of Psilocybin According Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Isbell and Logan (1957) demonstrated that chlorpromazine administration reduced and could partially reverse the effects of LSD. Nonetheless, the pharmacology and mechanisms of action of psilocybin and LSD are similar in many respects, although psilocybin is shorter acting and at least 100 times less potent than LSD (Isbell, 1959a; Sellers et al, 2017). Research has also shown the 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin to block most of the effects of psilocybin (Kometer et al, 2012; Kometer et al, 2013; Quednow et al, 2012; Vollenweider et al, 1998), although ketanserin does not block certain psilocybin effects including the slowing of binocular rivalry, reductions in arousal/vigilance (Carter et al, 2007), and attentional impairment (Carter et al, 2005).…”

Section: Evaluation Of the Abuse Potential Of Psilocybin According Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act

Johnson

¹

,

Griffiths

²

,

Hendricks

³

et al. 2018

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This review assesses the abuse potential of medically-administered psilocybin, following the structure of the 8 factors of the US Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Research suggests the potential safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treating cancer-related psychiatric distress and substance use disorders, setting the occasion for this review. A more extensive assessment of abuse potential according to an 8-factor analysis would eventually be required to guide appropriate schedule placement. Psilocybin, like other 5-HT2A agonist classic psychedelics, has limited reinforcing effects, supporting marginal, transient non-human self-administration. Nonetheless, mushrooms with variable psilocybin content are used illicitly, with a few lifetime use occasions being normative among users. Potential harms include dangerous behavior in unprepared, unsupervised users, and exacerbation of mental illness in those with or predisposed to psychotic disorders. However, scope of use and associated harms are low compared to prototypical abused drugs, and the medical model addresses these concerns with dose control, patient screening, preparation and follow-up, and session supervision in a medical facility. CONCLUSIONS: (1) psilocybin has an abuse potential appropriate for CSA scheduling if approved as medicine; (2) psilocybin can provide therapeutic benefits that may support the development of an approvable New Drug Application (NDA) but further studies are required which this review describes; (3) adverse effects of medical psilocybin are manageable when administered according to risk management approaches; and (4) although further study is required, this review suggests that placement in Schedule IV may be appropriate if a psilocybin-containing medicine is approved. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Psychedelics: New Doors, Altered Perceptions'.

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“…On the other hand, there are plausible neurobiological mechanisms that may account for microdosing effects, and a growing body of research suggesting a range of reliable positive benefits from higher doses of psychedelics [62]. There have been no published empirical studies of microdosing and it is unclear how accurate anecdotal reports of benefits are.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic study of microdosing psychedelics

Polito

¹

,

Stevenson

²

2019

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The phenomenon of ‘microdosing’, that is, regular ingestion of very small quantities of psychedelic substances, has seen a rapid explosion of popularity in recent years. Individuals who microdose report minimal acute effects from these substances yet claim a range of long-term general health and wellbeing benefits. There have been no published empirical studies of microdosing and the current legal and bureaucratic climate makes direct empirical investigation of the effects of psychedelics difficult. In Study One we conducted a systematic, observational investigation of individuals who microdose. We tracked the experiences of 98 microdosing participants, who provided daily ratings of psychological functioning over a six week period. 63 of these additionally completed a battery of psychometric measures tapping mood, attention, wellbeing, mystical experiences, personality, creativity, and sense of agency, at baseline and at completion of the study. Analyses of daily ratings revealed a general increase in reported psychological functioning across all measures on dosing days but limited evidence of residual effects on following days. Analyses of pre and post study measures revealed reductions in reported levels of depression and stress; lower levels of distractibility; increased absorption; and increased neuroticism. To better understand these findings, in Study Two we investigated pre-existing beliefs and expectations about the effects of microdosing in a sample of 263 naïve and experienced microdosers, so as to gauge expectancy bias. All participants believed that microdosing would have large and wide-ranging benefits in contrast to the limited outcomes reported by actual microdosers. Notably, the effects believed most likely to change were unrelated to the observed pattern of reported outcomes. The current results suggest that dose controlled empirical research on the impacts of microdosing on mental health and attentional capabilities are needed.

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“…On the other hand, there are plausible neurobiological mechanisms that may account for microdosing effects, and a growing body of research suggesting a range of reliable positive benefits from higher doses of psychedelics (Sellers, Romach, & Leiderman, 2017).…”

Section: A Systematic Study Of Microdosing 10mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Study of Microdosing Psychedelics

Polito¹,

stevenson²

2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The phenomenon of ‘microdosing’, that is, regular ingestion of very small quantities of psychedelic substances, has seen a rapid explosion of popularity in recent years. Individuals who microdose report minimal acute effects from these substances yet claim a range of long-term general health and wellbeing benefits. There have been no published empirical studies of microdosing and the current legal and bureaucratic climate makes direct empirical investigation of the effects of psychedelics difficult. In Study One we conducted a systematic, observational investigation of individuals who microdose. We tracked the experiences of 98 microdosing participants, who provided daily ratings of psychological functioning over a six week period. 63 of these additionally completed a battery of psychometric measures tapping mood, attention, wellbeing, mystical experiences, personality, creativity, and sense of agency, at baseline and at completion of the study. Analyses of daily ratings revealed a general increase in reported psychological functioning across all measures on dosing days but limited evidence of residual effects on following days. Analyses of pre and post study measures revealed reductions in reported levels of depression and stress; lower levels of distractibility; increased absorption; and increased neuroticism. To better understand these findings, in Study Two we investigated pre-existing beliefs and expectations about the effects of microdosing in a sample of 263 naïve and experienced microdosers, so as to gauge expectancy bias. All participants believed that microdosing would have large and wide-ranging benefits in contrast to the limited outcomes reported by actual microdosers. Notably, the effects believed most likely to change were unrelated to the observed pattern of reported outcomes. The current results suggest that dose controlled empirical research on the impacts of microdosing on mental health and attentional capabilities are needed.

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Studies with psychedelic drugs in human volunteers

Cited by 29 publications

References 123 publications

The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act

The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act

A systematic study of microdosing psychedelics

A Systematic Study of Microdosing Psychedelics

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