Psychopharmacology

People with schizophrenia are usually excluded from psychedelic trials. A new mouse study suggests the picture is complicated: psilocybin amplified immediate reactions in a schizophrenia model but lastingly improved sensory filtering in females.

A 37-year-old woman with severe personality disorders took psychedelics on her own during a year of therapy, despite her clinicians’ concerns. By the end, she no longer met criteria for two of her four diagnoses.

Among people with premenstrual symptoms who used cannabis, the amount of dried flower they consumed tended to climb in the days before their period and again around ovulation, according to a study that tracked participants daily.

Healthy adults who took psilocybin in a calm room with music reported stronger mystical experiences than those dosed inside an MRI scanner. Their brain scans a week later also hinted at more synaptic change.

Patients who received a single dose of mebufotenin improved more on a standard depression scale than those who received a low comparator dose, with most assessed as ready to leave the clinic within two hours.

A recent study combining public health databases and computer simulations suggests that the sexual side effects of a common antidepressant involve specific sensory disruptions. The drug might also interact with proteins that regulate cellular stress and inflammation.

Telling Americans how harmful alcohol and tobacco really are reduced their support for keeping those substances legal. But giving similar expert ratings for less harmful illegal drugs, such as LSD and MDMA, barely changed opinions.

People treated with ketamine or MDMA showed changes in chemical tags on genes related to brain plasticity, a small study found. The two drugs converged on similar biological pathways while affecting largely different genes.

Researchers compared 70 psilocybin trial publications with 172 news articles. Both reported positive results at similar rates, but news coverage tended to present the benefits as established and rarely discussed the small, early-stage nature of the research.

A new study links cannabis use to loud snoring and breathing pauses during sleep, with stronger associations among frequent users. The authors suggest that smoke irritation and muscle relaxation in the throat may play a role.

A new study reveals that ADHD symptoms peak in severity during menstruation for women taking stimulant medications. The findings suggest that natural hormonal fluctuations alter attention and mood, highlighting a need for highly personalized treatment plans.

LSD speeds up the brain’s alpha and beta rhythms by about 2 and 5 hertz, respectively, while genuinely weakening them, according to a new brain imaging study. The drug also made brain signals more complex, especially in sensory regions.

A new study identifies a stable, brain-derived RNA molecule in the bloodstream that accurately predicts whether a patient will respond to common SSRI antidepressants, potentially saving months of trial-and-error treatments.

Psilocybin is often described as throwing the brain into disorder. A new study in Nature suggests that beneath the apparent chaos, brain activity becomes organized around what a person is doing, especially in those who feel a sense of unity.

Cannabis is often a group activity in college, but the pattern looks different among heavier users. Students who used more often shared less in a hypothetical sharing task and were less likely to use mostly with others.