Psychedelic Drugs

A new double-blind, placebo-controlled neuroimaging study sheds light on how psilocybin alters the way in which the brain processes tactile sensations and mental representations of one's body. The findings have been published in Cerebral Cortex. Psilocybin, the active component in...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects roughly 7 million people in the United States alone. It is associated with a variety of comorbid conditions, including depression, anxiety, and increased risk of heart attack. Developing effective new therapies to combat it is...

Language produced under the influence of the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) displays increased levels of entropy and reduced semantic coherence, according to new research published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition. In other words, people tend to have...

Yale scientists have found that a single dose of psilocybin given to mice induces a rapid and long-lasting increase in connections between pyramidal neurons in the medial frontal cortex, an area of the brain known to be involved in control...

Low doses of psilocybin and ketamine can heighten food-related motivation and improve attention in poorly-performing male rats, according to new research published in Frontiers in Pharmacology. The new findings shed light on some of the potential benefits of microdosing, which...

In addition to being found naturally in animal tissues, including the human brain, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is the primary hallucinogenic compound found in the psychedelic brew known as ayahuasca. Used for both ritual and medicinal purposes in traditional South American cultures,...

A study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy asked psychedelic drug users to share their experiences with drug use, and particularly, their experiences with “bad trips.” An analysis of these narratives revealed that many psychedelic users turn to...

Despite their illegality and a tendency among the media and politicians to demonize their use, psychedelics have been shown to have transformative effects on individuals suffering from mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. At the same time, drug use...

The use of mescaline, a psychedelic substance derived from the peyote cactus, appears to be associated with improvements in depression and anxiety, according to a new preliminary study published in the journal ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science. The research provides...

Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, is a drug which produces a variety of cognitive, perceptual and behavioral changes in users. One of these is distortions in interval timing: one’s perception of (relatively) short intervals and, specifically, the ability to reliably...

Psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, may be at least as effective as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the leading type of antidepressant medication, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The phase 2, double-blind, randomized,...

Hallucinogens benefit from somewhat greater acceptance than many other hard drugs, no doubt due in part to the fact that classic hallucinogens like LSD tend to be less harmful and are less likely to lead to physical dependence. However, they...

Scientists have started to investigate whether psilocybin, the primary substance responsible for the psychedelic effects of “magic” mushrooms, could be helpful to those who suffer from migraine headache. Their new findings, published in Neurotherapeutics, provide preliminary evidence that the drug could...

A new report published in Drug Science, Policy and Law suggests that psychedelic drugs may improve symptoms of color blindness. The study discusses 23 anecdotal reports describing improved color blindness after taking drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin...

People under the influence of psilocybin -- the active component of magic mushrooms -- report having more profound and original thoughts, but tend to score lower on cognitive tests of creative ability, according to new research published in Translational Psychiatry....