Culture, Context, and Community in Contemporary Psychedelic Research

After a decades long period of investigational dormancy, there is renewed interest in employing psychedelics as treatments for mental illness and addiction. The academic journals, journal articles, academic institutions, and countries that have helped sustain clinical psychedelic research and the evolution of the literature on clinical studies of psychedelic compounds have only been minimally investigated. Therefore, in we conducted a bibliometric analysis of clinical studies of 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ibogaine, mescaline, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and psilocybin published from 1965-2018. Our search revealed 320 articles published across 106 journals. After a nearly quarter century lull between the 1970s and 1990s, publications in this area have resurged over the last two decades and continue on an upward trajectory, with most clinical studies now focusing on LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin. A subanalysis of the ten most cited articles in psychedelic research prior to 2010 and afterwards demonstrated a shift from research on risks of psychedelics, primarily those of MDMA, to research on therapeutic applications, predominantly those of psilocybin. We also conducted network analyses of inter-country collaborations in psychedelic research, which suggested that psychedelic researchers in the United Kingdom have more diverse international collaborations.

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1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: A Future Approach to the Metabolic Profiling of Psychedelics in Human Biofluids?

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.742856 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Sylvana Vilca-Melendez ◽

Malin V. Uthaug ◽

Julian L. Griffin

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽

Nmr Spectroscopy ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Metabolic Profiling ◽

Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽

Future Directions ◽

H Nmr ◽

Nuclear Magnetic ◽

Psychedelic Research

While psychedelics may have therapeutic potential for treating mental health disorders such as depression, further research is needed to better understand their biological effects and mechanisms of action when considering the development of future novel therapy approaches. Psychedelic research could potentially benefit from the integration of metabonomics by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy which is an analytical chemistry-based approach that can measure the breakdown of drugs into their metabolites and their metabolic consequences from various biofluids. We have performed a systematic review with the primary aim of exploring published literature where 1H NMR analysed psychedelic substances including psilocin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), LSD derivatives, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) and bufotenin. The second aim was to assess the benefits and limitations of 1H NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics as a tool in psychedelic research and the final aim was to explore potential future directions. We found that the most current use of 1H NMR in psychedelic research has been for the structural elucidation and analytical characterisation of psychedelic molecules and that no papers used 1H NMR in the metabolic profiling of biofluids, thus exposing a current research gap and the underuse of 1H NMR. The efficacy of 1H NMR spectroscopy was also compared to mass spectrometry, where both metabonomics techniques have previously shown to be appropriate for biofluid analysis in other applications. Additionally, potential future directions for psychedelic research were identified as real-time NMR, in vivo1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and 1H NMR studies of the gut microbiome. Further psychedelic studies need to be conducted that incorporate the use of 1H NMR spectroscopy in the analysis of metabolites both in the peripheral biofluids and in vivo to determine whether it will be an effective future approach for clinical and naturalistic research.

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Co-design of Guidance for Patient and Public Involvement in Psychedelic Research

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.727496 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

James B. Close ◽

Julia Bornemann ◽

Maria Piggin ◽

Sandra Jayacodi ◽

Lisa Xiaolu Luan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Involvement ◽

Scientific Research ◽

Core Values ◽

Patient And Public Involvement ◽

The Public ◽

Steering Group ◽

Starting Point ◽

Design Workshop ◽

Psychedelic Research

Within the context of scientific research, patient and public involvement (PPI) is defined as research performed “with” or “by” patients and members of the public, rather than “to,” “about”, or “for” them. When carried out systematically and thoughtfully, PPI has the potential to strengthen the quality and impact of research by fostering accountability, transparency, and relevance. There exist numerous guidelines, frameworks and tools for supporting PPI, however, these do not account for the unique challenges faced in psychedelic research. This paper describes the co-design of guidance intended to help build, evaluate and improve PPI in psychedelic research. A steering group was formed to design and run a co-design workshop alongside public collaborators. Insights from this workshop were analyzed and refined into a comprehensive and readily usable guide for planning PPI specific to the field of psychedelic research. Core values emerging from the process focused on the essential importance of trust, learning, purpose and inclusivity. It is hoped that this guidance will be a starting point for incorporating PPI in future psychedelic research, so that it can grow and adapt as this burgeoning field of research progresses.

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2019: A year of expansion in psychedelic research, industry, and deregulation

Drug Science Policy and Law ◽

10.1177/2050324520974484 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 205032452097448

Author(s):

Jacob S Aday ◽

Emily K Bloesch ◽

Christopher C Davoli

Keyword(s):

International Expansion ◽

Regulatory Changes ◽

Research Themes ◽

The Us ◽

Psychedelic Drugs ◽

History Of ◽

Pharmaceutical Industries ◽

Novel Applications ◽

First Time ◽

Psychedelic Research

Public and scientific interest into psychedelic drugs has grown steadily over much of the last two decades, before an exponential increase in recent years. We contend that 2019, in particular, involved myriad notable changes in the science, industry, and deregulation of psychedelic drugs. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for professionals to keep up-to-date on these advancements given the rapid growth of the field. Further, broad contemporary synopses are critical in maintaining records in the history of science. To address these concerns, this article synthesizes the significant number of scientific, business, and regulatory changes related to psychedelic drugs which occurred in 2019. Establishment of psychedelic research centers, novel applications of the drugs, and international expansion of the field in 2019 seemed to solidify psychedelic research’s place in science. Additionally, many in the business and pharmaceutical industries stimulated considerable investment and innovation in psychedelics for the first time. In the US, successful decriminalization efforts and endorsements by eminent political figures, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Andrew Yang, and the heads of the NIH and FDA, in 2019 were representative of unprecedented regulatory changes. Collectively, this article serves as a succinct summary of the changes psychedelic drugs made across various levels of society in 2019—by coalescing emerging research themes, industrial innovations, and attitude shifts.

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The Antipodes of the Mind

10.1093/oso/9780190459116.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher Partridge

Keyword(s):

Western World ◽

Aldous Huxley ◽

The 1960S ◽

The Mind ◽

Psychedelic Research

In 1956, in a letter to Aldous Huxley, the British psychiatrist Humphry Osmond coined the term “psychedelic.” This chapter provides an analysis of the events that led up to Huxley’s psychedelic epiphany under the influence of mescaline, including Albert Hofmann’s discovery of LSD and subsequent psychedelic research. Particular attention is given to Huxley’s interpretation of the psychedelic state. This is important because Huxley was a catalytic figure at an important moment in the postwar Western world and his ideas had a formative influence on the culture of the 1960s. There is also analysis of R. C. Zaehner’s strident critique of Huxley’s thesis.

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Some Comments on Psychedelic Research

American Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20030272 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 177 (5) ◽

pp. 368-369 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alan F. Schatzberg

Keyword(s):

Psychedelic Research

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Abraham Maslow’s Interest in Psychedelic Research: A Tribute

Journal of Humanistic Psychology ◽

10.1177/0022167816670997 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 319-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

William A. Richards

Keyword(s):

Humanistic Psychology ◽

Research Assistant ◽

Abraham Maslow ◽

Psychedelic Research

In this brief tribute to Abraham Maslow, a founder of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, his interests in psychedelic research are described by the author who served as his research assistant from 1966 to 1967.

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