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Smoking self-report data. Mean (SEM) of Timeline Follow-back data at intake and 6-month follow-up for the entire study sample, N=15 (A), and for participants who tested positive for smoking at 6-month follow-up, n=3 (B). 6mo=6-month follow-up. Results shown are for 2-tailed paired t-tests comparing average daily smoking.
Source publication
Despite suggestive early findings on the therapeutic use of hallucinogens in the treatment of substance use disorders, rigorous follow-up has not been conducted. To determine the safety and feasibility of psilocybin as an adjunct to tobacco smoking cessation treatment we conducted an open-label pilot study administering moderate (20 mg/70 kg) and h...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... paired t-tests demonstrated significant reductions in self-reported daily smoking from intake to 6-month follow-up (TLFB; t 14 =11.1, p<.001) among the entire study sample (Figure 2(a)). Smoking biomarker data among the entire sample also demonstrated statistically significant reductions from intake to 6-month follow-up for breath CO levels (t 14 =3.8, p<.01), and urine cotinine (t 14 =2.3, ...
Context 2
... participants tested positive for smoking at 6-month follow-up, and reported periods of 4, 11, and 22 days of smoking abstinence post-TQD, with two showing >6 days biologically verified continuous abstinence. These individuals ultimately resumed daily smoking. However, a 2-tailed paired t-test analysis of Timeline Follow-back data for these three participants revealed significantly reduced smoking post-TQD (Figure 2(b)), with a reported average of 20 cigarettes/day before TQD, and an aver- age of 14 cigarettes/day afterwards (t 2 =5.3, p=.03). Two-tailed paired t-tests found no significant differences in these three par- ticipants' smoking biomarker data from intake to 6-month fol- low-up for breath CO or urine cotinine ...
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... Recent clinical trials have suggested therapeutic potential for classic psychedelics, defined as serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT 2A R) agonists such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, and psilocybin (Johnson et al., 2019). Studies of these substances have demonstrated preliminary evidence of potential benefits for several conditions, including major depressive disorder (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016Davis et al., 2021;D'Souza et al., 2022;Goodwin et al., 2023;Raison et al., 2023), end-of-life anxiety and depression (Griffiths et al., 2016;Grob et al., 2011;Muttoni et al., 2019;Ross et al., 2016), and substance use disorder (Bogenschutz et al., 2015(Bogenschutz et al., , 2022Johnson et al., 2014Johnson et al., , 2017. While there appear to be both short-and long-term benefits from psychedelic experiences in clinical and nonclinical contexts, there are also short-and long-term risks associated with psychedelic use. ...
Background
As classic psychedelics’ therapeutic potential is studied and their popularity continues to rise, it is important to establish their relative risks and benefits. Previous surveys have tended to use convenience sampling on social media, select participants who have had either extremely positive or negative effects, and have not compared the risk/benefit profile of psychedelics to other substances.
Aims
To address these limitations, we gathered samples from an opt-in panel service using quota-based sampling to approximate demographics representing US Census data, did not pre-specify positive or negative experiences, and compared experiences with psychedelics to those with cannabis.
Methods
We conducted two studies, one using a between-subjects design ( n = 743) and one using a within-subjects design ( n = 514), in which participants recruited from an opt-in panel service reflected on prior experience with psychedelics or cannabis and indicated self-reported risks and benefits associated with their experience.
Results
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Conclusions
These findings on psychedelic experiences provide a more nuanced characterization of risks and benefits and their predictors.
... Due to their established and potential novel therapeutic effects, serotonergic psychedelics have become a focal point of current psychopharmacological research [1]. Clinical trials have demonstrated promising effects of these compounds in alleviating anxiety and depression [2][3][4], treating substance abuse [5][6][7][8], and managing obsessive-compulsive 'wet dog shake' [16]. However, for simplicity, we will use the term 'head-twitch response' throughout this paper. ...
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... 1,2 In most studies, classical psychedelics have typically been administered in a therapeutic package combining psychedelic administration with talk therapy and/or psychological support, referred to as psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT). 1,3 PAT has shown promise for the treatment of depression, 4-8 substance use disorders (SUDs), [9][10][11] cancer-related psychiatric distress, 12,13 and a number of other disorders. 2 Recently, a phase 2 clinical trial of PAT (NCT02061293) for patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) demonstrated significant reductions in drinking and problems related to drinking in patients who received psilocybin compared to active placebo. ...
... Although studies to date are limited to small numbers of participants and possibly nonrepresentative samples, those published, along with supporting case reports, have shown promising results in the treatment of a spectrum of psychiatric disorders in the United States, including major depressive disorder (MDD), 4-6 anxiety, 7-9 obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), [10][11][12][13] posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 14 personality disorders, 15,16 and alcohol 17 and tobacco use disorders. 18 More recently, feasibility studies examining the safety and tolerability of psilocybin as a treatment have been conducted in patients with anorexia nervosa, highlighting the expansion of interest in how the substance can be used to potentially treat other psychiatric disorders. 19 Because of its short half-life and absence of needed daily dosing, psilocybin may benefit those with severe postpartum depression, a major public health concern with great morbidity and often life-threatening consequences for mother and child. ...
... The serotonergic activity of MDMA allows it to share features of the classical psychedelic experience, though with distinctions, which have been characterized elsewhere (Holze et al., 2020). Although a broad literature base has shown psychedelics to be effective in treating depression (Agrawal et al., 2023;Carhart-Harris et al., 2021;Carhart-Harris et al., 2016;Goodwin et al., 2022;Goodwin et al., 2023;Griffiths et al., 2016;Kozak et al., 2023;Ross et al., 2016), anxiety (Griffiths et al., 2016;Grob et al., 2011;Ross et al., 2016), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Mitchell et al., 2021;Mithoefer et al., 2011), and substance use disorders (Bogenschutz et al., 2015;Johnson et al., 2014), the specific mechanisms underlying their therapeutic efficacy have been elusive. It is possible that neuroplasticity and critical period reopening may be the common neurobiological mechanism associated with their transdiagnostic efficacy, accounting for their ability to induce psychological flexibility and cognitive reappraisal (Agin-Liebes et al., 2022;Davis et al., 2020;Kuypers et al., 2016;Nardou et al., 2023). ...
Psychedelic compounds continue gaining scientific and regulatory traction as potential new treatments for psychiatric disorders. While most psychiatrists will likely not work directly with these compounds, psychedelic research practices provide insights that may improve conventional psychiatric care. Through its emphasis on ‘set and setting’ (mindset and environment, respectively), psychedelic research highlights the importance of non-pharmacologic factors maximizing therapeutic outcomes. While psychedelics and serotonergic antidepressants are distinctly different in their subjective experience, new findings suggest mechanistic overlap between them. Both have been found to modulate neurotrophins, enhance neuroplasticity, and reopen critical periods of learning, molded by the environmental context in which they are administered.
This paper will argue that by integrating insights from psychedelic research (particularly set and setting), depression treatment outcomes in traditional psychiatric settings can improve by optimizing non-pharmacological factors in treatment, including the provision of high-quality psychotherapy.
... In 2014, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published a pilot study of psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction. Of the 15 partici-pants, who had previously attempted to quit smoking on average six times prior, 80% were nicotine-free at the 6-month follow-up [34]. The structure of treatment involved weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions with a psychologist and three spaced-out doses of 20 mg/70 kg or 30 mg/70 kg of psilocybin over a 15-week period. ...
Psychedelics have recently (re)emerged as therapeutics of high potential for multiple mental health conditions, including substance use disorders (SUDs). Despite early mid-20th century anecdotal reports and pilot studies demonstrating the possibility of these substances in efficaciously treating conditions such as alcohol and opioid use disorders, legal restrictions and social stigma have historically hindered further research into this area. Nevertheless, concurrent with the rise in SUDs and other mental health conditions, researchers have again turned their attention to these compounds, searching for differing pharmacological targets as well as more holistic treatments that might increase patient adherence and efficacy. The aim of this review is to examine the emerging evidence-based data with regards to the therapeutic treatment of SUDs with the psychedelic compounds psilocybin, ketamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), ayahuasca, ibogaine and peyote.
... Psilocybin is the focus of this paper. Recent clinical trials have shown the ability of psilocybin-assisted therapy to successfully treat substance abuse disorders like alcohol (Bogenschutz et al., 2018) and tobacco (Garcia-Romeu, R. Johnson, Garcia-Romeu, Cosimano, & Griffiths, 2014, 2017, obsessive-compulsive disorder (Moreno, Wiegand, Keolani, & Delgado, 2006), cancer-related anxiety and depression (Griffiths et al., 2016;Ross et al., 2016), and treatmentresistant depression Roseman, Nutt, & Carhart-Harris, 2018;Watts, Day, Krzanowski, Nutt, & Carhart-Harris, 2017). Calls have also been made to study the potential of psychedelics to treat PTSD (Averill & Abdallah, 2022;Modlin et al., 2023). ...
Background and Aims
This article examines the therapeutic potential of psilocybin in addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as the result of sexual abuse. PTSD is a prevalent form of mental distress resistant to most conventional treatment methods.
Methods
Through an in-depth analysis of the narratives of two individuals with longstanding, treatment-resistant mental health conditions, who participated in a weeklong group-based psychedelic retreat involving psilocybin, the study unveils the intricate interplay between psychedelic-assisted therapy, memory, and narrative in the healing process.
Results
The research findings suggest that beyond the commonly acknowledged therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs, psilocybin can facilitate the retrieval of repressed or forgotten traumatic memories, allowing for conscious awareness, recognition, and reconciliation. A noteworthy aspect of the healing progression observed is the re-narration of one's identity and biographical circumstances following the recovery of unresolved traumatic memories.
Conclusions
This study underscores the importance of memory and self-narrative in the therapeutic landscape of psychedelic-assisted therapy for trauma. The article concludes by advocating for continued exploration in future research regarding the complex dynamics of memory and self-narrative in the healing journey within psychedelic science and trauma studies.
... However, an analysis of PAP's effect on psychiatric symptoms beyond anxiety and depression was not performed. Given the diversity of clinical applications for which psilocybin is currently being investigated for, including major depressive disorder 25,26 , substance use disorders 27,28 , obsessive-compulsive disorder 29 , body dysmorphic disorder 30 and eating disorders 31 , we hypothesized that PAP would impart multidimensional psychiatric improvements in patients with cancer. To test this hypothesis, we pooled previously unpublished data from the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) 32 , which was collected in both aforementioned clinical trials, to analyze the effect of PAP on nine psychiatric symptom dimensions: (1) anxiety, (2) depression, (3) interpersonal sensitivity, (4) hostility, (5) obsessioncompulsion, (6) somatization, (7) phobia, (8) paranoia and (9) psychosis. ...
... Qualities of the subjective experience have been found to be predictive of subsequent positive and negative therapeutic outcomes (Herrmann et al., 2022;Roseman, Nutt, & Carhart-Harris, 2018), indicating the nature of experience may be an important determinant of subsequent therapeutic trajectories (Yaden & Griffiths, 2020). Specifically, so-called 'peak' or 'mystical-type experiences' (Barrett, Johnson, & Griffiths, 2015;Bogenschutz et al., 2015;Garcia-Romeu, Griffiths, & Johnson, 2015;Johnson, Garcia-Romeu, Cosimano, & Griffiths, 2014;Roseman et al., 2018;Studerus, Gamma, & Vollenweider, 2010), 'challenging experiences' (Barrett, Bradstreet, Leoutsakos, Johnson, & Griffiths, 2016;Gashi, Sandberg, & Pedersen, 2021;Roseman et al., 2018), and 'emotional breakthrough' (Dougherty et al., 2023;Haijen et al., 2018;Kettner et al., 2021;Lyons et al., in prep;Murphy et al., 2021;Peill et al., 2022;Roseman et al., 2019) have been related to therapeutic outcomes (Peill et al., 2022). ...
Background
Access to psychedelic drugs is liberalizing, yet responses are highly unpredictable. It is therefore imperative that we improve our ability to predict the nature of the acute psychedelic experience to improve safety and optimize potential therapeutic outcomes. This study sought to validate the ‘Imperial Psychedelic Predictor Scale’ (IPPS), a short, widely applicable, prospective measure intended to be predictive of salient dimensions of the psychedelic experience.
Methods
Using four independent datasets in which the IPPS was completed prospectively – two online surveys of ‘naturalistic’ use ( N = 741, N = 836) and two controlled administration datasets ( N = 30, N = 28) – we conducted factor analysis, regression, and correlation analyses to assess the construct, predictive, and convergent validity of the IPPS.
Results
Our approach produced a 9-item scale with good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.8) containing three factors: set, rapport, and intention. The IPPS was significantly predictive of ‘mystical’, ‘challenging’, and ‘emotional breakthrough’ experiences. In a controlled administration dataset ( N = 28), multiple regression found set and rapport explaining 40% of variance in mystical experience, and simple regression found set explained 16% of variance in challenging experience. In another ( N = 30), rapport was related to emotional breakthrough explaining 9% of variance.
Conclusions
Together, these data suggest that the IPPS is predictive of relevant acute features of the psychedelic experience in a broad range of contexts. We hope that this brief 9-item scale will be widely adopted for improved knowledge of psychedelic preparedness in controlled settings and beyond.
... Psilocybin has been administered to healthy participants in numerous studies in various doses up to 0.6 mg/kg with dose being the strongest predictor for subjective effects (see e.g., Nicholas et al., 2018;Studerus, Gamma, Kometer, & Vollenweider, 2012). Psilocybin has been used in the treatment of demoralized long-term AIDS survivors (Anderson et al., 2020), treatment-resistant depression (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016), major depressive disorder (Carhart-Harris et al., 2021;Davis et al., 2021;Goodwin et al., 2022), anxiety and depression related to cancer (Griffiths et al., 2016;Grob et al., 2011;Ross et al., 2016), alcohol-use disorder (Bogenschutz et al., 2015(Bogenschutz et al., , 2022, smoking cessation (Johnson, Garcia-Romeu, Cosimano, & Griffiths, 2014), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; Moreno, Wiegand, Keolani Taitano, & Delgado, 2006). Doses of psilocybin in these trials ranged from 1.75 to 30 mg (median: 21 mg; based on an average body weight of 70 kg; see Thal et al., 2022). ...
