Psilocybin and Mental Health: The Magic in the Mushrooms
Inhaltsverzeichnis
MicrodosingParticipantsStreet names for magic mushrooms
However, we observed a trend towards impaired performance in some cognitive tasks (i.e., attentional blink and Stroop). In contrast, the overall acute effects induced by the microdose (VAS total score) were significant, although they lacked consistency across participants. We also found decreased EEG power in the theta band under psilocybin, which is consistent with the broadband spectral power reductions reported for higher doses. A total of 34 participants (11 females; 31.26 ± 4.41 years; 74 ± 17 kg [mean ± STD]) were recruited by word-of-mouth, social media advertising, and visits to workshops on psilocybin mushrooms and microdosing between December 2019 and August 2020. Participants reported 11 ± 14.9 previous experiences with serotonergic psychedelics, of which 1.5 ± 2.3 were considered “challenging”.
For example, the results are extremely positive for the use of psilocybin in the treatment of smoking cessation and depression, Johnson said.Since 1970, psilocybin and psilocin have been listed by the DEA as Schedule I substances, the federal government's most restrictive category.Results are also promising for the use of psilocybin in reducing cancer-related anxiety and treatment-resistant depression — two areas where there is a huge need for better treatment options, Johnson said.Flashbacks may occur a few days or more than a year after use of psilocybin.
Psilocin is a high-affinity agonist at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, which are especially prominent in the prefrontal cortex. It increases cortical activity secondary to down-stream postsynaptic glutamate effects. It is also active at 5-HT1A, 5-HT1D, and 5-HT2C receptors, although these are thought to play a lesser role in its effects.
Microdosing
It is possible that the experimental design of this study was not optimal to detect some of the claimed positive effects of microdosing. We investigated the effects of two doses per week, yet microdosing is generally conducted over extended periods of time according to an ample variety of dosing schedules [17]. By design, our study could not assess the cumulative effects of microdoses consumed over periods of several days. This decision was also based on the variability of microdosing schedules adopted by users and represented in the current literature [25], which raises the concern of schedule-specific results as an obstacle to address the consistency of findings between studies. Future research should explore whether the positive effects of microdosing can be selectively enabled or facilitated by certain long-term dosing schedules. Also, this study was conducted in healthy participants, and thus the lack of significant findings could stem from ceiling effects.
Researchers have investigated whether psychological specialists can use psilocybin and similar hallucinogens as a treatment for depression. Mushrooms containing psilocybin are small and usually brown or tan. In the wild, people often mistake mushrooms containing psilocybin for any number of other mushrooms that are poisonous.
Participants
“It's the worst censorship of research in history,” says David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London. In November 2020, the state of Oregon passed Measure 109 to legalize psilocybin for people age 21 and older. Proponents of psilocybin legalization in Oregon promote its use for medical conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD.
Inexperienced mushroom hunters might not recognize the difference, and could accidentally ingest a poisonous mushroom, which could lead to liver failure or death. When https://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/show_user.php?userid=5286171 used in current research sessions, participants take a pill containing a high dose of synthetic psilocybin with professionals monitoring them and providing psychological support, Johnson said. They typically receive counseling before and after the psychedelic experience. Magic mushrooms can be made into a tea, eaten raw or dried, ground into a powder and put in capsules, or coated in chocolate, to mask their bitter flavor and disguise them as candy, Johnson said.
Some advanced cancer patients described the effect from the drug as if "the cloud of doom seemed to lift." A "bad trip", or a unpleasant or even terrifying experience, may occur with any dose of psilocybin. In general, dried mushrooms contain about 0.2% to 0.4% psilocybin and only trace amounts of psilocin. The typical dose of psilocybin used for recreational purposes varies, with peak effects occurring in 1 to 2 hours, and lasting for about six hours. Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and psilocin are chemical compounds obtained from certain types of dried or fresh hallucinogenic mushrooms found in Mexico, South America and the southern and northwest regions of the United States. Psilocybin is classified as an indole-alkylamine (tryptamine).
