Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms [pdf]

Post by anythingnonidin » Sat, Oct 14, 2017, 7:17 AM UTC

glorifirdious wrote: post #16

trgv wrote: post #10

Assuming that psilocybin is effective at treating depression, I find myself wondering whether actual conscious experience (that is, being high) is an essential part of its effectiveness or not. To put this another way, imagine someone takes whatever dose of psilocybin and then is rendered unconsciousness until the perceptual effects wear off. Will there be any difference in its effectiveness as a treatment for depres…

Yes, it would still work because the current hypothesis is that it's the resulting increase in neurogenesis which is responsible for the amelioration of depression. Neurogenesis in general seems to be inversely proportional to experiences of depression.

Post by anythingnonidin » Sat, Oct 14, 2017, 7:23 AM UTC

cheshire_cat wrote: post #9

ComputerGuru wrote: post #4

Before self-medicating based on this combined with a self-diagnosis, consider that LSD and psilocybin have a nasty tendency of triggering latent psychological conditions if not taken in the appropriate dosage and in a controlled environment. [ref: http://www.nationaldrugstrategy.gov.au/internet/drugstrategy... ]

I'd definitely advise anyone thinking about this to do their research but the risk doesn't seem to be as large as often suggested. There was a large US study that showed no correlation between lifetime psychedelic use and mental health problems. "[...] lifetime use of LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, or peyote, or past year use of LSD, was not associated with a higher rate of mental health problems." https://www.nature.co…

Post by anythingnonidin » Sat, Oct 14, 2017, 7:53 AM UTC

derefr wrote: post #44

anythingnonidin wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe we already have an answer for this - which is that most of the benefits of psilocybin on depression (and most other things) rely on the patient being conscious so that they are able to have a 'mystical-type experience.' In almost all psilocybin studies, the effect is mediated by the degree to which the participant has a 'mystical-type experience.' I don't imagine this could be experienced while unconscious,…

On the other hand, apparently electro-convulsive therapy still has an antidepressant effect even when patients are anesthetized for the treatment. So it's not like this is a dumb question to ask categorically.

Post by cJ0th » Sat, Oct 14, 2017, 9:20 AM UTC

anythingnonidin wrote: post #42

discordance wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

N=19 is a very small sample size. I would be careful forming opinions based on this study.

Please read 'A Prevalent Misconception About Sample Size, Statistical Significance, and Clinical Importance' http://www.joponline.org/doi/abs/10.1902/jop.1972.43.3.181?j...

Post by celticninja » Sat, Oct 14, 2017, 11:17 AM UTC

ComputerGuru wrote: post #4

Before self-medicating based on this combined with a self-diagnosis, consider that LSD and psilocybin have a nasty tendency of triggering latent psychological conditions if not taken in the appropriate dosage and in a controlled environment. [ref: http://www.nationaldrugstrategy.gov.au/internet/drugstrategy... ]