Buprenorphine extends ketamine's anti-suicide effects for 4 weeks in depression trial

Key Findings

🧠 Largest psilocybin brain imaging study launches

• PsiConnect enrolled 62 participants for comprehensive brain scans before and after 19 mg psilocybin doses
• The study combines multiple brain imaging techniques (fMRI, structural MRI, diffusion MRI, and EEG) with three different contexts: meditation, music, and movies
• Half the participants completed 8 weeks of meditation training, allowing researchers to study how meditation and psilocybin interact in the brain
• Follow-ups continue for one year post-treatment, with data made publicly available for other researchers

🍄 Mescaline shows unique brain signature in rats

• Awake rats given mescaline showed selective suppression of brain activity in the cerebellum, unlike LSD and psilocybin
• Despite cerebellar suppression, the brain showed global hyperconnectivity, with the cerebellum forming new connections to the hippocampus, thalamus, and sensory areas
• Mescaline enhanced acoustic filtering at certain frequencies (+27.6% at 4 kHz, +27.3% at 20 kHz) but impaired it at others (-16.4% at 12 kHz)

🌿 Psychedelics show promise for eating disorders

• A meta-analysis of 8 studies identified how psychedelic experiences may help with eating disorder recovery through improved emotion processing and enhanced body connection
• Researchers found that people with eating disorders need specialized safety considerations during psychedelic therapy due to physical vulnerabilities from low weight
• The analysis suggests therapists need dual expertise in both psychedelic treatment and eating disorder psychology for optimal outcomes

🏥 Most palliative care providers skeptical of psilocybin therapy

• Survey of 121 palliative care stakeholders found 61% had unfavorable attitudes toward psilocybin-assisted therapy for end-of-life distress
• However, 95% of physicians reported favorable attitudes, showing a stark divide between clinical and non-clinical staff
• Lack of trained healthcare providers was identified as the primary barrier to implementation, with 68% endorsing early-stage illness intervention

💊 Oral ketamine proves effective for depression

• Meta-analysis of 8 studies with 414 participants found oral ketamine significantly reduced depression scores compared to placebo
• Patients were 2.38 times more likely to achieve remission with oral ketamine versus placebo
• Oral ketamine showed similar effectiveness to other forms of ketamine (IV, nasal) with no serious adverse events reported

🎵 Setting specific intentions enhances psychedelic benefits

• Study of recreational psychedelic users found those with mental health and self-discovery intentions experienced greater mystical experiences and improved well-being
• Recreational intentions were unrelated to well-being improvements and negatively correlated with positive outcomes
• Specific, relevant intentions that were integrated after the experience correlated with the best outcomes, while flexible intentions led to worse results