Misc. news stories

A recent study, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, delves into the mysterious world of DMT (dimethyltryptamine) experiences reported on Reddit. Researchers sought to understand the profound sense of familiarity that some users encounter during DMT-induced experiences and the potential implications of this enigmatic phenomenon.

“From coca to kava, we should be able to access all plant allies—and understand their beneficial properties.”

A recent meta-analysis suggests that subanesthetic doses of ketamine can offer rapid and sustained anxiety relief, becoming noticeable within a few hours and lasting up to two weeks. The study has been published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

The relationship between size and number also shows up in everything from ecosystems to language…After collecting data on all of the major types of cells in the body, researchers have revealed a familiar mathematical pattern in these cells’ relationship. There is an inverse relationship between cell size and number, meaning smaller cells are more numerous than larger cells.

The European starling boasts a remarkable repertoire. Versatile songbirds that learn warbles, whistles, calls, and songs throughout their lives, starlings rank among the most advanced avian vocal learners. Now a new study published in Science finds that starlings, along with other complex vocal learners, are also superior problem solvers.

A follow-up to a major study into the mysterious experiences of death has identified potential flickers of awareness in the minds of cardiac arrest patients as medical staff attempt to resuscitate them. This research was published in Resuscitation.

This July in Bend, Oregon, Josh Goldstein facilitated one of the first magic mushroom sessions under the state’s new regulatory framework for people to access their active ingredient – psilocybin.

An online survey involving a vast number of adults revealed that after initiating psychedelic use, participants often reduced or stopped their intake of alcohol, antidepressants, and cocaine. Conversely, their consumption of cannabis and tobacco products increased. The study was published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

Australian patients with chronic health issues prescribed medical cannabis showed significant improvements in overall health-related quality of life and fatigue in the first three months of use, along with improvements in anxiety, depression, and pain. See the study here.

In the Arab world, psychedelics are considered “haram,” or forbidden. Haya Al-Hejailan is working to reframe them as medicines.

New research provides evidence that psychedelic experiences are related to “hypersynchrony” in the brain….The study also opened up an exciting avenue for understanding consciousness.

The study, conducted by researchers at New York University’s Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine and the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, suggests that “co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD may buffer against some aspects of challenging experiences and enhance certain positive experiences”.

Image by: William Rafti (Wiki Commons)

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has a message for young people.

Dreams are one of the most universal yet elusive human experiences…Most people rarely, if ever, realize that they’re dreaming while it’s happening, what’s known as lucid dreaming. But some enthusiasts have cultivated techniques to become self-aware in their sleep and even wrest some control over their dream selves and settings.

A recent case study published in Frontiers in Psychology sought to compare the experiences of a near-death experience (NDE) and an experience induced by the psychedelic drug 5-MeO-DMT.

A new study found that giving mice 5-MeO-DMT, a short-acting psychedelic, leads to a long-lasting increase of dendritic spine density in the medial frontal cortex region of their brains… The study was published in Neuropsychopharmacology.