After decades of conjecture, scientists have finally experimentally demonstrated that psilacetin serves as a prodrug of the psychedelic compound psilocin when administered to laboratory animals. This metabolic pathway is shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: Like psilocybin, psilacetin (4-AcO-DMT) is metabolized to psilocin in the body. Psychedelic Science Review previously summarized the… Source ..read more

Psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin are well known components of magic mushrooms (Figure 1). Due to exciting results highlighting the potential of using these compounds as mental health treatments, they have emerged as a topic of significant scientific interest. But, until recently, very little attention had been paid to other close structural analogs of these compounds… Source ..read more

In a period of less than 10 years, both psilocybin and “magic mushrooms” have emerged as topics of mainstream importance. Recent studies have shown that psilocybin has tremendous potential for treating a wide variety of previously intractable health conditions.1 Since the early 2000s, scientists have initiated over 100 clinical trials studying the safety and therapeutic efficacy of pure… Source ..read more

Psychedelic science consistently captures headlines because of the potential for treating conditions such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression. Psilocybin, one of the most studied, is found in magic mushrooms and serves as a prodrug for psilocin.1 Aside from psilocybin/psilocin, these magic mushrooms also contain other biologically important compounds including norpsilocin,2… Source ..read more

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was the first major psychedelic substance of entirely synthetic origin and became an early mainstay of psychiatric medicine.1 While the substance was eventually criminalized across the world by the 1970s, medical interest in LSD has resurged in the last decade, spurred on by positive results for another hallucinogen, psilocybin, in recent clinical trials focusing... Source ..read more

Clinical interest in the use of psychedelic drugs for the treatment of psychiatric disorders has recently exploded, with researchers testing the effects of compounds like LSD and psilocybin on patient populations that are resistant to traditional pharmacotherapies.1-4 The profound alterations in consciousness, sensory perception, and emotional state elicited by psychedelics depends on the ability... Source ..read more

A trip, as a direct cause of ingesting psychedelics, can be both healing and exhilarating. Giddy feelings, melting walls, and merging of yourself with everything in the universe are but some of the experiences people have on psychedelics. But it’s not all fun and games. Confusion, paranoia, intrusive hallucinations, and losing your sense of self can also manifest during a trip. In those cases... Source ..read more

The Colorado river toad (Incilius alvarius) secretes 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT)1,2, a member of the class of psychoactive tryptamines that includes N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), one of the main active components of ayahuasca.3 Structurally and functionally, 5-MeO-DMT and DMT are closely related, and may act as regulators of inflammation and neurogenesis through both 5... Source ..read more

5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; serotonin) is a neurotransmitter. 5-HT is critical for essentially all human behaviours, and is particularly important in controlling mood and perception.1 Given this, it is not surprising that compounds which target the same structures in the brain, such as LSD, are often psychedelic hallucinogens.1 Cells that respond to 5-HT are stimulated when the neurotransmitter... Source ..read more

The 5-HT2A receptor is an essential component mediating the activity of classical psychedelics, those most-studied and clinically relevant, including LSD, DMT, psilocybin, and mescaline. This G-Protein Coupled serotonin receptor is essential for the changes in perception, cognition, and emotion stereotypically associated with psychedelic compounds.1 The last several years have seen a resurgence in... Source ..read more