Psychedelics and music: neuroscience and therapeutic implications.

From the beginning of therapeutic research with psychedelics, music listening has been consistently used as a method to guide or support therapeutic experiences during the acute effects of psychedelic drugs. Recent findings point to the potential of music to support meaning-making, emotionality, and mental imagery after the administration of psychedelics, and suggest that music plays an important role in facilitating positive clinical outcomes of psychedelic therapy. This review explores the history of, contemporary research on, and future directions regarding the use of music in psychedelic research and therapy, and argues for more detailed and rigorous investigation of the contribution of music to the treatment of psychiatric disorders within the novel framework of psychedelic therapy.

LSD enhances suggestibility in healthy volunteers.

RATIONALE: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has a history of use as a psychotherapeutic aid in the treatment of mood disorders and addiction, and it was also explored as an enhancer of mind control. OBJECTIVES: The present study sought to test the effect of LSD on suggestibility in a modern research study. METHODS: Ten healthy volunteers were administered with intravenous (i.v.) LSD (40-80 µg) in a within-subject placebo-controlled design. Suggestibility and cued mental imagery were assessed using the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS) and a mental imagery test (MIT). CIS and MIT items were split into two versions (A and B), balanced for 'efficacy' (i.e. A ≈ B) and counterbalanced across conditions (i.e. 50 % completed version 'A' under LSD). The MIT and CIS were issued 110 and 140 min, respectively, post-infusion, corresponding with the peak drug effects. RESULTS: Volunteers gave significantly higher ratings for the CIS (p = 0.018), but not the MIT (p = 0.11), after LSD than placebo. The magnitude of suggestibility enhancement under LSD was positively correlated with trait conscientiousness measured at baseline (p = 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: These results imply that the influence of suggestion is enhanced by LSD. Enhanced suggestibility under LSD may have implications for its use as an adjunct to psychotherapy, where suggestibility plays a major role. That cued imagery was unaffected by LSD implies that suggestions must be of a sufficient duration and level of detail to be enhanced by the drug. The results also imply that individuals with high trait conscientiousness are especially sensitive to the suggestibility-enhancing effects of LSD.

Psychedelics as medicines for substance abuse rehabilitation: evaluating treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca.

Substances known as psychedelics, hallucinogens and entheogens have been employed in ethnomedical traditions for thousands of years, but after promising uses in the 1950's and 1960's they were largely prohibited in medical treatment and human research starting in the 1970's as part of the fallout from the war on drugs. Nonetheless, there are a number of studies which suggest that these substances have potential applications in the treatment of addictions. While these substances are generally classified as Schedule I, alleging no established medical uses and a high drug abuse potential, there is nonetheless evidence indicating they might be safe and effective tools for short term interventions in addictions treatment. Evidence suggests that the psychedelics have a much greater safety profile than the major addictive drugs, having extremely low levels of mortality, and producing little if any physical dependence. This paper reviews studies evaluating the use of LSD, peyote, ibogaine and ayahuasca in the treatment of dependencies and the possible mechanisms underlying the indications of effectiveness. Evidence suggests that these substances help assist recovery from drug dependency through a variety of therapeutic mechanisms, including a notable "after-glow" effect that in part reflects their action on the serotonin neurotransmitter system. Serotonin has been long recognized as central to the psychedelics' well-known phenomenological, physical, emotional and cognitive dynamics. These serotonin-based dynamics are directly relevant to treatment of addiction because of depressed serotonin levels found in addict populations, as well as the role of serotonin as a neuromodulators affecting many other neurotransmitter systems.

Recreational use of D-lysergamide from the seeds of Argyreia nervosa, Ipomoea tricolor, Ipomoea violacea, and Ipomoea purpurea in Poland.

Recently, there are important changes in recreational drug use. The aim of the present study was to analyse reports published on a recreational web site by drug users who ingested seeds of plants belonging to the Convolvulaceae family and to compare them with available medical case reports. We have also included reports describing the effects induced by "druids fantasy," which is a new drug allegedly containing the same alkaloid as the seeds of A. nervosa. Our search reveals the reoccurrence of recreational use of I. tricolor and violacea (morning glory), which had not been reported in medical literature since 1968. We have also found that drug users are experimenting with other species, such as I. purpurea, whose psychoactive properties are unknown. Symptoms and doses reported by drug users were comparable with the few available medical case reports. The most worrying symptom was suicidal ideation reported by two subjects who ingested A. nervosa and Ipomoea seeds. Effects induced by druids fantasy were comparable with the effects induced by A. nervosa and various Ipomoea species. The ingestion of seeds was frequently associated with taking drugs such as cannabis and hashish, although other combinations, for example with dextromethorphan, were also reported.

Use of drugs at 'raves'.

Widespread use of drugs at the currently popular 'raves' has caused concern principally because of an increasing number of cases of serious toxicity and even death. The availability and use of drugs at raves, mainly in the Edinburgh area, have been investigated and self-reported use of drugs compared with results of urine screening. Use of Ecstasy and LSD have been confirmed and there is evidence to support the use of Khat. A new preparation, Herbal Ecstasy, is readily available at Edinburgh raves and appears to be widely used. All urines tested positive for one or more drugs or drug metabolites and in general analytical results correlated well with self-reported use of drugs.

Acute intravenous infusion in freely moving rats through the sagittal and transverse sinuses.

A technique is described which allows drugs to be injected intravenously using the junction of the sagittal and transverse sinuses as the point of entry into the venous system. The procedure is rapid and uses conventional stereotaxic techniques. Subsequent restraint of movement during drug infusion is minimal. Using this method, 15 mug/kg d-lysergic acid diethylamide produced an increase in acoustic startle amplitide within about 1-2 min which lasted for about 25 min.