Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of the global population. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal transcultural study that was begun at the peak of the pandemic (in April, 2020). An online survey was used to collect data from English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking participants. The survey collected information about sociodemographics, lifestyle activities, COVID-19-related circumstances, and drug use (with an emphasis on hallucinogenic drugs), as well as involving psychometric questionnaires. Users of hallucinogenic drugs had higher psychological well-being and lower scores on psychopathology scales, both at baseline and during follow-ups. This difference was larger when users were distinguished by frequency of use, as regular users scored higher on psychological well-being and lower on psychopathology scales. Subjects with more psychological distress had lower scores for all scales of post-traumatic growth, but if they were regular hallucinogens users, they had higher scores for post-traumatic growth. When comparing the results between cultural contexts, heterogeneous results were obtained. There were more English-speaking regular users of hallucinogenic drugs. Further research should analyse the potential role of hallucinogens in large-scale catastrophes, with a special focus on post-traumatic growth.

Biases in affective attention tasks in posttraumatic stress disorder patients: A systematic review of neuroimaging studies.

INTRODUCTION: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by alterations in emotional and cognitive processing. The current neurobiological model of PTSD posits that amygdala and prefrontal cortex functioning impairment underpins symptoms, such as altered emotional and cognitive processing. Additionally, these structures are key components of emotional and attention regulation. AIM: This review sought to evaluate studies comparing PTSD group to non-PTSD controls performance in affective attention tasks during neuroimaging. RESULTS: PTSD group behavioral performance when responding to affective stimuli differed from controls only in stroop-based tasks. However, neuroimaging techniques were able to identify brain activation differences even when behavioral differences were not present. Amygdala hyperactivation in PTSD patients was confirmed in most cases, but cortical networks results were not as consistent. More than a general reduction in activity, PTSD group data points out to impaired recruitment of ventral cortical structures and increased reliance on dorsal cortical structures during task performance. CONCLUSION: Stroop-based tasks seem to be better at identifying differences in behavioral performance of PTSD individuals. PTSD individuals seems to present an altered brain activation pattern in affective attention tasks when compared to controls, where PTSD individuals seem to present enhanced amygdala activation and rely more on dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and posterior insula activation during tasks. The PROSPERO ID for this study is CRD42022355471.

Cross-Sectional Associations Between Lifetime Use of Psychedelic Drugs and Psychometric Measures During the COVID-19 Confinement: A Transcultural Study.

Background: One of the main public health strategies adopted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic consisted of implementing strict lockdowns to stop the transmission of the virus. Despite being an effective measure, the confinement and the associated social isolation create a stressful, potentially lengthy situations that has been proven to have several psychological consequences. Given the potential benefits that certain psychedelic drugs have shown for the treatment of psychological disorders, this study aimed to assess the impact of lifetime psychedelic drug use on mental health in relation to the first strict lockdown adopted by various countries (April-July 2020). Methods: Subjects completed an online survey that inquired about sociodemographic factors, activities, and lifestyle factors during confinement, as well as health and mental health related factors. Subjects were asked about their lifetime use of psychedelic drugs (MDMA, ayahuasca, psilocybin-containing mushrooms, LSD, peyote, San Pedro, Bufo alvarius or 5-MeO-DMT, and others), being classified as regular users (more than once per 6 months), occasional users, or non-users. The survey included psychometric tests used to assess psychological distress, peritraumatic stress, social support, psychopathological symptoms, and personality. Linear regressions were performed with psychedelic drug users as the independent variable and psychometric factors as the outcomes, while correcting for age, gender, language, religion, spirituality, and use of non-psychedelic drugs. Results: The study included 2,974 English, Portuguese, and Spanish speakers (497 regular users of psychedelic drugs, 606 occasional users, and 1,968 non-users). On average, respondents were 36 years old and 70% were female. Psychedelic drug users, especially regular ones, reported less psychological distress, less peritraumatic stress, and more social support. Regarding personality measures, psychedelic drug users scored higher on the novelty-seeking and self-transcendence scales, and lower on cooperativeness. Conclusion: Our findings showed that regular users of psychedelic drugs had less psychological stress and some personality differences when compared to occasional users and non-users. This suggests that either the use of psychedelics might be a protective factor itself or people with certain previous traits are more prone to frequently using psychedelic drugs. Future prospective longitudinal research should investigate the underlying processes observed in this study to develop consistent hypotheses.

The impact of anthropogenic disturbances on the genetic diversity of terrestrial species: A global meta-analysis.

Human activities are primarily responsible for habitat loss and changes in natural environments around the world. It has been suggested that populations inhabiting human-modified landscapes experience reduced gene flow, inbreeding depression, and loss of alleles due to genetic drift. However, empirical evidence shows the contrasting effects of anthropogenic disturbances on the genetic diversity of species. We performed a meta-analysis of 61 studies that compared the genetic diversity of plant and/or animal populations in disturbed and more preserved areas (316 paired comparisons) to investigate the genetic responses to different disturbance types. There is a negative effect (effect size: -0.45; 95% confidence interval: -0.61, -0.29) of disturbances on genetic diversity, in which the most detrimental effects are caused by the loss of connectivity and forest cover. The methodological approach can explain part of the heterogeneity among the genetic responses detected by primary studies: (a) studies using the number of effective alleles did not detect genetic erosion, while all other indices revealed negative responses to disturbances; and (b) only studies performed with transferred or a combination of transferred and specific microsatellites detected negative responses. The effects on animal populations are more detrimental than in plant populations. Only plant species with a shrub life form, self-incompatible reproductive systems, and biotic pollination and seed dispersal showed negative responses to disturbances. Despite heterogeneity among studies, there is an overall negative effect of disturbances on genetic diversity, which indicates that remaining populations inhabiting human-modified landscapes have reduced evolutionary potential and are prone to local extinction.

Habitat determinants of golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) occupancy of cacao agroforests: Gloomy conservation prospects for management intensification.

Organismal distributions in human-modified landscapes largely depend on the capacity of any given species to adapt to changes in habitat structure and quality. The golden-headed lion tamarin (GHLT; Leontopithecus chrysomelas) is an Endangered primate from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest whose remaining populations occupy heterogeneous landscapes consisting primarily of shade cacao (Theobroma cacao) agroforestry, locally known as cabrucas. This cash crop can coexist with high densities of native tree species and holds a significant proportion of the native fauna, but its widely extolled wildlife-friendly status is increasingly threatened by management intensification. Although this potentially threatens to reduce the distribution of GHLTs, the main determinants of tamarin's occupancy of cabrucas remain unknown, thereby limiting our ability to design and implement appropriate conservation practices. We surveyed 16 cabruca patches in southern Bahia, Brazil, and used occupancy modeling to identify the best predictors of GHLT patch occupancy. Key explanatory variables included vegetation structure, critical resources, landscape context, human disturbance, and predation pressure. We found a negative relationship between GHLT occupancy and the prevalence of jackfruit trees (Artocarpus heterophylus), which is likely associated with the low representation of other key food species for GHLTs. Conversely, cabrucas retaining large-diameter canopy trees have a higher probability of GHLT occupancy, likely because these trees provide preferred sleeping sites. Thus, key large tree resources (food and shelter) are currently the main drivers of GHLT occupancy within cabruca agroecosystems. Since both factors can be directly affected by crop management practices, intensification of cabrucas may induce significant habitat impacts on GHLT populations over much of their remaining range-wide distribution.

Serotonergic hallucinogens and recognition of facial emotion expressions: a systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Recognition of emotions in facial expressions (REFE) is a key aspect of social cognition. Anxiety and mood disorders are associated with deficits in REFE, and anxiolytics and antidepressants reverse these deficits. Recent studies have shown that serotonergic hallucinogens (i.e. ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], and mescaline) have anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, but their effects on REFE are not well understood. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review analyzing the effects of serotonergic hallucinogens on REFE in humans. METHODS: Studies published in the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases until 19 October 2018 which analyzed the effects of serotonergic hallucinogens on REFE in humans were included. RESULTS: Of the 62 studies identified, 8 studies were included. Included studies involved the administration of a single or a few doses of LSD or psilocybin, and most trials were randomized and controlled with placebo. LSD and psilocybin reduced the recognition of negative emotions in most studies and modulated amygdala activity to these stimuli, which was correlated with antidepressive effects in patients. Both drugs were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Serotonergic hallucinogens reduced the recognition of negative emotions by modulating amygdala activity. Despite the small sample sizes, results suggest that serotonergic hallucinogens show promising beneficial effects on deficits in REFE.