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Journal article

The therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs: past, present and future

Abstract:
Plant-based psychedelics such as psilocybin have an ancient history of medicinal use. After the first English-language report on LSD in 1950, psychedelics enjoyed a short-lived relationship with psychology and psychiatry. Used most notably as aides to psychotherapy for the treatment of mood disorders and alcohol dependence, drugs such as LSD showed initial therapeutic promise before prohibitive legislature in the mid-1960s effectively ended all major psychedelic research programmes. Since the early 1990s, there has been a steady revival of human psychedelic research: last year saw reports on the first modern brain imaging study with LSD and 3 separate clinical trials of psilocybin for depressive symptoms. In this Circumspective piece, Robin Carhart-Harris and Guy Goodwin share their opinions on the promises and pitfalls of renewed psychedelic research, with a focus on the development of psilocybin as a treatment for depression.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1038/npp.2017.84

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Oxford college:
Merton College
Role:
Author


Publisher:
Springer Nature
Journal:
Neuropsychopharmacology More from this journal
Volume:
42
Issue:
11
Pages:
2105–2113
Publication date:
2017-05-17
Acceptance date:
2017-04-20
DOI:
EISSN:
1740-634X
ISSN:
0893-133X


Pubs id:
pubs:690312
UUID:
uuid:ef3a841f-2fba-4c50-a17b-6fe6af2bc609
Local pid:
pubs:690312
Source identifiers:
690312
Deposit date:
2017-04-20

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