Psilocybin in the news

An article published yesterday (11/29/2014) in the Opinion section of the New York Times (NYT) titled "Can Mushrooms Treat Depression?" revealed how wide-spread and excepted the current research involving the use "magic mushrooms" and other psychedelic substances has become by the general public.  The use of psilocybin to treat PTSD has come a long way since 2008, when I first attempted to discuss it with some of the leading DoD Psychiatrists only to be dismissed with a snicker.  On one occasion, while bringing the subject up to a DoD civilian PhD Psychologist he frantically looked over both shoulders and whispered "we can't talk about that around here".

I sincerely doubt that any of them had actually read any of the medical literature on the subject at that time but hopefully that has changed.  That environment is, unfortunately, a tough nut to crack, at the expense of those suffering from PTSD, forcing them take extreme measures such as dangerous expeditions to the jungles of Peru (Lisa Ling - A Jungle Fix) in an attempt to get effective treatment.

The NYT article published yesterday by Eugenia Bone brings up a very important issue, the classification of psilocybin as a Schedule 1 drug and how that makes medically relevant research on its use in areas such as addiction treatment, cancer related anxiety, PTSD and depression extremely difficult at the expense of those suffering from those afflictions.

This needs to change and it will eventually. Show those suffering from PTSD as a result of serving their country that you really do care.  Of course Lawmakers main concern is in not offending any of their supporters, not losing any votes in the next election.  Not to worry, the public's attitude has changed, thanks to the responsible, ethical research being carried out at Johns Hopkins, New York University, the Imperial College London, and elsewhere.  So, lets make it happen.

New Post 1/26/2015 regarding recent article from Newsweek that is not afraid to say the obvious, that there is a role for classic psychedelics in medicine:

Day Tripping: Benefits Seen in Psychedelics
Culturally, psychedelics bear quite a bit of baggage: Timothy Leary’s call to “turn on, tune in and drop out” became a countercultural slogan in the 1960s, and proved damaging to potential research on utilizing the drug to improve mental health for more than three decades. Perhaps this study will be a turning point in how our culture regards psychedelics and mental health. "I know scientists are supposed to be objective and dispassionate," Hendricks says. "But I'm excited and hopeful. I've seen the data -- it seems to me that psychedelics hold tremendous therapeutic potential."

One step away

A recent article in the Guardian announced the Imperial College London has plans to commence a study that will utilized psilocybin to treat individuals with clinical depression.  The pilot study will be conducted by Professor David Nutt and Dr Robin Carhart-Harris at Imperial College's Neuropsychopharmacology Centre in London on 12 patients who have failed to respond to conventional treatment.  Positive results from this difficult to treat patient population would provide provide compelling evidence of psilocybin's utility for treating various mental disorders. The Imperial College London is one of the top 10 ranked Universities in the world (ranked #2).

Carhart-Harris and Nutt have previously published 2 fMRI studies detailing psilocybin's effect on the brain and a recent theory of the entropic brain, the state of consciousness occasioned by the use of psychedelic substances.

Depression is common in men and women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The trauma that caused PTSD also may cause depression (WebMD).  As of today, not a single pharmacological treatment has been developed specifically for PTSD (CNS Drugs. 2013 Mar;27(3):221-32).  A recent study that utilized an animal model of PTSD showed an extinction of "fear conditioning" and concluded that psilocybin "and similar agents, should be explored as potential treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions" (Exp Brain Res. 2013 Aug;228(4):481-91). A study published in 1968 demonstrated the effectiveness of psilocybin for PTSD (Ind Med Surg. 1968 May;37(5):347-50).  Since publication of this 1968 study, new laws have made further research into the use of psychedelics nonexistent until recently.

Commenting on this situation, Dr Nutt, in the recent Guardian article referred to above, stated:

"It was unquestionably one of the most effective pieces of disinformation in the history of mankind," says Nutt. "It led to a lot of people believing these drugs were more harmful than they were. They are not trivial drugs, but in comparison with drugs that kill thousands of people a year, like alcohol, tobacco and heroin, they have a very safe track record and, as far as we know, no one has died."

There now exists an abundance of information to support and an abundance of need for a Clinical Trial utilizing psilocybin to treat PTSD.  The organizations that would be expected to take the lead in this research is logically the Department of Defense and the Veteran's Administration.

It is time for  the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration ("We must do all we can to deliver the high-quality care our service members and veterans have earned and deserve.”) to stop talking the talk about trying to do everything they can to treat PTSD and to start walking the walk by leading the way in initiating Clinical Trials utilizing psilocybin in a therapeutic setting to treat PTSD.

Clinical Trials utilizing psilocybin

Currently there are 14 Clinical Trials listed in various stages of progress (below).  For a dynamic link to current psilocybin related Clinical Trials, click here.

UW Psilocybin Pharmacokinetics Study
The objective of this Phase I clinical trial is to determine the pharmacokinetics of oral doses of psilocybin in normal, healthy adults. The study is performed in support of Phase II and Phase III studies of psilocybin for the treatment of refractory anxiety associated with incurable cancer, as well as other possible indications. Psilocybin is at present not an FDA-approved drug.
University of Wisconsin

Effects of Psilocybin on Behavior, Psychology and Brain Function in Long-term Meditators
This is a double-blind placebo-controlled study investigating the acute and persisting effects of psilocybin on meditation, spirituality, health, well-being, prosocial attitudes, and brain functioning.
Johns Hopkins University

Psilocybin-facilitated Smoking Cessation Treatment: A Pilot Study 
We propose to examine psilocybin administration combined with a structured smoking cessation treatment program in nicotine dependent individuals in order to provide preliminary data on the efficacy of this combined treatment in smoking cessation treatment.
Johns Hopkins University

Pilot Study: Effects of Psilocybin on Behavior, Psychology and Brain Function in Long-term Meditators
This is a pilot study to finalize methods for a larger study being planned for the future. This research is being done to characterize performance of tasks, brain functioning, and the effects of psilocybin in individuals with a long-term meditation practice.
Johns Hopkins University

Effects of Psilocybin in Advanced-Stage Cancer Patients With Anxiety 
The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is conducting a study designed to measure the effectiveness of the novel psychoactive medication psilocybin on the reduction of anxiety, depression, and physical pain.
UCLA

Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety in People With Stage IV Melanoma 
This study is to find out about whether two sessions of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy are safe and will help people who are anxious as a result of having stage IV melanoma and will involve two sessions of psychotherapy combined with either 4 or 25 mg psilocybin.
MAPS

Effects and Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin in Alcohol Dependence
This trial is an open-label pilot study (N = 10) designed to assess the effects of psilocybin in alcohol dependent participants, demonstrate the feasibility of the integrated behavioral/pharmacologic intervention, and provide preliminary outcome and safety data.
University of New Mexico

Psilocybin-facilitated Treatment for Cocaine Use 
The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and estimate the efficacy of psilocybin-facilitated treatment for cocaine use. We also will monitor the impact of psilocybin-facilitated treatment on the use of other drugs and outcomes relevant to cocaine involvement (e.g., criminal involvement).
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Psychopharmacology of Psilocybin in Cancer Patients 
This research is being done to study the psychological effects of psilocybin in cancer patients. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring substance found in some mushrooms that some cultures have used for centuries in religious practices.
Johns Hopkins University

Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study
The primary objective of this double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study is to assess the efficacy of psilocybin administration (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine), a serotonergic psychoactive agent, on psychosocial distress, with the specific primary outcome variable being anxiety associated with cancer. Secondary outcome measures will look at the effect of psilocybin on symptoms of pain perception, depression, existential/psychospiritual distress, attitudes towards disease progression and death, quality of life, and spiritual/mystical states of consciousness.
New York University School of Medicine

A Double-Blind Trial of Psilocybin-Assisted Treatment of Alcohol Dependence 
Several lines of evidence suggest that classic hallucinogens such as psilocybin can facilitate behavior change in addictions such as alcohol dependence. The proposed investigation is a multi-site, double-blind active-controlled trial (n = 180, 90 per group) contrasting the acute and persisting effects of psilocybin to those of diphenhydramine in the context of outpatient alcoholism treatment.
University of New Mexico

Psilocybin and Spiritual Practice 
This study will investigate the effects of psilocybin dose and the frequency and intensity of support activities for spiritual practice (e.g., meditation) on a battery of attitudinal and behavioral outcome measures in 75 healthy volunteers who are interested in pursuing a program of spiritual practices with the intention applying spiritual insights and knowledge to everyday life.
Johns Hopkins University

Effects of Psilocybin-facilitated Experience on the Psychology and Effectiveness of Professional Leaders in Religion 
The current protocol is a pilot study of the effects and possible utility of psilocybin-facilitated experiences for professional religious leaders.
Johns Hopkins University

Effects of Hallucinogens and Other Drugs on Mood and Performance 
This non-treatment study will investigate the effects on mood and performance caused by hallucinogens and other psychoactive compounds.
Johns Hopkins University

Psilocybin is not addicting. It can be used to treat addictions such as tobacco abuse.

A small pilot study at Johns Hopkins enable 12 of 15 (80%) subjects to remain tobacco free for 6 months as has been discussed in the press.  Prescription medications such as Chantix, the most potent aid for smoking cessation, have a success rate of about 35% at six months.  There are currently 2 other Clinical Trials utilizing psilocybin to treat addiction disorders: one for alcohol dependence and one for cocaine addiction.

• Magic mushrooms help smokers kick habit in small study (Bloomberg)
  All the volunteers returned two weeks later for another round with a higher dose of the drug. They were all offered a third experience, though several declined, Johnson said. The treatment doesn’t involve swapping one drug for another, said Johnson, who pointed out that hallucinogens aren’t addictive.

• Want to Quit Smoking? Eat a Magic Mushroom, New Study Says (Time)
  “Quitting smoking isn’t a simple biological reaction to psilocybin, as with other medications that directly affect nicotine receptors.” Instead, Johnson said, it was the subjective experience the smokers had when taking the psilocybin that changed them— more like a religious conversion than getting a shot of penicillin to cure an infection.

Below is the study from the Journal of Psychopharmacology:

Pilot study of the 5-HT2AR agonist psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction
Abstract: Biomarkers assessing smoking status, and self-report measures of smoking behavior demonstrated that 12 of 15 participants (80%) showed seven-day point prevalence abstinence at 6-month follow-up. The observed smoking cessation rate substantially exceeds rates commonly reported for other behavioral and/or pharmacological therapies (typically < 35%).
Johansen PØ, Krebs TS. 
J Psychopharmacol. 2015 Mar;29(3):270-9.  Epub 2015 Mar 5. 
PMID: 25744618 
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Perhaps by more than plain chance, the article below was released on the same day in a different journal by different researchers.  Yet it helps explain how psilocybin works to break addictive habits.

Brain Regions Affected by Impaired Control Modulate Responses to Alcohol and Smoking Cues.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and right posterior insula, each playing a role in the salience network, are affected significantly by impaired control for alcohol and in turn influence brain responses to not only alcohol but also smoking cues, providing insight to neuronal mechanisms for concurrent use or comorbidity of alcohol and nicotine dependence.
Liu J, Claus ED, Calhoun VD, Hutchison KE.  
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2014 Sep;75(5):808-816. 
PMID: 25208199

Psilocybin works to decrease the positive coupling between the medial pre-frontal cortex (mPFC) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC,) both part of the the default mode network. (source)

A recent article in The Pharmaceutical Journal, 27 OCT 2014, Psychedelics: entering a new age of addiction therapy,  provides a good overview of the potential of psychedelics for various addictions, the effects of psilocybin on the brain, and the history of current upsurge in psilocybin research.  This is cutting edge research that shows great promise.

A 2014 article in the Journal of Psychopharmacology titled Hallucinogen use predicts reduced recidivism among substance-involved offenders under community corrections supervision concludes that naturistic hallucinogen use predicted a reduced likelihood of supervision failure (e.g. noncompliance with legal requirements including alcohol and other drug use) and suggests that hallucinogens may promote alcohol and other drug abstinence and prosocial behavior in a population with high rates of recidivism.
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A 2015 article in The British Journal of Psychiatry from researchers at Johns Hopkins states "After a 40-year hiatus there is now a revisiting of psychedelic drug therapy throughout psychiatry, with studies examining the drugs psilocybin, ketamine, ibogaine and ayahuasca in the treatment of drug dependence. Limitations to these therapies are both clinical and legal, but the possibility of improving outcomes for patients with substance dependency imposes an obligation to research this area."
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New article in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 14 March 2015 titled "Classic hallucinogens in the treatment of addictions"
Highlights
•We review the use of classic hallucinogens in the treatment of addiction.
•Controlled trials support the efficacy of high-dose LSD for alcoholism.
•Pilot studies of psilocybin for nicotine and alcohol dependence suggested benefit.
•Definitive studies of efficacy and therapeutic mechanisms remain to be done.

The realities of psychedelic research in today's political milieu

My interest in psychedelic research primarily involves the use of natural plants and fungus that have been used for millennia in a spiritual context.  However, the comments in the articles below are germane for anyone considering the use of psychedelic substances.

Dr Robin Carhart-Harris is the first scientist in over 40 years to test LSD on humans - and you're next
Laurence Phelan 
The Independent Sunday 17 August 2014

"Depression and addictions rest on reinforced patterns of brain activity, and a psychedelic will introduce a relative chaos. Patterns that have become reinforced disintegrate under the drug. I've used the metaphor of shaking a snowglobe. And there's some evidence that psychedelics induce plasticity, in terms of neural connections in the brain, such that there is a window of opportunity in which connections can either be broken or reinforced. New things can be learnt at the same time that old things can be unlearnt. It induces a kind of suppleness of mind."

"The dangers with psychedelics – and there are potential dangers," says the doctor, " arise when they are taken without the proper caution. The model for how the drugs are taken therapeutically is very different from how people might take them recreationally. People are in a particularly sensitive and vulnerable state on psychedelics, and I do think you need that professionalism and structure to have it done properly."

"It is absurd to treat LSD and psilocybin as more dangerous than heroin," he tells me. In a 2010 study published in The Lancet, following on from the work that led to his controversial sacking from the chair of the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs the year before, Professor Nutt ranked the 20 most commonly used drugs according to the evidence for the overall amount of harm they do to the users and to society. Psilocybin came last, with an overall harm score of six, and LSD came 18th with a score of seven, compared with alcohol's 72 and heroin's 55.

No wonder the Czech psychiatrist Stanislav Grof, in 1975, predicted that "psychedelics, used responsibly and with proper caution, would be for psychiatry what the microscope is for biology or the telescope is for astronomy". Unfortunately, the effective prohibition of LSD research meant it was not to be. Perhaps Professor Nutt has Grof in mind when he says: "I think it's the worst censorship of research since the Catholic Church banned the telescope." He continues: "There's a lot of evidence for LSD being an efficacious treatment for things such as addiction. But no one's done a study on it for 50 years. This is outrageous."

Is LSD about to return to polite society?
For 40 years, Amanda Feilding, Countess of Wemyss and March, has believed psychedelics are an effective treatment for depression and anxiety. Now a growing number of scientists agree.
Ed Cummings
The Guardian Sunday 26 April 2015

High Hopes - new article from Science Magazine

Science, also widely referred to as Science Magazine is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is, along with the British journal Nature, one of the world's top scientific journals.  Having this article on the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat various illnesses in such a prestigious journal is very gratifying.

High Hopes (PDF)
Kai Kupferschmidt
Science 4 July 2014: 18-23.
Psychedelic drugs fell from grace in the 1960s. Now, scientists are rediscovering them as potential treatments for a range of illnesses.
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New article: the biological basis for magic mushroom 'mind expansion'

Enhanced repertoire of brain dynamical states during the psychedelic experience
(PDF)
Human Brain Mapping, 2014.
It has long been claimed that the psychedelic (translated “mind-revealing” [Huxley et al., 1977]) state is an expanded state of consciousness in which latent psychological material can emerge into consciousness [Cohen, 1967] and novel associations can form. Indeed, this was the original rationale for the use of LSD in psychotherapy [Busch and Johnson, 1950]. It has also been claimed that psychedelics may be able to assist the creative process, for example, by promoting divergent thinking and remote association [Fadiman, 2011]. Thus, the increased repertoire of metastable states observed here with psilocybin may be a mechanism by which these phenomena occur [see also Carhart-Harris et al., 2014].
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It is a spiritual endeavor. Neglecting this fact is why treatment of PTSD and other psychosocial disorders are often ineffective.

The use of psilocybin and mindfulness meditation both are in essence a spiritual quest which involves quieting the mind to decrease our sense of self in order to allow our larger sense of Self, which includes all of nature, to come to the forefront of our senses.  Below are are series of articles that point this out.

What is spirituality in relationship to our Western culture? This article in The Guardian puts that comparison in perspective. The articles highlights the views of Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, who has been dubbed the Dalai Lama of the Rainforest and is considered one of the most influential tribal leaders in Brazil.

#14Days: Psilocybin, where science meets spirituality (CBS News)
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in some species of mushrooms that has been used in indigenous cultures as a spiritual sacrament for hundreds of years. Dr. Stephen Ross, director of the NYU Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, believes this compound, administered in the proper dosage and in a controlled setting, may help resolve the symptoms of spiritual distress involved in a person with alcoholism.

Ceremonial PTSD therapies favored by Native American veterans
Eurekalert! 27 June 2014
The majority of survey takers felt that "most people who suffer from PTSD do not receive adequate treatment," said Urquhart. For Native veterans who did seek standard treatment, the results were often disappointing. Sixty percent of survey respondents who had attempted PTSD therapy reported "no improvement" or "very unsatisfied" (See also DOD and VA Can't Prove Their PTSD Care is Working, IOM Study Claims). Individual counseling reportedly had no impact on their PTSD or made the symptoms worse for 49 percent of participants. On the other hand, spiritual or religious guidance was seen as successful or highly successful by 72 percent of Native respondents. Animal assisted therapy – equine, canine, or other animals – was also highly endorsed.

The neuroscientific study of spiritual practices
Newberg AB. 
Front Psychol. 2014 Mar 18;5:215. 
PMID: 24672504
In considering the neuroscientific approach to religious and spiritual phenomena, one can ponder whether theological and epistemological issues can actually be addressed, sometimes referred to as “neurotheology” (Newberg, 2010). For example, brain correlates may help explain certain elements of spiritual practices. However, a biological correlate does not necessarily negate an actual spiritual component. Even situations in which religious states are induced by pharmacological agents does not necessarily detract from the spiritual nature of these states for the individual. For example, Shamanic practices in which various substances are ingested to aid in the spiritual journey are not viewed as less real or less spiritual by the participants because of the use of these exogenous substances.
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Below is a write-up in AL.com that features lead author Peter Hendricks, a professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Alabama Birmingham regarding his article "Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population.":

Magic Mushrooms, LSD and other psychedelics might protect against depression and suicide

• Researchers culled the data from almost 200,000 responses to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
• People who said they used psychedelic drugs at least once in their life reported better mental health and fewer suicide attempts. 
• The results set psychedelics apart from other drugs. Lifetime users of substances such as cocaine, marijuana and heroin reported poorer mental health and a higher frequency of suicidal thoughts.
• After controlling for other variables, the research showed a strong correlation between use of psychedelics and better mental health.
• Hendricks said he thinks the improvement in mental health could come from the spiritual nature of the psychedelic experience.
• "Despite advances in mental health treatment, suicide rates have not declined," Hendricks said. "We have a problem with suicide and we don't seem to be getting better at preventing self-harm. It's exciting to think that this could be one of the interventions that could make a difference."
• Psychedelics could prove to be a one-time treatment with the possibility to change the lives of those suffering from mental illness.

Psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences in the treatment of tobacco addiction

Garcia-Romeu A, Griffiths RR, Johnson MW.

Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2014;7(3):157-64.

PMID: 25563443

Psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences have been linked to persisting effects in healthy volunteers including positive changes in behavior, attitudes, and values, and increases in the personality domain of openness. In an open-label pilot-study of psilocybin-facilitated smoking addiction treatment, 15 smokers received 2 or 3 doses of psilocybin in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for smoking cessation. Twelve of 15 participants (80%) demonstrated biologically verified smoking abstinence at 6-month follow-up. Participants who were abstinent at 6 months (n=12) were compared to participants still smoking at 6 months (n=3) on measures of subjective effects of psilocybin. Abstainers scored significantly higher on a measure of psilocybin-occasioned mystical experience. No significant differences in general intensity of drug effects were found between groups, suggesting that mystical-type subjective effects, rather than overall intensity of drug effects, were responsible for smoking cessation. Nine of 15 participants (60%) met criteria for "complete" mystical experience. Smoking cessation outcomes were significantly correlated with measures of mystical experience on session days, as well as retrospective ratings of personal meaning and spiritual significance of psilocybin sessions. These results suggest a mediating role of mystical experience in psychedelic-facilitated addiction treatment.

Link to PDF
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Psilocybin and spirituality: treatment for suicidal behavior, PTSD and moral injury
An October 2015 post motivated by a Veterans Affairs researcher advocating a spiritual approach to Veterans mental health issues such as PTSD, suicide, and moral injury.

The posterior cingulate cortex as a plausible mechanistic target of meditation: findings from neuroimaging.

The posterior cingulate cortex as a plausible mechanistic target of meditation: findings from neuroimaging
Brewer JA, Garrison KA. 
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2014 Jan;1307:19-27. 
PMID: 24033438
There has been an increased interest in mindfulness and meditation training over the past decade. As evidenced by exponential growth in the number of publications since the beginning of the 21st century, progressively more is becoming known about both the clinical efficacy and underlying neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness training. This paper briefly highlights psychological models of stress that converge between ancient and modern day (e.g., operant conditioning); identifies key brain regions that, with these models, are biologically plausible targets for mindfulness (e.g., posterior cingulate cortex); and discusses recent and emerging findings from neuroimaging studies of meditation therein, including new advances using real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback in neurophenomenological studies.
PDF
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Mindfulness increases psychological flexibility, decreases PTSD symptoms in women

Examining Mechanisms of Change in a Yoga Intervention for Women: The Influence of Mindfulness, Psychological Flexibility, and Emotion Regulation on PTSD Symptoms
Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest that yoga may reduce expressive suppression and may improve PTSD symptoms by increasing psychological flexibility. More research is needed to replicate and extend these findings.
Dick AM, Niles BL, Street AE, DiMartino DM, Mitchell KS. 
J Clin Psychol. 2014 May 28. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24888209

Psilocybin use results in an increase in positive mood by decreasing activation of the amygdala

Psilocybin-Induced Decrease in Amygdala Reactivity Correlates with Enhanced Positive Mood in Healthy Volunteers 
Conclusion:  These results demonstrate that acute treatment with psilocybin decreased amygdala reactivity during emotion processing, and that this was associated with an increase of positive mood in healthy volunteers. These findings may be relevant to the normalization of amygdala hyperactivity and negative mood states in patients with major depression.
Kraehenmann R, Preller KH, Scheidegger M, Pokorny T, Bosch OG, Seifritz E, Vollenweider FX. 
Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Apr 26. pii: S0006-3223(14)00275-3. 
PMID: 24882567 
(PDF)
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This research was conducted by the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland.  Among the well know academics associated with this institution is Carl Jung.

Do individuals with PTSD experience depression or negative thoughts?  Might psilocybin, given therapeutically with the proper mindset and in a supportive environment, assist in their recovery? Research in this area needs to be furthered by those who have a responsibility for treatment of individuals with PTSD.

The amygdala is hyperactive in those with PTSD.  "The amygdalocentric model of PTSD proposes that it is associated with hyperarousal of the amygdala and insufficient top-down control by the medial prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus in particular during extinction. This is consistent with an interpretation of PTSD as a syndrome of deficient extinction ability." (Wikipedia: PTSD)

So how does the amygdala relate to mindfulness?  The passage below may shed some light on this matter.

"Mindfulness mediation is designed to alter peoples’ perception of the world by making them disengage from ruminations and attention to negative thoughts and become aware of and accept thoughts non-judgmentally without trying to change them. An 8-week course of mindfulness meditation increased grey matter in brain regions involved in learning and memory, emotion regulation, self-referential processing and perspective taking in healthy people. In stressed individuals, the decrease in perceived stress after an 8-week course of mindfulness meditation was associated with a decrease in the right basolateral amygdala grey matter density. If the changed perception of the world brought about by mindfulness meditation over a period of 8 weeks can cause changes in the brain, this raises the possibility that the change in perception due to psilocybin may result in changes in the brain over a matter of weeks. How such brain changes may interact with the changes in psychology is not known. There is need for more work on the long-term psychological changes associated with psilocybin, as well as research on the long-term brain changes and their possible association with the psychological changes." (From: Young SN. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2013 Mar;38(2):78-83. Review.)

Psilocybin appears to be uniquely structured (structure determines function) to calm those areas of the brain that are overactive in those suffering from PTSD, plus its effects are long lasting.  If there is another substance or therapy that has similar or better potential, I'd sure like to read about it.

Psilocybin and meditation have same effect on posterior cingulate cortex

PTSD, Mindfulness and Psilocybin's name was derived from the insight that mindfulness and the after-effects of psilocybin share similar qualities which would be of great benefit to those suffering from PTSD or from other existential crises. This website was created prior to fMRI studies delineating psilocybin's effects on the brain which is now known to include a decrease in activity of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC).  Recently, I have become aware of fMRI studies showing a similar decrease in PCC activity with various forms of meditation and prayer which has been a pleasant surprise.

The PCC exhibits connectivity with a wide range of intrinsic control networks. Its most widely known role is as a central node in the default mode network (DMN). The default mode network (and the PCC) is highly reactive and quickly deactivates during tasks with externally directed, or presently centered, attention (such as working memory or meditation). Conversely, the DMN is active when attention is internally directed (during episodic memory retrieval, planning, and daydreaming). A failure of the DMN to deactivate at proper times is associated with poor cognitive function, thereby indicating its importance in attention. Increased size of posterior ventral cingulate cortex is related to the working memory performance decline. (Wikipedia: posterior cingulate cortex)

A recent article "What about the “Self” is Processed in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex?" (Front Hum Neurosci. 2013; 7:647.) highlights the following functions the PCC is involved with:

• the PCC functions to evaluate or judge how one relates to one’s experience: how much they are caught up in it

• Recent work in cognitive neuroscience has demonstrated a role for the PCC in social processing, such as mentalizing, evaluative judgments, and sensitivity to moral issues

• the PCC, among other regions, was more strongly activated for actions leading to harm to others relative to oneself, and suggest that actions involving guilt may lead to greater preoccupation with self-actions rather than thoughts about harm caused to others.

• (increased) PCC activity has been associated with poorer task performance

• Craving, perhaps one of the most obvious experiences of being caught up in experience, is described clinically and experimentally in terms of desire, urge, want, and need ... it has been associated with PCC activity in smoking and drug addiction

• PCC activity decreases when one becomes less caught up in ones experience

• decreased coupling between the PCC and mPFC with psilocybin corresponds with the subjective experience of a less egoic state, or less “self.”

Another recent article, "Disrupting posterior cingulate connectivity disconnects consciousness
from the external environment" (PDF) (Neuropsychologia Volume 56, April 2014, Pages 239–244), describes the results of surgery in which part of the PCC, precuneus and retrosplenial areas were resected in a patient with a slow-growing lesion in the left posteromedial cortex. The surgeons reported "the patient reported experiencing no rumination for almost a month after the surgery and to be in a contemplative state with a subjective feeling of absolute happiness and timelessness."  They concluded "this finding provides support to the view that the posterior cingulate is a pivotal hub within the brain's functional architecture."

Mindfulness meditation addresses all of the above functions as it encourages openness, being non-judgemental, promotes attentive awareness and results in a more universally connected, less egoic mindset.  However, since mindfulness may not be easily obtained by many, what other option exists to provide a similar result?  The answer is of course therapeutic administration of psilocybin taken with the proper mindset and in a supportive environment.  As Roland Griffiths from Johns Hopkins has stated:

If meditation represents the systematic "tried and true course" of discovery of the nature of mind and Self, psilocybin represents the "crash course"

It is time for  the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration ("We must do all we can to deliver the high-quality care our service members and veterans have earned and deserve.”) to stop talking the talk about trying to do everything they can to treat PTSD and to start walking the walk by leading the way in initiating Clinical Trials utilizing psilocybin in a therapeutic setting to treat PTSD.

A 2015 article in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology titled:
Restoring large-scale brain networks in PTSD and related disorders: a proposal for neuroscientifically-informed treatment interventions
Increasing evidence for altered functioning of the central executive, salience, and default mode networks in PTSD has been demonstrated. We suggest that each network is associated with specific clinical symptoms observed in PTSD, including cognitive dysfunction (central executive network), increased and decreased arousal/interoception (salience network), and an altered sense of self (default mode network). Specific testable neuroscientifically-informed treatments aimed to restore each of these neural networks and related clinical dysfunction are proposed.
Lanius RA, Frewen PA, Tursich M, Jetly R, McKinnon MC.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2015 Mar 31;6:27313. doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v6.27313. eCollection 2015.
PMID: 25854674
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The entropic brain: A theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs

The entropic brain: A theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs
Carhart-Harris RL, Leech R, Hellyer PJ, Shanahan M, Feilding A, Tagliazucchi E, Chialvo DR, Nutt D. Front Hum Neurosci. 2014 Feb 3;8:20. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00020. eCollection 2014. 
PMID: 24550805
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Abstract:
Entropy is a dimensionless quantity that is used for measuring uncertainty about the state of a system but it can also imply physical qualities, where high entropy is synonymous with high disorder. Entropy is applied here in the context of states of consciousness and their associated neural dynamics, with a particular focus on the psychedelic state. The psychedelic state is considered an exemplar of a primitive or primary state of consciousness that preceded the development of modern, adult, human, normal waking consciousness. Based on neuroimaging data with psilocybin, a classic psychedelic drug, it is argued that the defining feature of ‘primary states’ is elevated entropy in certain aspects of brain function, such as the repertoire of functional connectivity motifs that form and fragment across time. It is noted that elevated entropy in this sense, is a characteristic of systems exhibiting ‘self-organised criticality’, i.e., a property of systems that gravitate towards a ‘critical’ point in a transition zone between order and disorder in which certain phenomena such as power-law scaling appear. This implies that entropy is suppressed in normal waking consciousness, meaning that the brain operates just below criticality. It is argued that this entropy suppression furnishes consciousness with a constrained quality and associated metacognitive functions, including reality-testing and self-awareness. It is also proposed that entry into primary states depends on a collapse of the normally highly organised activity within the default-mode network (DMN) and a decoupling between the DMN and the medial temporal lobes (which are normally significantly coupled). These hypotheses can be tested by examining brain activity and associated cognition in other candidate primary states such as REM sleep and early psychosis and comparing these with non-primary states such as normal waking consciousness and the anaesthetised state.

Comment from Wall Street Journal:
The Psychedelic Road to Other Conscious States