'A new understanding: the science of psilocybin': panel discussion following screening of the documentary

Panel discussion following screening of the documentary 'A new understanding: the science of psilocybin'
14 April 2015 Austin, Texas: Approx 1.5 hours on YouTube

Note (11/21/2015): the full documentary 'A new understanding: the science of psilocybin' is now available on YouTube.

Panel discussion

Audacious, courageous, heroic! These are some of the audience comments to the panel of researchers involved in current psilocybin research. If you have an interest in what is the most promising research currently being carried out in Behavioral Health, watching this panel discussion composed of leading Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and a Pharmacologist from eminent Academic Institutions across America will not disappoint. Researchers discuss profoundly positive study results that are not being demonstrated with any other therapies. Another plus is psilocybin does not need to be taken over and over although there is some evidence that routine microdosing leads to hippocampal neurogenesis without affecting normal daily functioning (microdosing not in discussion).

The panel discussion followed a screening of the documentary 'A new understanding: the science of psilocybin' (watch trailer). Besides the distinguished panel members, the audience was a highly informed bunch with some very penetrating questions.  Panel members:

Jeffery R. Guss MD
New York University Psychiatry

Charles S. Grob MD
UCLA Psychiatry

Anthony Bossis PhD
New York University Psychiatry

William (Bill) A. Richards PhD
Johns Hopkins Clinical Psychology

David Nichols PhD
Purdue University Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Quotes from the discussion:

"We are not part of the 'counter culture', it is the culture, so the discourse is a medical one"
Jeffery R. Guss MD
New York University Psychiatry
Panel member

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"Love which moves the sun and the other stars."
Dante

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
Albert Einstein

Psilocybin reduces threat-induced modulation of amygdala connectivity

Researchers from Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, led by Rainer Kraehenmann found that psilocybin substantially reduced the modulatory effect of threat on the top-down connection from the amygdala to the primary visual cortex in normal human subjects. These findings may have important implications for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders as well as inhibiting the fear-responses during exposure-based psychotherapy, which may facilitate therapeutic progress during the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The August 2015 article from NeuroImage: Clinical titled 'The mixed serotonin receptor agonist psilocybin reduces threat-induced modulation of amygdala connectivity' (PDF) stems from previous research (2014) from the journal Biological Psychiatry titled 'Psilocybin-Induced Decrease in Amygdala Reactivity Correlates with Enhanced Positive Mood in Healthy Volunteers' (PDF) (Cited by - Google Scholar). The 2014 research demonstrated 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." It should be noted that amygdala hyperactivity plays a role in PTSD pathology and the amygdala abundantly expresses 5-HT2a receptors.

Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care

Two articles were published recently (July and August of 2015) that discuss the importance of spirituality in well being and psychological resilience.

Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials.
RESULTS: Through this method, 4751 papers were obtained, of which 23 remained included. The meta-analysis showed significant effects of religious/spiritual interventions (RSI) on anxiety general symptoms (p < 0.001) and in subgroups: meditation (p < 0.001); psychotherapy (p = 0.02); 1 month of follow-up (p < 0.001); and comparison groups with interventions (p < 0.001). Two significant differences were found in depressive symptoms: between 1 and 6 months and comparison groups with interventions (p = 0.05). In general, studies have shown that RSI decreased stress, alcoholism and depression.
CONCLUSIONS: RCTs on RSI showed additional benefits including reduction of clinical symptoms (mainly anxiety). The diversity of protocols and outcomes associated with a lack of standardization of interventions point to the need for further studies evaluating the use of religiosity/spirituality as a complementary treatment in health care.
Gonçalves JP, Lucchetti G, Menezes PR, Vallada H.
Psychol Med. 2015 Jul 23:1-13. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 26200715
(PDF)
Cited by (Google Scholar)

Psilocybin-induced spiritual experiences and insightfulness are associated with synchronization of neuronal oscillations.
RATIONALE: During the last years, considerable progress has been made toward understanding the neuronal basis of consciousness by using sophisticated behavioral tasks, brain-imaging techniques, and various psychoactive drugs. Nevertheless, the neuronal mechanisms underlying some of the most intriguing states of consciousness, including spiritual experiences, remain unknown.
OBJECTIVES: To elucidate state of consciousness-related neuronal mechanisms, human subjects were given psilocybin, a naturally occurring serotonergic agonist and hallucinogen that has been used for centuries to induce spiritual experiences in religious and medical rituals.
METHODS: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 50 healthy human volunteers received a moderate dose of psilocybin, while high-density electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were taken during eyes-open and eyes-closed resting states. The current source density and the lagged phase synchronization of neuronal oscillations across distributed brain regions were computed and correlated with psilocybin-induced altered states of consciousness.
RESULTS: Psilocybin decreased the current source density of neuronal oscillations at 1.5-20 Hz within a neural network comprising the anterior and posterior cingulate cortices and the parahippocampal regions. Most intriguingly, the intensity levels of psilocybin-induced spiritual experience and insightfulness correlated with the lagged phase synchronization of delta oscillations (1.5-4 Hz) between the retrosplenial cortex, the parahippocampus, and the lateral orbitofrontal area.
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide systematic evidence for the direct association of a specific spatiotemporal neuronal mechanism with spiritual experiences and enhanced insight into life and existence. The identified mechanism may constitute a pathway for modulating mental health, as spiritual experiences can promote sustained well-being and psychological resilience.
Kometer M, Pokorny T, Seifritz E, Volleinweider FX.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2015 Aug 1. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 26231498
Cited by (Google Scholar)

Below are links to previous posts that address similar concepts:

Psilocybin and spirituality: treatment for suicidal behavior, PTSD and moral injury

Set and Setting, a view from Joseph Campbell

It is a spiritual endeavor.  Neglecting this fact is why treatment of PTSD and other psychosocial disorders are often ineffective.

Prominent American Psychiatrist supports psilocybin research

Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, currently chairman of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and former president of the American Psychiatric Association, has endorsed research on psychedelic compounds in a Medscape post (free registration) stating they "need to be studied in an intensive and extensive way".

Some passages from his post:

• We have had a nearly 50-year hiatus in any serious investigation, except for some heroic investigators at a few universities, primarily in Europe but also in the United States.
• These psychedelic drugs clearly are pharmacologically active, have profound effects, could be useful for therapeutic purposes, and need to be studied in an intensive and extensive way before an informed determination can be made. 
• I believe that the scientific investigation of mind-altering psychedelic drugs in the 1960s and '70s was a truncated but promising avenue of research, and that these medications, these drugs, could have significant value for a variety of indications if studied adequately.

Why the DoD and/or VA are not leading this research remains troubling since PTSD and suicides are major issues to them.  Psychedelics such as psilocybin show promise in reducing suicidal thinking and in the treatment of PTSD. We are in great need of a few "heroic investigators".

Note: Medscape is a web resource for physicians and health professionals. It features peer-reviewed original medical journal articles, CME (Continuing Medical Education), a customized version of the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database, daily medical news, major conference coverage, and drug information—including a drug database (Medscape Drug Reference, or MDR) and drug interaction checker. All content in Medscape is available free of charge for professionals and consumers alike, but registration is required. (Source: Wikipedia)