The Psychedelic Future of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can occur following exposure to a traumatic experience. An estimated 12 million U.S. adults are presently affected by this disorder. Current treatments include psychological therapies (e.g., exposure-based interventions) and pharmacological treatments (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)). However, a significant proportion of patients receiving standard-of-care therapies for PTSD remain symptomatic, and new approaches for this and other trauma-related mental health conditions are greatly needed. Psychedelic compounds that alter cognition, perception, and mood are currently being examined for their efficacy in treating PTSD despite their current status as Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)- scheduled substances. Initial clinical trials have demonstrated the potential value of psychedelicassisted therapy to treat PTSD and other psychiatric disorders. In this comprehensive review, we summarize the state of the science of PTSD clinical care, including current treatments and their shortcomings. We review clinical studies of psychedelic interventions to treat PTSD, trauma-related disorders, and common comorbidities. The classic psychedelics psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and DMT-containing ayahuasca, as well as the entactogen 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and the dissociative anesthetic ketamine, are reviewed. For each drug, we present the history of use, psychological and somatic effects, pharmacology, and safety profile. The rationale and proposed mechanisms for use in treating PTSD and traumarelated disorders are discussed. This review concludes with an in-depth consideration of future directions for the psychiatric applications of psychedelics to maximize therapeutic benefit and minimize risk in individuals and communities impacted by trauma-related conditions.

Role of nitric oxide signaling in the antidepressant mechanism of action of ketamine: A randomized controlled trial.

Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist with rapid antidepressant effects. Studies suggest that inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis plays a role in the mechanism of action of ketamine. This randomized, placebo-controlled study investigated whether co-administration of sodium nitroprusside, a nitric oxide donor, compared to placebo, would attenuate the antidepressant and dissociative effects of ketamine. Sixteen ketamine responders were randomized to a double-blind infusion of ketamine co-administered with placebo or sodium nitroprusside. Our findings show no difference between the two conditions suggesting that the nitric oxide pathway may not play a primary role in ketamine's antidepressant or dissociative effects. The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03102736).

Evolving Musical Sight Reading Exercises Using Expert Models.

Sight reading skills are widely considered to be crucial for all musicians. However, given that sight reading involves playing sheet music without having seen it before, once an exercise has been completed by a student it can no longer be used as a sight reading exercise for them. In this paper we present a novel evolutionary algorithm for generating musical sight reading exercises in the Western art music tradition. Using models based on expert examples, the algorithm generates material suitable for practice which is both technically appropriate and aesthetically pleasing with respect to an instrument and difficulty level. This overcomes the resource constraint in using traditional practice exercises, which are exhausted quickly by students and teachers due to their limited quantity.