Examining associations between MDMA/ecstasy and classic psychedelic use and impairments in social functioning in a U.S. adult sample.

Impairment in social functioning is a common source of morbidity across many mental health disorders, yet there is a dearth of effective and easily implemented interventions to support social functioning. MDMA/ecstasy and classic psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, peyote, mescaline) represent two potential treatments for impairments in social functioning, as evidence suggests these compounds may be supportive for alleviating social difficulties. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2019) (N = 214,505), we used survey-weighted multivariable ordinal and logistic regression to examine the associations between lifetime use of the aforementioned compounds and impairments in social functioning in the past year. Lifetime MDMA/ecstasy use was associated with lowered odds of three of our four social impairment outcomes: difficulty dealing with strangers (aOR 0.92), difficulty participating in social activities (aOR 0.90), and being prevented from participating in social activities (aOR 0.84). Lifetime mescaline use was also associated with lowered odds of difficulty dealing with strangers (aOR 0.85). All other substances either shared no relationship with impairments in social functioning or conferred increased odds of our outcomes. Future experimental studies can assess whether these relationships are causal.

Genome-wide data from medieval German Jews show that the Ashkenazi founder event pre-dated the 14th century.

We report genome-wide data from 33 Ashkenazi Jews (AJ), dated to the 14th century, obtained following a salvage excavation at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt, Germany. The Erfurt individuals are genetically similar to modern AJ, but they show more variability in Eastern European-related ancestry than modern AJ. A third of the Erfurt individuals carried a mitochondrial lineage common in modern AJ and eight carried pathogenic variants known to affect AJ today. These observations, together with high levels of runs of homozygosity, suggest that the Erfurt community had already experienced the major reduction in size that affected modern AJ. The Erfurt bottleneck was more severe, implying substructure in medieval AJ. Overall, our results suggest that the AJ founder event and the acquisition of the main sources of ancestry pre-dated the 14th century and highlight late medieval genetic heterogeneity no longer present in modern AJ.

The Psychedelic Integration Scales: Tools for Measuring Psychedelic Integration Behaviors and Experiences.

In this study, we describe the development and initial validation of two psychometric scales for measuring psychedelic integration. Psychedelic integration refers to the post-acute period of time following psychedelic drug administration. We created the Integration Engagement Scale (IES) to capture positive behavioral engagement with integration and the Experienced Integration Scale (EIS) to capture internal aspects of feeling integrated. These scales were developed to measure post-acute psychedelic administration dynamics in order to inform the creation of enhanced integration support and to help refine a general conceptual understanding of the construct of psychedelic integration. The scales are brief and face valid instruments designed for practical use in applied and research settings. Scale items were generated and refined using the Iterative Process Model of scale development, with input from psychedelics experts and clinicians. Content validity, internal structure, and reliability were assessed via expert surveys, content validity analysis, cognitive interviewing, convergent validity analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. The data indicates the scales are valid and reliable measurements of the behavioral and experiential forms of Psychedelic Integration.

Associations between classic psychedelics and nicotine dependence in a nationally representative sample.

Tobacco use is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide, but none of the established treatments aimed at smoking cessation work for a majority of smokers. As such, there is an urgent need for interventions capable of reliably treating nicotine addiction. The use of classic psychedelics has been associated with lower odds of many forms of substance dependence. Here we tested whether lifetime use of classic psychedelics (tryptamine, lysergamide, and phenethylamine) is associated with lower odds of current nicotine dependence. We tested these associations in a sample of 214,505 adult participants in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2019) using multivariable logistic regression models. Lifetime psilocybin use was associated with reduced odds of odds of current nicotine dependence (aOR 0.87-0.93). Lifetime use of peyote and mescaline also conferred reduced odds of multiple subdomains of a main nicotine dependence measure (Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale [NDSS]) (aOR 0.79-0.91). Conversely, lifetime use of LSD was associated with increased odds of nicotine dependence (aOR 1.17-1.24). Psilocybin, mescaline, and peyote use are associated with lowered odds of nicotine dependence. Experimental studies are needed to establish whether these associations are causal. These results make the case for further research into the efficacy of both tryptamine and phenethylamine psychedelics in promoting smoking cessation.

Associations between classic psychedelics and opioid use disorder in a nationally-representative U.S. adult sample.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major source of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and there is a pressing need to identify additional treatments for the disorder. Classic psychedelics (psilocybin, peyote, mescaline, LSD) have been linked to the alleviation of various substance use disorders and may hold promise as potential treatments for OUD. The aim of this study was to assess whether the aforementioned classic psychedelic substances conferred lowered odds of OUD. Furthermore, this study aimed to replicate and extend findings from Pisano et al. (2017) who found classic psychedelic use to be linked to lowered odds of OUD in a nationally representative sample. We used recent data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2019) (N = 214,505) and multivariable logistic regression to test whether lifetime use (yes/no) of classic psychedelics was associated with lowered odds of OUD. Lifetime psilocybin use was associated with lowered odds of OUD (aOR: 0.70; 95% CI [0.60, 0.83]). No other substances, including other classic psychedelics, were associated with lowered odds of OUD. Additionally, sensitivity analyses revealed psilocybin use to be associated with lowered odds of seven of the 11 DSM-IV criteria for OUD (aOR range: 0.66-0.83). Future clinical trials and longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether these associations are causal.