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. 2018 Mar 23;7(1):24-28.
doi: 10.9740/mhc.2017.01.024. eCollection 2017 Jan.

Clinical potential of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health conditions

Jeremy Daniel  1 , Margaret Haberman  2
Affiliations

Clinical potential of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health conditions

Jeremy Daniel et al. Ment Health Clin. .

Abstract

Psilocybin, a classic hallucinogen, is a chemical produced by more than 100 species of mushrooms worldwide. It has high affinity for several serotonin receptors, including 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT2C, located in numerous areas of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and thalamus. With legislation introduced in 1992, more work is being done to further understand the implications of psilocybin use in a number of disease states. Certain mental health disease states and symptoms have been studied, including depressed mood, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco use disorder. This article provides an in-depth review of the study design and results of psilocybin in each of these conditions and discusses the clinical potential for use.

Keywords: addiction; alcohol; anxiety; depression; hallucinogen; obsessive-compulsive disorder; psilocybin; psychedelic; tobacco.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures: Dr Daniel and Dr Haberman have no disclosures or conflicts of interest relative to the publication of this manuscript.

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