Psychoactives

Serotonergic psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), are increasingly recognised as powerful tools to advance the understanding of consciousness and its relation to brain activity. Psychedelic research has informed neuroscientific theories that attempt to map neural observations of network connectivity and signal diversity to phenomenological qualities like psychological flexibility. Thus far, however, there have been relatively limited efforts to bridge the gap between psychedelic-informed theory and the experiential differences observed in neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism. In this narrative review and conceptual synthesis, we compare the psychedelic state and autism in adults from a neurophenomenological perspective. Predictive processing is invoked as a unifying framework. This procedure highlights both phenomena as involving a shift towards sensory information relative to prior knowledge, but potentially implicating alterations at opposite ends of the cortical hierarchy. This contrastive approach also reveals opportunities for refining concepts—including psychological flexibility—as well as interpretations of results across fields. However, neurobiological findings, especially in autism, are heterogeneous and there are inherent restrictions in comparing transient state and lifelong trait phenomena. Conclusions of this comparison are primarily conceptual and offer testable hypotheses for the neurophenomenology of the psychedelic state, autism, and their interaction.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant with severe health and psychosocial consequences. Over recent decades, genetic and molecular research on methamphetamine use disorders has expanded considerably, yet a comprehensive synthesis of this growing body of literature is lacking. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis to map the scientific landscape of genetic and molecular biology research on methamphetamine use, identifying key contributors, influential publications, publication trends, and co-occurring keywords and citations. A systematic search of the Scopus database retrieved 1550 documents. After applying the inclusion criteria and manual screening, 449 peer-reviewed articles published between 1993 and 2025 were included. Performance analysis and scientific mapping were conducted using VOSviewer software through bibliographic coupling and keyword co-occurrence. The study followed the BIBLIO checklist for reporting bibliometric reviews in biomedical literature. Publication output increased markedly after 2005, peaking in 2022, followed by a decline that may reflect a shift in research priorities. The United States, China, and Japan emerged as leading contributors, underscoring their significant investment in addiction and molecular research. Keyword co-occurrence revealed strong emphasis on addiction, dopamine, neurotoxicity, gene expression, and genetic polymorphisms, highlighting their central role in the pathophysiology of methamphetamine use disorders. This bibliometric analysis demonstrates substantial growth and influence of genetic research on methamphetamine use. Despite a recent decline in publications, the field provides a solid foundation for future interdisciplinary research and funding priorities in addiction genetics.

Today’s research highlights the therapeutic potential of the hallucinogen psilocybin in the treatment of pathologies associated with mood, cognitive, and affective dysregulation. These domains of function are regulated by the serotonergic system, which can be influenced by sex hormones, like estrogen and testosterone, and psychedelic compounds including psilocybin. Current evidence supports a higher prevalence of affective disorders in females, and a growing awareness of sex-based differences in response to drug therapy. Estrogen’s influence on serotonin physiology is an aspect that must be accounted for when planning a treatment regimen that includes a psychoactive drug such as psilocybin. A review of the current literature was conducted, and an analysis of how the fluid hormonal states in females across their different reproductive phases may impact serotonin dynamics, synaptic plasticity, and therapeutic timing of psilocybin use is discussed. Future research should focus on the influence of sex hormones on psychedelic-assisted therapy in the effort to further personalize treatment plans for these pathologies.