Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a public health burden, yet the current interventions have inadequate adherence and effectiveness. Davis et al. (2020) suggested two psilocybin administrations produce antidepressant effects in individuals with MDD. The randomized clinical trial was conducted at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Maryland. The study enrolled twenty-seven participants aged 21 to 75 years from August 2017 to April 2019. The researchers administered 20mg/70kg psilocybin in session one and 30 mg/70kg in session two in opaque gelatin capsules using 100mL of water. The study sampled participants randomly to start the treatment or delay it by eight weeks.
The study used GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (GRID-HAMD) to measure depression severity. A total of 24 out of the 27 randomized participants finished the week one and week four post-session analysis. The population had 39.8 years as mean age and 22.8 mean baseline GRID-HAMD score (Davis et al., 2020). In the entire sample, 16 partakers in the first week and 17 participants in the fourth week had more than a 50% reduction in GRID-HAMD score. The findings portray psilocybin-based therapy is effective in treating MDD.
The research randomized its design and utilized GRID-HAMD as the primary results measure. The strength is that the delayed treatment acted as a control for the trial, screening, and initial follow-up analysis (Davis et al., 2020). The deferred cure controlled psilocybin administration aspects, such as rapport development, post-session integration, and expectancy impacts. The placebo and active treatment were adequate to test designs for therapeutic trials.
On the other hand, the study had short-follow-up, and the participants were predominantly white non-Hispanics. Research with a large and diverse sample and long-term follow-up is necessary to ascertain psilocybin abuse potential and psychosis emergence (Davis et al., 2020). Another weakness arose from involving session facilitators with no clinical education in the research. The study used social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists as session regulators and psychotherapy providers.
The proposal hypothesizes psilocybin will express vital improvement in anxiety and depressive symptoms in adults aged twenty-one and above. The randomized clinical trial relates to the supposition because it documents the enduring antidepressant properties of psilocybin on individuals with MDD (Davis et al., 2020). Furthermore, psilocybin has low addiction potential and a limited adverse event profile. Psilocybin administered to support psychotherapy produces swift and continued antidepressant effects. Supplementary research is vital with placebo controls or active treatment in a large and diverse population suffering from MDD.
Ayahuasca is a traditional decoction made using the Banisteriopsis caapi vine’s bark and Psychotria Viridis leaves. Hamill et al. (2019) used 197 articles to assess ayahuasca’s effects, action mechanisms, and potential clinical applications in patients with mental disorders. The result summarizes legal, political, psychological, physiological, and pharmacological aspects associated with ayahuasca usage. The US Supreme Court allowed ceremonial ayahuasca use in the UDV church because they could not elaborate on its detrimental impacts. Further, the psychological effects of ayahuasca ingestion include a sense of self-confidence and intrapsychic conflicts reinterpretation.
Credible and recognized researchers conducted the study on ayahuasca and its medical condition. Moreover, the research is fully registered with a global clinical database, particularly NIH clinical trial database. The critical review introduced ideas about ayahuasca, resolved compelling perspectives, and called for medical tests on the drug (Hamill et al., 2019). On the other hand, there are no standardized ayahuasca treatment modalities. Secondly, the research had no successful case studies to pinpoint. Mainstream culture and legal obstacles delay the scientific advancement of the study. The document does not record comprehensive side effects and benefits of ayahuasca treatment. Similarly, the article does not address the ayahuasca consistency and makeup.
The study is vital in building a literature review of the proposal, especially the effect of ayahuasca on depressed patients. Clinical trials on ayahuasca suggested the drug is beneficial in treating depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependence (Hamill et al., 2019). The beta-carbolines and the DMT in ayahuasca are effective antidepressants. Ayahuasca can enhance psychotherapy by facilitating introspection, reducing the ego, and promoting self-analysis processes. It may also facilitate memory processing and association, which have psychotherapeutic gains.
Cannabis use in adolescence is linked to early school dropout, altered brain integrity, anxiety, psychosis, and suicidal ideation. The article reviewed the results of the systematic assessment and case-control meta-analyses. It examined the way brain functioning and cognition relate to cannabis use among adolescents. It also evaluated the prospective epidemiological research on the impacts of young adult cannabis use. The narrative review was bass on the research works published between 2008 and 2018 (Lorenzetti et al., 2020).
The studies focused on cognition, educational, and brain outcomes in cannabis utilizers in the US, in particular, adolescents and young adults aged between fifteen and twenty-eight years. A systematic review noted adolescent cannabis intake has an inconsistent link with prefrontal and temporal brain structure alterations. Furthermore, meta-analyses portrayed the putamen and parietal cortex structure alteration. The dissimilarity in the orbitofrontal cortex precedes cannabis utilization in participants. Longitudinal reports showed an extensive decline in IQ among young adults taking cannabis. The findings may be attributed to mental health, environmental factors, and genetics rather than cannabis.
The study used a ten-year-limiter and focused on recent cognition, brain, and educational results in cannabis utilizers. The types of research pieces of evidence used in the literature review were satisfactory. Case-control analyses compared cannabis users with people who do not take cannabis (Lorenzetti et al., 2020). Prospective epidemiological research assessed the impacts of cannabis on cognitive operation. Moreover, eventual epidemiological studies examined the cannabis use effects on educational attainment.
However, the study did not utilize standardized strategies to measure IQ, childhood adversity, family history, occupation, and education. Therefore, the research did not integrate findings from cognitive, epidemiological, and neuroimaging research. Second, the cannabis use, potency, and administration routes were not homogenous in the literature review (Lorenzetti et al., 2020). The adolescents and young adults had different quantities and frequencies of cannabis use. Consequently, the brain, cognitive, and educational effects were divergent in the study. Furthermore, the study did not assess academic, brain, and cognitive results before the puberty stage.
The study will help in the development of the proposal’s literature review about marijuana. The research indicates neuron maturation is a moderator of cannabis use effects. Meta-regression analyses found no signification between brain volumes and use duration (Lorenzetti et al., 2020). Functional changes in the brain were consistent in the putamen and parietal cortex. Therefore, cannabis use may alter depression in people aged 21 years and above. The research indicates cannabis use can lower psychoses and anxiety.
References
Davis, K., Barrett, S., May, G., Cosimano, P., Sepeda, D., Johnson, W., Finan, P. & Griffiths, R. (2020). Effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 1-9. Web.
Hamill, J., Hallak, J., Dursun, M., & Baker, G. (2019). Ayahuasca: psychological and physiologic effects, pharmacology and potential uses in addiction and mental illness. Current Neuropharmacology, 17(2), 108-128. Web.
Lorenzetti, V., Hoch, E., & Hall, W. (2020). Adolescent cannabis use, cognition, brain health and educational outcomes: a review of the evidence. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 36, 169-180. Web.