The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released new quotas for the production of Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances for research purposes – calling for an increase in the manufacturing of the psychedelics ibogaine, psilocybin and psilocyn.

Revised 2024 quotas are now showing raising psilocybin levels from 20,000 grams to 30,000 grams, and psilocyn levels from 24,000 grams to 36,000 grams, with those higher levels set to continue into 2025. As well, the DEA is calling for an increase in the production of ibogaine for 2025, moving from 150 grams to 210 grams. Check it out: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-calls-for-increased-production-of-some-psychedelics-for-research-as-marijuana-quotas-level-out-ahead-of-scheduling-decision/

A new study released this week by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, suggests that using neurostimulation therapies on a specific brain network could treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans.

By evaluating 193 participants in the Vietnam Head Injury Study with penetrating traumatic brain injury, the team found those with damage connected to their amygdala, the fear center of the brain, were less likely to develop PTSD.  With this data, author Shan Siddiqi, MD, a psychiatrist in the Brigham’s Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics and an assistant professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said that it is now possible to localize PTSD to certain brain circuits. Here’s more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01772-7

A new study featured in the journal Neuron, indicated that the psychedelic DOI, which is a compound similar to LSD, reduced anxiety in mice by activating specific brain cells called fast-spiking interneurons. These neurons silence nearby cells in the ventral hippocampus, a region linked to emotion and memory.

The study’s senior author, Alex Kwan, commented on the study, saying …

“It hasn’t been known what brain areas and cell types are involved when psychedelics suppress anxiety. The idea is that if we know the neurobiology involved, we can design some better drug that would target these pathways.”

You can read more about the study here: https://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(24)00640-8

Did you know that sound stimulation can manipulate brain waves during REM sleep?

Using advanced technology, researchers from the University of Surrey and the UK Dementia Research Institute Centre for Care Research and Technology at Imperial College London, were able to increase the frequency of brain oscillations that slow down in dementia patients, potentially improving memory functions.

According to researchers, this non-invasive technique could pave the way for new treatments for dementia by targeting brain activity during sleep, thereby offering hope for enhancing memory and cognition with minimal disruption to patients’ lives.  Check it out: Sound Stimulation Study