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Dosing Psychedelics and MDMA

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Disruptive Psychopharmacology

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences ((CTBN,volume 56))

Abstract

Classic psychedelics, including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), dimethyltryptamine, and mescaline, and entactogens/empathogens, especially 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, have received renewed attention in psychiatric research and may be developed into medications for such indications as anxiety, depression, cluster headache, and posttraumatic stress disorder, among others. However, identifying proper doses is crucial. Controlled study data on dosing using well-characterized pharmaceutical formulations of the substances are scarce. The dose equivalence of different substances, dose-response effects, and subjective effects of different doses are of great interest and practically important for their clinical use in psychotherapy. Furthermore, the so-called microdosing of psychedelics has recently gained popularity, and the first placebo-controlled studies of LSD have been published. This chapter discusses different aspects of psychedelic dosing, including pharmaceutical aspects, definitions and characteristics of different doses, including microdoses, aspects of personalized dosing, and non-pharmacological factors, that can influence the response to psychedelics.

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Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the assistance of Michael Arends for proofreading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Matthias E. Liechti & Friederike Holze

  2. Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Matthias E. Liechti & Friederike Holze

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  1. Matthias E. Liechti
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  2. Friederike Holze
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Correspondence to Matthias E. Liechti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Frederick S. Barrett

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Katrin H. Preller

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Liechti, M.E., Holze, F. (2021). Dosing Psychedelics and MDMA. In: Barrett, F.S., Preller, K.H. (eds) Disruptive Psychopharmacology . Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol 56. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2021_270

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