PlanetMedicines

“After assessing the semantic similarity between 15,000 reports linked to the use of 165 psychoactive substances with 625 NDE {Near Death Experience} narratives, we determined that the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine consistently resulted in reports most similar to those associated with NDEs. Ketamine was followed by Salvia divinorum and a series of serotonergic psychedelics, including the endogenous serotonin 2A receptor agonist N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). This similarity was driven by semantic concepts related to consciousness of the self and the environment, but also by those associated with the therapeutic, ceremonial and religious aspects of drug use. Our analysis sheds light on the long-standing link between certain drugs and the experience of “dying“, suggests that ketamine could be used as a safe and reversible experimental model for NDE phenomenology, and supports the speculation that endogenous NMDA antagonists with neuroprotective properties may be released in the proximity of death.” (Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports, Martial, et al, 2019).

Here ketamine, like DMT, is hypothesized to act on similar receptors to form similar brainwaves, with similar subjective experiences related to proximity to death.

More here— https://psychedelic-institute-of-mental-health.ghost.io/does-the-psychedelic-experience-matter/

Experiences of Awe Mediate Ketamine's Antidepressant Effects: Findings From a Randomized Controlled Trial in Treatment-Resistant Depression (Aepfelbacher, et al, 2024) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38726038/

“ Ketamine infusion strongly induced heightened feelings of awe, and these experiences consistently mediated depression outcomes over a 1- to 30-day period, unlike general dissociative side effects. The specific awe-inspiring properties of ketamine may contribute to its antidepressant effects.”

Ketamine’s Role in Spirituality: How One Synthetic Drug Catalyzes a Natural Experience (Woods, 2020)

It brings up a player for me that plays the audio. I’ll find another link, tho!

February 2024: **Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy & Support Practicum **

Organizing our next round of ketamine therapy training for clinicians and non-clinician guides / trip sitters. Meeting 8 hours per week, this practicum includes 12 experiences with racemic ketamine in various routes of administration, 12 sessions of sitting with someone else under the medicine, 12 hours of didactic training, 12 hours of integration, 12 hours of individual clinical supervision totaling 96 hours of practical experience upon completion of all 12 modules.

Medical clearance by a prescribing clinician licensed in your home state or locality required.

The Psychedelic Institute of Mental Health & Family Therapy is located in Palm Springs, California. Practicum is held online 2 evenings per week, 3.5 hours each evening from 6-9:30pm PST, with an optional in-person retreat weekend.

Practicum Fee: $600 per person per 8 hour weekly module

https://psychedelicreview.com/compound/4-aco-dmt/

Psychedelics show similar effects to ketamine

Olson's group has demonstrated that psychedelics mimic the effects of ketamine on neurons grown in a dish, and that these results extend to structural and electrical properties of neurons in animals. Rats treated with a single dose of DMT -- a psychedelic compound found in the Amazonian herbal tea known as ayahuasca -- showed an increase in the number of dendritic spines, similar to that seen with ketamine treatment. DMT itself is very short-lived in the rat: Most of the drug is eliminated within an hour. But the "rewiring" effects on the brain could be seen 24 hours later, demonstrating that these effects last for some time.

Behavioral studies also hint at the similarities between psychedelics and ketamine. In another recent paper published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, Olson's group showed that DMT treatment enabled rats to overcome a "fear response" to the memory of a mild electric shock. This test is considered to be a model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and interestingly, ketamine produces the same effect. Recent clinical trials have shown that like ketamine, DMT-containing ayahuasca might have fast-acting effects in people with recurrent depression, Olson said.

October 2023- Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy & Support (recording soon) -- Michael DeMarco, PhD introduces a model of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and support from a psychedelic therapy perspective.

November 2023- Africa’s Forgotten Plant Medicines (recording)- https://zoom.us/rec/component-page?action=viewdetailpage&clusterId=aw1&componentName=need-password&meetingId=HWrSc-Gi6aYVoGVGt_u_mlEXxqfTaKKwESTgv4Wj-T7iQjVuCpCgduNvlvq4mvSi.VfZfguQnhwjrjbaM&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2F5JJQOz5zYBpPUf7MVRkYG9a_YhRqwdCu1JsO40Sdm1hoJEqqR6hZ8fvVTZYhJ4ff.uhC5GvEBawCwUShI&sharelevel=meeting&useWhichPasswd=meeting Password: +z=JL@K3

Ethnobotantist and traditionally-trained inyanga, Jean-Francois Sobiecki presents on his new textbook on psychedelic plant medicines in Africa, the longest-inhabited continent on the planet.

December 2023- Ketamine State Yoga: Peak Mystical Experiences and the Breath (recording) - https://zoom.us/rec/share/vbdHvwxzj7g46lvPJ4Inzv1sBZLz-ezwGvjKTarpQA_HFUTWweDK22SnQo1p-GFS.p4OFhzRnVO6Z7cgR PW: hY.F&&&0