Publications by authors named "Broc Pagni"

Both psychotherapeutic interventions and pharmacological agents have demonstrated limited efficacy in the treatment of personality disorders (PDs). Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic therapy, already showing promise in treating various psychiatric conditions commonly comorbid with PDs, may exert therapeutic effects by promoting adaptive changes in personality. Thus, psychedelic therapy could hold potential for addressing core features of PDs through shared mechanisms of personality modulation.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explored how psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) impacts personality traits in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), hypothesizing it would reduce trait impulsiveness and improve drinking behavior.
  • Eighty-four AUD patients were divided into two groups (psilocybin vs. placebo) and assessed for changes in personality traits over time, finding significant personality shifts in the psilocybin group, including reduced neuroticism and increased openness.
  • The results indicated that lower impulsiveness correlated with decreased alcohol consumption, particularly among those who drank at risk before treatment, pointing to potential benefits of PAT in addressing both personality and drinking behaviors.
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Existing research has identified an increased risk of depression among autistic adults, which can negatively impact their adaptive functioning abilities and socioeconomic outcomes. Mobile app-based meditation is a feasible, accessible, and effective self-care solution for depression among neurotypical adults, but there is limited evidence for the long-term benefits of app-based meditation among autistic adults. Habits are a key behavioral strategy for maintaining behavior change, and anchoring is one effective habit formation intervention that has yet to be tested among autistic adults.

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Psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) experiences can range from very positive to highly challenging (e.g., fear, grief, and paranoia).

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an aggressive, terminal neurodegenerative disease that causes death of motor neurons and has an average survival time of 3-4 years. ALS is the most common motor neuron degenerative disease and is increasing in prevalence. There is a pressing need for more effective ALS treatments as available pharmacotherapies do not reverse disease progression or provide substantial clinical benefit.

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  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) improves executive functioning and mindfulness traits in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while both MBSR and social support/education (SE) reduce depression and anxiety levels.
  • A study with 78 adults assigned to MBSR or SE showed unique changes in brain connectivity linked to improved mental health outcomes; MBSR specifically decreased connectivity in areas related to anxiety and working memory.
  • The results suggest that while both approaches are effective, MBSR offers additional benefits, though more research with larger samples is needed to confirm these findings.
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Research aimed at understanding cognitive and brain aging in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is growing, but critical longitudinal work is scant. Adults with ASD struggle with tasks involving visual memory compared with neurotypical adults (NT). This may be related to differences in size or integrity of the hippocampus and its' primary structural connectivity pathway, the fornix.

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Naturalistic and placebo-controlled studies suggest ayahuasca, a potent psychedelic beverage originating from Indigenous Amazonian tradition, may improve mental health, alter personality structure, and reduce alcohol and drug intake. To better understand ayahuasca's therapeutic potential and to identify factors that influence therapeutic efficacy, we conducted a naturalistic, longitudinal study of facilitated ayahuasca consumption in naïve participants using a comprehensive battery of self-report questionnaires. Ayahuasca naive individuals registering for ayahuasca ceremonies were asked to complete a range of validated questionnaires assessing mental health, alcohol/cannabis use, relationships, personality, and connection to self and spirituality, prior to and 1 month after attending an ayahuasca ceremony.

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Psychedelics are a unique class of drug that commonly produce vivid hallucinations as well as profound psychological and mystical experiences. A grouping of interconnected brain regions characterized by increased temporal coherence at rest have been termed the Default Mode Network (DMN). The DMN has been the focus of numerous studies assessing its role in self-referencing, mind wandering, and autobiographical memories.

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Research studying aging in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is growing, but longitudinal work is needed. Autistic adults have increased risk of dementia, altered hippocampal volumes and fornix integrity, and verbal memory difficulties compared with neurotypical (NT) adults. This study examined longitudinal aging in middle-age adults with ASD versus a matched NT group, and compared findings with cross-sectional age effects across a broad adult age range.

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The male preponderance in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) led to the hypothesis that aspects of female biology are protective against ASD. Females with ASD (ASD-F) report more compensatory behaviors (i.e.

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Purpose: Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) consistently report worse functional health and well-being, compared to neurotypical (NT) peers. In a series of studies, we aimed to elucidated the effects of sex, age, and their interaction on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and evaluated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for improving health-, disability-, and autism-related QoL, with possible sex and age outcome moderators, in adults with ASD.

Methods: Study 1 used the 36-Item Short Form Survey to compare mental and physical HRQoL composite scores in adults with ASD (n = 67) and matched NT adults (n = 66).

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Emerging research suggests mindfulness-based therapies positively impact adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, questions concerning intervention active ingredients, the breadth and duration of impact, and psychological and neural mechanisms of change remain. Here we discuss what is known about mindfulness-based therapies in adults with ASD and offer suggestions for future research.

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: Approximately 50,000 U.S. teens with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) become adults every year, however little is known regarding how age influences social cognition and if men and women with ASD are differentially impacted across the adult lifespan.

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Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high rates of depression and anxiety, and some evidence suggests mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is effective in reducing these symptoms. However, the neural mechanisms of symptom alleviation, and benefit of MBSR beyond education/support groups are unknown. Maladaptive forms of self-reflection are linked to ASD, depression, and anxiety.

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Cocaine use disorders are strongly influenced by the social conditions prior, during, and after exposure to cocaine. In this chapter, we discuss how social factors such as early life stress, social rank stress, and environmental stress impact vulnerability and resilience to cocaine. The discussion of each animal model begins with a brief review of examples from the human literature, which provide the psychosocial background these models attempt to capture.

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Early life stress (ELS) is highly related to the development of psychiatric illnesses in adulthood, including substance use disorders. A recent body of literature suggests that long-lasting changes in the epigenome may be a mechanism by which experiences early in life can alter neurobiological and behavioral phenotypes in adulthood. In this study, we replicate our previous findings that ELS, in the form of prolonged maternal separation, increases adult methamphetamine self-administration (SA) in male rats as compared with handled controls.

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