Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have published a new study (behind paywall - summary) on the effects of "magic mushrooms". Volunteers were given 4 doses of psilocybin spaced one month apart. The study built on previous work and attempted to optimize the experience for long-lasting positive effects:

61% of volunteers considered the psilocybin experience during either or both the [highest dosage] sessions to have been the single most spiritually significant of their lives, with 83% rating it in their top five. Consistent with this, 94% and 89% of volunteers, respectively, indicated that the experiences on those same sessions increased their well-being or life satisfaction and positively changed their behavior at least moderately.

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posted by crayz on Jun 18, 2011 - 172 comments

Serotonin is back in the news. Recent research shows that it plays an impressive number of roles throughout the body, both below the neck and above it. [more inside]
posted by exphysicist345 on May 3, 2011 - 34 comments

Interesting effect on the lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin in male mice.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Mar 23, 2011 - 37 comments

A gene variant associated with serotonin transport (STG) , and normally associated with depression is strangely more prevalent, but also less likely to induce depression in collectivistic East Asian cultures. The study took data from 29 countries, and found a consistent trend towards this same genetic variant being strongly associated with episodes of major depression in Western cultures.
posted by mdpatrick on Oct 29, 2009 - 27 comments

"Researchers found that failing to publish negative findings inflated the reported effectiveness of all 12 of the antidepressants studied." See also: Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature. [more inside]
posted by OmieWise on Jan 17, 2008 - 137 comments

Not just for PTSD.
posted by gman on Dec 10, 2007 - 39 comments