Glossary: Psychedelic Medicine

Beneficence

The ethical obligation to act in ways that promote the well-being, safety, and welfare of clients or research participants.

Benefit Sharing

The fair and equitable distribution of financial, educational, scientific, or community benefits arising from research, commercialization, or use of traditional knowledge and biological resources.

Beta-arrestin (β-arrestin)

Intracellular proteins that regulate G protein-coupled receptor signaling through receptor desensitization and alternative signaling pathways.

Biocultural Diversity

The interconnected diversity of biological ecosystems, cultural traditions, languages, and knowledge systems. The preservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity is understood as mutually reinforcing and essential for planetary and human well-being.

Biopiracy

The unauthorized commercialization or patenting of Indigenous biological resources or traditional knowledge without informed consent or equitable benefit sharing.

Boundary Violations

Actions that exploit or harm the therapeutic relationship, including sexual, financial, emotional, or other inappropriate conduct.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)

A neurotrophic protein that supports neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity, learning, memory, and neurogenesis. Increased BDNF signaling is thought to contribute to the therapeutic effects of ketamine and may also play a role in the long-term effects of classic psychedelics.