Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.

Psychedelic Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Patient Experiences in Qualitative Studies

Joost J. Breeksema, Alistair Niemeijer, Erwin Krediet, Eric Vermetten, Robert A. Schoevers

CNS Drugs Summary & key facts 2020 207 citations

Researchers collected and read 15 studies where patients described their own experiences with psychedelic treatments for mental disorders. These studies looked at about 180 patient accounts across different drugs and different illnesses. Even though the drugs and treatment settings were very different, many patients described similar helpful processes, such as…

Psychedelics alter metaphysical beliefs

Christopher Timmermann, Hannes Kettner, Chris Letheby, Leor Roseman, Fernando E. Rosas, Robin Carhart‐Harris

Scientific Reports Summary & key facts 2021 195 citations

Researchers used a large prospective online survey to test whether psychedelic drug use changes people’s metaphysical beliefs. After psychedelic use, people tended to move away from physicalist or materialist views and toward panpsychism and fatalism. Except for fatalism, these shifts lasted for at least 6 months. The shifts were linked…

Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Ethics and ego dissolution: the case of psilocybin

William Smith, Dominic Sisti

Journal of Medical Ethics Summary & key facts 2020 130 citations

Recent, early-phase trials suggest psychedelics—especially psilocybin—may help treat several mental and substance use disorders. The psychedelic experience can include loss of self-importance, feelings of unity or connection, ineffable insights, and encounters with ‘deep’ reality or God, and it can change a person’s personality and worldview. The authors argue these unusual…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies Psychedelics and Drug Studies

The therapeutic potential of psilocybin: a systematic review

Jan van Amsterdam, Wim van den Brink

Expert Opinion on Drug Safety Summary & key facts 2022 73 citations

This paper looked across existing studies of psilocybin and found that, when it is given along with psychotherapy or therapy-style support, it looks promising as a treatment for several mental health problems, including cases that did not get better with other treatments. But the authors say the current studies are…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies Psilocybin

Psychological flexibility as a mechanism of change in psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depression: results from an exploratory placebo-controlled trial

Sloshower, Jordan, Zeifman, Richard J., Guss, Jeffrey, et al.

Nature Summary & key facts 2024 46 citations

This small, exploratory study gave people with moderate to severe major depressive disorder placebo first (19 people) and then a single dose of psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) to 15 people four weeks later, with all dosing embedded in therapy based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). After the psilocybin session, measures…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Psychedelic therapies reconsidered: compounds, clinical indications, and cautious optimism

Jennifer Mitchell, B. Anderson

Neuropsychopharmacology Summary & key facts 2023 44 citations

This review describes a rapid rise in medical research on psychedelic drugs over the past five years. Several later-stage clinical trials have been published, and many different drugs — including psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, LSD, ayahuasca, and ibogaine — are being tested for conditions such as depression, post‑traumatic stress, addiction, obsessive‑compulsive…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies Ayahuasca Ibogaine

Is microdosing a placebo? A rapid review of low-dose LSD and psilocybin research

Vince Polito, Paul Liknaitzky

Journal of Psychopharmacology Summary & key facts 2024 14 citations

Researchers reviewed 19 placebo-controlled studies that tested low doses of LSD or psilocybin (this is called microdosing). The studies found measurable changes in brain biology, body responses, how people felt, and how they thought, compared with placebo. But the studies are few and small, often tested only tiny doses in…

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies Psychedelics and Drug Studies LSD Psilocybin

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