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.
Researchers studied more than 1,200 people at six multiday mass gatherings in the US and the UK. They found that psychedelic use was linked with better mood. That link appeared to work through people reporting a transformative experience and feeling more socially connected. The link was stronger when use had…
Researchers followed people who used psychedelics in real life and signed up online. They asked them about their personality and how connected they felt to others before the experience, two weeks after, and four weeks after. On average, people reported feeling less emotional instability, becoming more friendly and cooperative, and…
Researchers looked back at recordings and interviews from 26 people who got ketamine infusions for treatment-resistant depression. They found that things people were exposed to in the days before treatment — especially digital media like videos — sometimes showed up inside their ketamine experiences and changed how emotional or “mystical”…
Researchers followed people who chose to take a psychedelic on their own and filled out online surveys before, and two and four weeks after, the experience. About 430 adolescents aged 16 to 24 and about 650 adults aged 25 and older were included. Adolescents showed a measurable improvement in mental…
This paper reviews how scientists have tried to sort and name altered states of consciousness—short, noticeable changes in how you feel and think compared to normal waking life. The authors group past systems into three types: ones that classify by what the experience feels like, ones that classify by how…
This was a 6-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that tested low-dose LSD (20 μg) given twice weekly in 53 adults with moderate to severe ADHD. Both the LSD group and the placebo group showed similar symptom reductions by week 6 (LSD mean change on the ADHD rating scale −7.1 points; placebo…
This online survey asked 581 people who had used psychedelics about effects on sex, gender, and relationships. Most (70.2%) said psychedelics changed some part of their sexuality or sexual experiences. Many reported short-term effects during trips (65.4%) and longer-term effects afterward (52.8%), and more people reported improvements in relationship quality,…
This systematic review looked at animal and human studies of MDMA (the main ingredient in ecstasy) for social problems seen in autism. It found that, in animal models (mostly rodents), postnatal MDMA caused more social behavior and less asocial behavior, and that some human reports and a small pilot trial…
