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.

3 papers

Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting

Luisa Prochazkova, Dominique P. Lippelt, Lorenza S. Colzato, Martin Kuchař, Zsuzsika Sjoerds, Bernhard Hommel
Psychopharmacology Summary & key facts 2018 176 citations

In a natural, open-label study at a microdosing event, researchers tested people before and while they expected the effects of a psychedelic truffle microdose. They found better performance on a task that measures convergent thinking and on a task that measures divergent thinking. A short test of fluid intelligence did…

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

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

Safety and Efficacy of Repeated Low-Dose LSD for ADHD Treatment in Adults

Lorenz Mueller, Joyce Santos de Jesus, Yasmin Schmid, Felix Müller, A. Becker, Aaron Klaiber, et al.
JAMA Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2025 7 citations

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…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies
Summaries and links are for general information and education only. They are not a substitute for reading the original publication or for professional medical, legal, or other advice. Always refer to the linked source for the full study.