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

The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence

Moncrieff, Joanna, Cooper, Ruth E., Stockmann, Tom, et al.
Nature Summary & key facts 2023 830 citations

This umbrella review looked at the best existing reviews and large studies to see if depression is linked to low serotonin or low serotonin activity. Across measures of serotonin in fluids, receptor and transporter studies, tryptophan depletion experiments, and large genetic studies, the evidence was mixed or absent. The authors…

Mental Health Research Topics Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders

Effects of psychoplastogens on blood levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in humans: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abigail E. Calder, Adrian Hase, Gregor Hasler
Molecular Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2024 10 citations

Researchers pooled results from 29 human studies that measured blood levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, after people received so-called psychoplastogen drugs such as ketamine or psychedelics. They found no clear change in blood BDNF after these drugs. The authors say this does not prove the…

Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies Treatment of Major Depression Ayahuasca Ketamine

Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/hyperkinetic disorder of pediatric and adult populations in clinical settings: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression

S.C. Johnson, Eric Lim, Peter Jacoby, Stephen V. Faraone, Benjamin Minche Su, Marco Solmi, et al.
Molecular Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2025 2 citations

This systematic review and meta-analysis combined 311 clinical studies (653,558 children and 43,311 adults) up to August 1, 2023. It found that ADHD/hyperkinetic disorder occurred in 32.4% (95% CI 31–34%) of pediatric patients and 21.4% (95% CI 20–23%) of adult patients seen in clinical settings — about 8–9 times higher…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
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