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.
In a small, controlled study of 18 people with treatment-resistant major depression, a single intravenous dose of the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) produced rapid drops in depression scores. Improvement began within about 2 hours and remained statistically significant compared with placebo for up to 1 week. The study…
Compass Pathways reported early results from its first Phase 3 trial of synthetic psilocybin (COMP360) for treatment‑resistant depression. In 258 patients, the 25 mg dose showed a statistically significant improvement versus placebo on the MADRS depression scale at week 6 (a 3.6‑point difference, p < 0.001). The Data and Safety…
Researchers around the world have started clinical studies again to see if psychedelic drugs can help treat serious mental health problems. This work picks up after research that stopped around the 1950s. Scientists are running controlled studies to test whether these substances can safely reduce problems like depression, anxiety, addiction…
Researchers followed two groups of people who planned to use a psychedelic. They gave questionnaires before the trip, then about two weeks and four weeks after. On average, people reported less avoidance of painful thoughts and feelings, lower depression scores, and less thinking about suicide after using a psychedelic. The…
This review explains how ketamine, a drug that blocks NMDA receptors, might work for people with treatment‑resistant depression. It says one injection of ketamine can rapidly reduce depressive symptoms, including acute suicidal behavior. The paper describes steps that could explain this: ketamine may raise glutamate, trigger growth of neuron branches,…
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…
This review looks at research on cannabis compounds and the body’s endocannabinoid system as possible treatments for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, PTSD, and schizophrenia. It says the evidence is mixed and mostly preliminary. Some studies show biological links between the endocannabinoid system and mood disorders, and early clinical work suggests…
