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.
20 papers
This review explains how the mushroom drugs psilocybin and psilocin are broken down in the body. Psilocybin is mainly a pro-drug that enzymes convert into the active compound psilocin. Psilocin is then further changed, and the main substance found in urine is psilocin-O-glucuronide, which matters for clinical and forensic testing.…
Microdosing means taking a very small, sub‑hallucinogenic amount of a psychedelic drug. Research so far is limited and mixed: some large observational studies report small-to-medium mood gains, but at least one randomized trial found no objective benefit. There is no standard definition of microdosing, potency and legality vary, and long‑term…
Researchers found that the main kratom alkaloid, mitragynine, is turned by liver enzymes into a much more active compound called 7-hydroxymitragynine (7‑OH). In lab tests and in mice, 7‑OH acts more strongly at the mu-opioid receptor and reaches brain levels that can explain most or all of the pain relief…
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…
Researchers reviewed studies of drugs that act on serotonin (so-called serotonergic psychedelics) and MDMA. They found that harms and bad reactions are not clearly defined in these studies and are probably reported less often than they actually happen. Some intense or frightening experiences during treatment might help people heal, but…
This page describes ibogaine as a plant-derived psychedelic that some researchers are studying for addiction, depression, and PTSD. It says ibogaine can cause strong hallucinations that start within hours and may last up to 24 hours. The page reports some studies and a 2022 review that suggest ibogaine may reduce…
This article gives health care professionals a plain overview of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. It summarizes how psilocybin and its active form psilocin work in the brain, how the body absorbs and clears them, practical issues for dosing and monitoring, legal and access changes, and safety concerns for medically complex patients. The…
This study used a smartphone app to compare 4,050 people who said they microdose psychedelics with 4,653 people who did not. Psilocybin was the most common microdose substance, and people who microdosed often said they did so for health and wellness reasons. In people who reported past mental health concerns,…
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…
Researchers followed 953 people who microdosed psilocybin and 180 non-microdosing controls for about 30 days. Microdosers showed small-to-medium improvements in mood and overall mental health at one month compared with controls. These improvements were seen across genders, age groups, and in people with and without prior mental health concerns. The…
The authors created a fast lab method (LC-MS/MS) to measure the psychoactive chemicals psilocybin and psilocin in Psilocybe sclerotia, also called "magic truffles." The method was sensitive and reliable, and when used on the samples in this study it detected only psilocybin, at 59.3–167.8 µg per 100 mg of fresh…
This systematic review looked at clinical studies of psilocybin for adults with major depressive disorder. It combined 6 studies with 319 participants, found that every study reported that psilocybin reduced depressive symptoms, and noted few side effects. Each study included psychological support, and the authors say more and better studies…
