Translational Psychiatry
May 26, 2026
Marvin M. Urban, Lea Zillich, Nathalie M. Rieser et al.
1 citation
The serotonergic hallucinogen psilocybin has shown potential as a treatment for psychiatric conditions like alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression in clinical studies. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, are hypothesized to contribute to its lasting therapeutic benefits. In this exploratory study, we present the first methylome-wide analysis of psilocybin-induced changes in a...
Research Square
March 31, 2026
Marcus W. Meinhardt, Ivan Skorodumov, Florian Walter et al.
Abstract Alcohol use disorder is a major global health problem, and current treatments often fail to produce lasting reductions in harmful drinking1,2. Psychedelic-assisted therapies may promote durable behavioural change by enhancing brain plasticity during emotionally meaningful experiences, but progress has been limited by a lack of experimental models that capture these context-dependent...
Elife
March 27, 2026
Målin Schmidt, Anne Hoffrichter, Mahnaz Davoudi et al.
3 citations
Psilocybin is studied as innovative medication in anxiety, substance abuse and treatment-resistant depression. Animal studies show that psychedelics promote neuronal plasticity by strengthening synaptic responses and protein synthesis. However, the exact molecular and cellular changes induced by psilocybin in the human brain are not known. Here, we treated human cortical neurons derived from...
Psychopharmacology
November 15, 2025
Elisabetta Ciccocioppo, Sara Massetti, Marcus W. Meinhardt et al.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a significant medical challenge, with available therapeutic approaches having limited efficacy. Emerging data suggest that psychedelic compounds could represent an alternative treatment for AUD. Among this class of molecules, ketamine, a dissociative psychedelic, shows promising properties. It reduces alcohol drinking in rodents and in humans it is used to...
Acta Neuropsychiatrica
September 3, 2025
Filipe Reis Teodoro Andrade, Tobias Buchborn, Gabriel Thalheimer et al.
3 citations
Abstract Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a significant public health concern, and current treatments often have limitations in effectiveness and adherence. Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms, is being explored as a potential treatment for depression. It primarily acts through the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor but interacts with 5-HT1A and 5-HT2C receptors....
Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
May 1, 2025
Marcus W. Meinhardt, Ivan Skorodumov, Jérôme Jeanblanc et al.
8 citations
The drug development process in psychiatry faces significant challenges due to low reproducibility rates in animal testing, which often leads to translation failures. To address this issue, we introduce a new approach in psychiatric drug development: a preclinical randomized controlled trial (preRCT). To demonstrate its potential utility, we conducted a multi-center preRCT using the alcohol...
Translational Psychiatry
December 5, 2024
Bettina Habelt, Dzmitry Afanasenkau, Cindy Schwarz et al.
6 citations
Patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who seek treatment show highly variable outcomes. A precision medicine approach with biomarkers responsive to new treatments is warranted to overcome this limitation. Promising biomarkers relate to prefrontal control mechanisms that are severely disturbed in AUD. This results in reduced inhibitory control of compulsive behavior and, eventually, relapse....
Research Square
June 7, 2024
Målin Schmidt, Anne Hoffrichter, Mahnaz Davoudi et al.
5 citations
Abstract Psilocybin is studied as innovative medication in anxiety, substance abuse and treatment-resistant depression. Animal studies show that psychedelics promote neuronal plasticity by strengthening synaptic responses and protein synthesis. However, the exact molecular and cellular changes induced by psilocybin in the human brain are not known. Here, we treated human cortical neurons...
Research Square
February 22, 2024
Bettina Habelt, Dzmitry Afanasenkau, Cindy Schwarz et al.
Abstract Current treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) show large heterogeneity in response and thus limited effectiveness and high relapse rates. A precision medicine approach with biomarkers responsive to new treatments is warranted to overcome this limitation. Promising biomarkers relate to prefrontal control mechanisms that are severely disturbed in AUD. This results in reduced...
Translational Psychiatry
December 14, 2023
Ivan Skorodumov, Rainer Spanagel, Jonathan R Reinwald et al.
25 citations
Abstract Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) adversely affects the lives of millions of people, but still lacks effective treatment options. Recent advancements in psychedelic research suggest psilocybin to be potentially efficacious for AUD. However, major knowledge gaps remain regarding (1) psilocybin’s general mode of action and (2) AUD-specific alterations of responsivity to psilocybin treatment in...
Frontiers in Neuroscience
October 6, 2023
Tobias Buchborn, Hannes Kettner, Laura Kärtner et al.
21 citations
The ego is one of the most central psychological constructs in psychedelic research and a key factor in psychotherapy, including psychedelic-assisted forms of psychotherapy. Despite its centrality, the ego-construct remains ambiguous in the psychedelic literature. Therefore, we here review the theoretical background of the ego-construct with focus on its psychodynamic conceptualization. We...
Frontiers in Neuroscience
April 17, 2023
Marvin M. Urban, Moritz R. Stingl, Marcus W. Meinhardt
47 citations
The potential of psychedelics to persistently treat substance use disorders is known since the 1960s. However, the biological mechanisms responsible for their therapeutic effects have not yet been fully elucidated. While it is known that serotonergic hallucinogens induce changes in gene expression and neuroplasticity, particularly in prefrontal regions, theories on how specifically this...
Cells
March 22, 2023
Kevin Domanegg, Wolfgang H. Sommer, Marcus W. Meinhardt
23 citations
Alcohol abuse is a leading risk factor for the public health burden worldwide. Approved pharmacotherapies have demonstrated limited effectiveness over the last few decades in treating alcohol use disorders (AUD). New therapeutic approaches are therefore urgently needed. Historical and recent clinical trials using psychedelics in conjunction with psychotherapy demonstrated encouraging results in...
Science Advances
November 17, 2021
Marcus W. Meinhardt, Simone Pfarr, Grégory Fouquet et al.
92 citations
Alcohol-induced mGluR2 deficits are restored by psilocybin, resulting in a rescue of pathological behaviors in alcoholism.
Neuropsychopharmacology
May 5, 2020
Marcus W. Meinhardt, Cansu Güngör, Ivan Skorodumov et al.
66 citations
For most psychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder (AUD), approved pharmacological treatments are limited in their effectiveness, and new drugs that can easily be translated into the clinic are needed. Currently, great hope lies in the potential of psychedelics to effectively treat AUD. The primary hypothesis is that a single session of psychedelic-guided psychotherapy can restore...