Drug and Alcohol Review
September 1, 2022
Lukas A Basedow, Sören Kuitunen-Paul
42 citations
People most often use serotonergic psychedelics (hallucinogens) to expand their awareness, such as to increase self-knowledge, promote spiritual development, or satisfy curiosity. This motive appeared in 78% of the 37 studies reviewed, followed by coping (67%) and enhancement (57%). The pattern held across different types of psychedelics, different cultural backgrounds, and both quantitative and qualitative research, with no significant changes from 1967 to 2020. To reduce potential harms, harm-reduction services might offer non-drug ways to fulfill the desire for expanded awareness. Future research should examine motives for specific psychedelics.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
September 16, 2021
Lukas A Basedow, Thomas Riemer, Simon Reiche et al.
16 citations
Repeated use of serotonergic psychedelics such as LSD, ayahuasca, and peyote is associated with distinct neuropsychological profiles rather than a uniform pattern of impairment. A systematic review of 13 studies (539 participants) found that LSD users performed worse on executive-functioning tasks, ayahuasca users showed better performance on the Stroop incongruent task, and peyote users showed no differences across domains. However, methodological quality varied widely, and most studies failed to fully control for confounding factors like other substance use. The evidence suggests that different psychedelics may have different long-term cognitive consequences.
Scientific Reports
June 26, 2024
Lukas A Basedow, Tomislav Majić, Nicklas Jakob Hafiz et al.
13 citations
A systematic review and meta-analysis examined how psychedelics and MDMA affect cognitive performance during acute drug effects and the sub-acute (afterglow) window. Acute psychedelic use impairs attention and executive function, while MDMA primarily impairs memory, leaving executive functions and attention unaffected. During the sub-acute period (at least 24 hours after acute effects subside), executive functioning and creativity may be increased following psychedelics, but no such effects were observed for MDMA. These findings can inform harm reduction recommendations for recreational use and support differential therapeutic approaches for psychedelics and MDMA.
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
April 2, 2025
Simon Reiche, Tim Hirschfeld, Anna Lena Gröticke et al.
5 citations
People who have used psychedelics such as psilocybin, LSD, or ayahuasca a mild to moderate number of times over their lives show broadly equivalent neuropsychological performance to non-users, but with a modest advantage in executive functions, particularly cognitive flexibility as measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). In matched-pair analyses, users performed better on the WCST, and dose-response analyses within the user group found that greater lifetime use was positively associated with fewer total errors, perseverative responses, perseverative errors, non-perseverative errors, and more conceptual level responses. The study did not find any negative associations between sporadic psychedelic use and cognition.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
January 21, 2022
Melina Wiedmann, Sören Kuitunen-Paul, Lukas A Basedow et al.
5 citations
Among adolescent psychiatry outpatients with substance use disorder, attenuated psychotic symptoms were linked to MDMA (ecstasy) use and trauma history, but not to cannabis use. In a sample of 46 adolescents, 35% reported using MDMA in addition to cannabis. Statistical analysis showed that MDMA use and trauma history were each associated with more psychotic-like symptoms, while cannabis use, gender, and birth complications were not. The authors suggest that cannabis may increase psychosis risk only after longer use or when combined with other factors like trauma. Clinicians should screen for psychotic symptoms in adolescents who use both MDMA and cannabis.
May 16, 2025
Lukas A Basedow, Lynn Lottes, Irina Falkenberg et al.
1 citation
preprint
In a survey of 404 people, established depression treatments like psychotherapy (98.3% acceptance) were more accepted and preferred over novel interventions such as psilocybin-assisted therapy (47.5% acceptance). Participants expected greater symptom improvement from traditional treatments and associated ketamine and psilocybin with higher risks of worsening and side effects. However, individuals with more severe depressive symptoms showed more favorable expectations toward these novel therapies, an effect not seen for standard treatments. The findings suggest that unfamiliarity and risk concerns drive skepticism about psychedelic-assisted therapies, and that managing patient expectations and improving clinician education could increase acceptance.
Brain
April 30, 2026
Lukas A Basedow
The effects of MDMA use are difficult to separate from the influence of other drugs and lifestyle factors.