Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 2, 2026
Zarmeen Zahid, Rick J. Strassman, Clifford Qualls et al.
Serotonergic psychedelics are being investigated in the treatment of various disorders and in the improvement of well-being. Evidence suggests that their subjective effects may play a role in long-term behavioral outcomes. The subjective effects are mediated by 5-HT2A receptor agonism, but the 5-HT1A receptor may also play a role in the subjective effects. This study elucidates the effects of...
medRxiv Preprint Server
April 28, 2026
Sandeep M. Nayak, Nathan D. Sepeda, Matthew Nielsen Dick et al.
preprint
Background Psilocybin has increasingly been studied as a therapeutic for psychiatric and neurologic conditions, yet comprehensive cardiovascular safety data are limited. Current trials often exclude individuals with blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg, criteria established conservatively without robust empirical support.
BMJ
February 23, 2026
Edward Jacobs, Zarmeen Zahid, Jared T. Hinkle et al.
5 citations
Over the past 15 years, psychedelic treatments have garnered substantial clinical interest, with psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) advancing to phase 3 trials for various psychiatric conditions. This state-of-the-art review examines the evidence for these treatments and their proposed mechanisms of action, and identifies key challenges in clinical translation. Psychedelic...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 1, 2025
Sandeep M. Nayak, Zarmeen Zahid
5 citations
As psychedelic clinical trials expand in scale and influence, foundational challenges in trial design have come into sharper focus. In this commentary, we examine three interrelated issues: 1) the failure of blinding in psychedelic trials, 2) the potential of alternate controls including dose-response designs as an empirical workaround, and 3) the persistent ambiguity surrounding psychosocial...
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
August 18, 2025
Flora Moujaes, Nathalie M. Rieser, L. Belinger et al.
5 citations
Serotonergic psychedelics are being explored as treatments for a range of psychiatric conditions. Promising results in mood disorders indicate that their effects on emotional processing may play a central role in their therapeutic potential. However, mechanistic and clinical studies paint a complex picture of the impact of psychedelics on emotions and mood. Here, we review recent findings on...
AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology
June 3, 2025
Paloma C Frautschi, Ajay P Singh, Nicholas A Stowe et al.
2 citations
There is surging interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds like psilocybin in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses like major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent studies point to the rapid antidepressant effect of psilocybin; however, the biologic mechanisms underlying these differences remain unknown. This study determines the feasibility of using diffusion MRI to...
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2024
Zarmeen Zahid, Ziyad W. Sultan, Bryan M Krause et al.
5 citations
Serotonergic psychedelics and ketamine produce rapid and long-lasting symptomatic relief in multiple psychiatric disorders. Evidence suggests that despite having distinct molecular targets, both drugs may exert therapeutic benefit via their pro-neuroplastic effects. Following treatment with ketamine or serotonergic psychedelics, patients are reported to be more open to behavioral change, which...
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
August 2, 2023
Zarmeen Zahid, Zhen Zheng, N. Jones et al.
50 citations
While correlations between drug-induced cortisol elevation, self-reported anxiety, and treatment outcomes have been reported for human studies during psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, the mechanistic relationship between psychedelic-associated alterations in plasma glucocorticoid responses and the time course of anxious responsiveness remains unclear. Using rodents, both time-bound...
Molecular Biology of the Cell
May 27, 2021
Matthew I. Banks, Zarmeen Zahid, N. Jones et al.
37 citations
The resurgence of interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for treating psychiatric disorders has rekindled efforts to elucidate their mechanism of action. In this Perspective, we focus on the ability of psychedelics to promote neural plasticity, postulated to be central to their therapeutic activity. We begin with a brief overview of the history and behavioral effects of the...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
August 14, 2020
N. Jones, Zarmeen Zahid, Sean M. Grady et al.
9 citations
preprint
Abstract Despite observed correlations between acute glucocorticoid release, self-reported anxiety, and long-term treatment outcomes for human studies using psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy approaches, the mechanistic relationship between psychedelic-dependent stress and subsequent behavioral responses remains unclear. Using rodents, direct manipulation of stress-associated hormone responses...