Nature Medicine
August 6, 2026
James Rucker, Tim Mantingh, Jess Kerr-Gaffney et al.
1 citation
Psilocybin-assisted therapy may be a promising new treatment for treatment-resistant depression. We examined the feasibility of administering a single 25-mg dose of psilocybin or placebo with psychological support in a randomized controlled trial design with 6 weeks of follow-up. A two-arm, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled feasibility trial was conducted at one National Health...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
July 1, 2026
Marcus J. Glennon, Catherine Bird, Prateek Yadav et al.
2 citations
Setting up a psychedelic study can be a long, arduous, and Kafkaesque process. Researchers are faced with a host of challenges in this rapidly evolving field, necessitating a range of considerations that remain largely unstandardised. Many of the complexities inherent to psychedelic research also challenge existing assumptions around, for example, approaches to psychiatric prescribing, the...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 27, 2026
Claire T. Roberts, Mathieu Seynaeve, Anna O. Ermakova et al.
Results confirmed the safety profile of BPL-003 in a TRD population. A rapid and sustained reduction in MADRS score was observed over 12 weeks, suggesting BPL-003 could be beneficial in TRD, warranting investigation in larger controlled trials.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 26, 2026
Jess Kerr-Gaffney, Samuel Myrtle, Famia Askari et al.
2 citations
Background: Changes in well-being, personality, and personal values have been documented post-psilocybin; however, evidence from placebo-controlled trials is limited. Aims: To examine the effects of psilocybin versus placebo on psychiatric symptoms, personality, and personal values in healthy participants. Potential mediators were also explored. Methods: This secondary analysis used data from a...
Wellcome Open Research
April 22, 2025
Matthew Butler, Catherine Bird, Carolina Maggio et al.
3 citations
Background Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common cause of neurological symptoms including seizures and movement disorders. It can be debilitating, is associated with high health and social care costs, and can have a poor prognosis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has suggested FND is a multi-network disorder. Converging evidence suggests that other mechanisms including...
arXiv Preprint Archive
March 28, 2025
Marcus J. Glennon, Catherine Bird, Prateek Yadav et al.
Setting up a psychedelic study can be a long, arduous, and kafkaesque process. This rapidly-developing field poses several unique challenges for researchers, necessitating a range of considerations that have not yet been standardised. Many of the complexities inherent to psychedelic research also challenge existing assumptions around, for example, approaches to psychiatric prescribing, the...
Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain
October 9, 2024
James Rucker, Matthew Butler, Sadie Hambleton et al.
Matt Butler has nothing to declare. Sanjay Cheema: Received a research fellowship sponsored by Abbott. Giorgio Lambru: Co-chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Trigeminal neuralgia Association (TNA) UK; received personal fees from Abbvie, Teva, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck; participated in clinical trials as principal investigator for Novartis, Eli Lilly, Teva, Nevro. Manjit Matharu:...
Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain
September 20, 2024
James Rucker, Sadie Hambleton, Catherine Bird et al.
12 citations
Abstract Background Short‐lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks (SUNHA) are trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias that feature intense and recurrent paroxysms of pain and autonomic symptoms. Many patients are left with debilitating symptoms despite best‐available treatment. Psychedelics, such as the serotonin 2A partial agonist psilocybin, have shown promise in related disorders such as...
Wellcome Open Research
2024
Matt Butler, Catherine Bird, Carolina Maggio et al.
4 citations
Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common cause of neurological symptoms including seizures and movement disorders. It can be debilitating, is associated with high health and social care costs, and can have a poor prognosis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has suggested FND is a multi-network disorder. Converging evidence suggests that other mechanisms including...
The New England journal of medicine
November 3, 2022
Guy M. Goodwin, Scott T Aaronson, Oscar Alvarez et al.
1,095 citations
Psilocybin is being studied for use in treatment-resistant depression. In this phase 2 double-blind trial, we randomly assigned adults with treatment-resistant depression to receive a single dose of a proprietary, synthetic formulation of psilocybin at a dose of 25 mg, 10 mg, or 1 mg (control), along with psychological support. The primary end point was the change from baseline to week 3 in the...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2022
James Rucker, Lindsey Marwood, Riikka-Liisa Johanna Ajantaival et al.
101 citations
Background: Psilocybin, a psychoactive serotonin receptor partial agonist, has been reported to acutely reduce clinical symptoms of depressive disorders. Psilocybin’s effects on cognitive function have not been widely or systematically studied. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the safety of simultaneous administration of psilocybin to healthy participants in the largest randomised...
BMJ Open
December 1, 2021
James Rucker, Hassan Jafari, Tim Mantingh et al.
23 citations
Introduction Psilocybin-assisted therapy may be a new treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), with encouraging data from pilot trials. In this trial (short name: PsiDeR) we aimed to test the feasibility of a parallel-group, randomised, placebo-controlled design. The primary outcomes in this trial are measures of feasibility: recruitment rates, dropout rates and the variance of the...
International Review of Psychiatry
April 3, 2021
Catherine Bird, Nadav L. Modlin, James J. H. Rucker
78 citations
This review examines the role of trauma in psychiatric morbidity and analogous psychoneurobiological changes. Trauma is a necessary criterion for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), however, trauma history is highly correlated with a variety of psychiatric conditions. Some evidence suggests that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is the most common psychiatric condition that arises following...
Depression and Anxiety
July 5, 2020
N. Weston, Damian Gibbs, Catherine Bird et al.
38 citations
INTRODUCTION: In this paper, we systematically review literature from 1940 to 2000 relating to the combined use of psychological therapies and psychedelic drugs in the treatment of ICD-10 anxiety disorders. METHODS: The databases Ovid MEDLINE(R), PsycINFO, and Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) were searched for case reports and trials involving humans in the treatment...
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
July 3, 2020
Simon Ruffell, Nige Netzband, Catherine Bird et al.
43 citations
Ayahuasca is a South American psychoactive plant brew used as traditional medicine in spiritual and in cultural rituals. This is a review of the current understanding about the pharmacological mechanisms that may be interacting in ayahuasca. Searches were performed using PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases and 16 papers were selected. As hypothesized, the primary narrative in...