Universität Zürich, ZORA
June 1, 2026
Klemens Egger, Robert Bozsak, Helena Aicher et al.
Classical psychedelics such as N,N -dimethyltryptamine (DMT) modulate consciousness via serotonergic receptor agonism, and are increasingly investigated for their psychotherapeutic potential. When combined with the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor harmine—mimicking the pharmacological profile of ayahuasca—oral DMT induces a psychedelic experience lasting 4–5 h. While some neuroimaging...
Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
June 1, 2026
Klemens Egger, Robert Bozsak, Helena Aicher et al.
Classical psychedelics such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) modulate consciousness via serotonergic receptor agonism, and are increasingly investigated for their psychotherapeutic potential. When combined with the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor harmine-mimicking the pharmacological profile of ayahuasca-oral DMT induces a psychedelic experience lasting 4-5 h. While some neuroimaging...
Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
2026
Cheng-Teng Ip, Sebastian Olbrich, Mateo de Bardeci et al.
1 citation
BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in psychedelic research have highlighted psilocybin's potential therapeutic benefits for various mental disorders. Understanding its effects on brain function and identifying predictors of individual responses are essential for developing effective treatments. METHODS: This double-blind, randomized, crossover, and placebo-controlled study enrolled 25 healthy...
Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich)
2026
Klemens Egger, Robert Bozsak, Helena Aicher et al.
Classical psychedelics such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) modulate consciousness via serotonergic receptor agonism, and are increasingly investigated for their psychotherapeutic potential. When combined with the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor harmine—mimicking the pharmacological profile of ayahuasca—oral DMT induces a psychedelic experience lasting 4–5 h. While some neuroimaging...
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
July 9, 2025
Angela Äbelö, John W Smallridge, Robin von Rotz et al.
3 citations
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychedelic compound commonly co-administered with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor harmine in ayahuasca-inspired formulations. However, the impact of harmine on DMT pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) remains insufficiently characterized. In this single-blind, randomized, two-arm, factorial, dose-finding study, 16 healthy participants (9 males, 7...
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie
March 1, 2025
Klemens Egger, Javier Jareño Redondo, Jovin Müller et al.
14 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional psychoactive Amazonian brew, usually contains N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and β-carboline (harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine) monoamine oxidase inhibitors. However, the pharmacological interactions between these compounds remain incompletely understood. In this study, we developed an ayahuasca-inspired formulation containing DMT and harmine, aiming to...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
September 27, 2024
Daniel Meling, Klemens Egger, Jovin Mueller et al.
15 citations
Background: In recent years, both meditation and psychedelics have attracted rapidly increasing scientific interest. While the current state of evidence suggests the promising potential of psychedelics, such as psilocybin, to enhance meditative training, it remains equivocal whether these effects are specifically bound to psilocybin or if other classical psychedelics might show synergistic...
iScience
May 19, 2024
Andres Ort, John W Smallridge, Erich Seifritz et al.
1 citation
Serotonergic psychedelics hold promise as a treatment modality for various psychiatric disorders and are currently applied in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. We investigated the learning effects of the serotonin receptor agonist psilocybin in a probabilistic cue-reward task with emotional cues in the form of neutral or fearful faces, presented either consciously or subconsciously. This...
iScience
May 19, 2023
Andres Ort, John W Smallridge, Simone Sarasso et al.
47 citations
Exploring the neurobiology of the profound changes in consciousness induced by classical psychedelic drugs may require novel neuroimaging methods. Serotonergic psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin produce states of increased sensory-emotional awareness and arousal, accompanied by increased spontaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) signal diversity. By directly stimulating cortical tissue, the...
Pharmacopsychiatry
January 25, 2022
John W Smallridge, Franz X. Vollenweider
107 citations
Abstract Renewed interest in the effects of psychedelics in the treatment of psychiatric disorders warrants a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of these substances. During the past two decades, state-of-the-art studies of animals and humans have yielded new important insights into the molecular, cellular, and systems-level actions of psychedelic...