Journal of Medical Ethics
July 12, 2021
Dana Strauss, Sara de la Salle, Jordan Sloshower et al.
70 citations
Early US psychedelic research (1950-1980) exploited people of colour and other vulnerable groups, including incarcerated individuals and inpatients with psychotic disorders. A review of empirical publications from that era, assessed against current ethical standards, reveals that participants were often administered drugs without proper informed consent and under conditions of undue influence. The Central Intelligence Agency covertly funded some of this work. These historical abuses demand that contemporary psychedelic researchers adopt culturally inclusive and socially responsible methods to avoid repeating past harms.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
June 7, 2021
Colleen Fogg, Timothy I. Michaels, Sara de la Salle et al.
53 citations
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) shows promise for treating substance use disorders, PTSD, depression, and anxiety in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, but research has almost exclusively involved White populations in North America and Western Europe, neglecting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Ethnoracial differences in the metabolism, safety, and efficacy of psychotropic drugs are known from previous research, yet no studies have directly examined such differences for psychedelic pharmacology. This article argues that failing to include BIPOC in trials limits generalizability and overlooks biological and social factors affecting responses to PAP. It discusses limitations of ethnopsychopharmacology and advocates for expanded funding to address cultural, clinical, and public health needs.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
July 15, 2021
Zoe W. Jahn, Joel A Lopez, Sara de la Salle et al.
36 citations
About 15.9% of the U.S. population over age 12 had used a hallucinogen at least once, and 2.0% had used one in the past year. Lifetime use was most common among non-Hispanic White and multi-racial individuals, while Black/African Americans reported the lowest rates. Past-year use was highest among White and multi-racial groups aged 12–34 and among White individuals aged 35–49. Hispanic individuals showed higher past-year use in the 12–17 age group but lower use in the 26–49 range. Black/African Americans had the lowest past-year use among 12–25 year olds. Adults 50 and older reported the lowest past-year use overall.
Nature Medicine
June 3, 2025
Chloé Pronovost-Morgan, Kyle T. Greenway, Leor Roseman et al.
26 citations
A Delphi consensus study with 89 experts from 17 countries identified 30 extra-pharmacological variables that are important or very important for reporting the setting in psychedelic clinical trials. These variables, forming the ReSPCT guidelines, cover physical environment, dosing session procedure, therapeutic framework and protocol, and subjective experiences. The findings reveal significant ambiguities in current conceptualizations of set and setting. The guidelines provide a new standard for designing and documenting contextual factors in psychedelic research.
Scientific Reports
July 17, 2024
Sara de la Salle, Hannes Kettner, Julien Thibault Lévesque et al.
21 citations
A prospective longitudinal survey of eight Canadians with cancer who received legal psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy under Section 56 exemptions found significant improvements in anxiety, depression, pain, fear of COVID-19, quality of life, and spiritual well-being two weeks after the session. Attitudes toward death, medical assistance in dying, and desire for hastened death remained unchanged. Most participants found the sessions highly meaningful, though one reported a substantial decrease in well-being. These preliminary data suggest that real-world psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy can produce psychiatric benefits similar to those in clinical trials, but limited enrollment and negative experiences indicate a need for formal real-world evaluation programs.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
July 1, 2022
Timothy I. Michaels, Lebert Lester, Sara de la Salle et al.
19 citations
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are greatly underrepresented in ketamine clinical trials for mood disorders, despite experiencing high rates of such conditions. A review of double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized ketamine trials from 1993 to 2020 found that among 380 participants, 73.7% were non-Hispanic White, 9.2% Black, 5.0% Hispanic/Latinx, and 0.8% Asian. Higher BIPOC inclusion was negatively correlated with the number of recruitment methods used. The lack of reported demographic information may further underestimate BIPOC participation. These disparities mean reported treatment outcomes may not generalize to all groups, and unequal access to novel treatments worsens health inequities.
The British Journal of Psychiatry
June 18, 2025
Kyle T. Greenway, Nicolas Garel, Lê-Anh Dinh-Williams et al.
8 citations
In a clinical trial of ketamine combined with psychotherapy for severe treatment-resistant depression, 32 participants received six ketamine infusions with psychological support, either with or without music. Both groups showed large and sustained reductions in depression, anxiety, and suicidality at four weeks, fully maintained at eight-week follow-up. The ketamine experiences were highly emotional and mystical, comparable to those seen with psilocybin. Converging analyses suggested that mystical-like experiences contributed to the immediate and lasting antidepressant effects. Music did not enhance outcomes or psychedelic experiences.
Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology
March 1, 2025
Danny Diep, Sara de la Salle, Julien Thibault Lévesque et al.
8 citations
Ketamine's subjective effects have been interpreted in three major ways since its 1962 synthesis: as dissociative, dream-like, or psychedelic, depending on the clinical context and dose. Biomedical frameworks often label its effects as dissociative or psychotomimetic, while psychedelic paradigms highlight potential therapeutic benefits. Factors such as language, dose, and environmental setting influence both the drug's effects and treatment outcomes. The authors argue that ketamine is best understood as a chameleon whose effects shift with context, rather than a tiger to be tamed. A nuanced, interdisciplinary approach is needed to maximize its clinical potential.
Psychedelic Med (New Rochelle)
December 2, 2024
Sara G. Gloeckler, Alexandre Lehmann, Sara de la Salle et al.
4 citations
A survey of over 2,000 people who used psychedelic substances in non-clinical settings found that most reported therapeutic benefits and enjoyment from combining music with their experiences, though the degree of benefit varied by substance. Contrary to clinical guidelines that recommend unfamiliar, lyric-free music, only 10% of respondents agreed music should be unfamiliar and only 22% agreed it should lack understandable lyrics. The data also suggest that psychedelic experiences without music may offer unique benefits, especially with the shortest- and longest-acting substances. These findings indicate that current music selection guidelines for psychedelic therapy may need more nuanced, substance-specific research.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
February 26, 2025
Sara de la Salle, Jennifer L Phillips, Pierre Blier et al.
3 citations
A sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine, an NMDAR antagonist, produces rapid antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. In 24 patients, ketamine reduced frontal mismatch negativity (MMN) amplitude, theta event-related oscillations, and source-localized frontal generator activity immediately and 2 hours after infusion, compared to midazolam. Larger reductions in MMN measures, particularly left frontal amplitude and theta oscillations, correlated with and predicted greater early and sustained symptom improvement on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Baseline phase-locking factor also predicted sustained response. The findings suggest that acute NMDAR blockade reduces frontal MMN, and that MMN indices may serve as non-invasive biomarkers for predicting antidepressant response to glutamatergic agents.