Qualitative Health Research
February 17, 2026
Zaynab Khan, Sterre Weaver, Rachael V. Dando et al.
1 citation
People with cancer often experience anxiety and depression following a diagnosis and can face barriers to accessing treatment for their mental health. An increasing number of patients are considering alternative approaches to managing their mental health symptoms, such as the psychedelic, psilocybin. A growing number of clinical trials show significant and enduring improvements in mood and...
Drug Science, Policy and Law
September 1, 2025
David Nutt, David Erritzøe, Anne Katrin Schlag et al.
9 citations
Psychedelics are undergoing a clinical research renaissance, with compounds such as psilocybin advancing to Phase 3 trials for treatment-resistant depression and receiving fast-track or breakthrough designations from regulatory agencies. Despite this progress, the field lacks standardized terminology to guide clinical development, dosing, safety monitoring, and regulatory classification. Here,...
Psychological Medicine
December 1, 2023
Paul McCrone, Henry Fisher, Clare Knight et al.
34 citations
There is growing evidence to support the use of the psychedelic drug psilocybin for difficult-to-treat depression. This paper compares the cost-effectiveness of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) with conventional medication, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and the combination of conventional medication and CBT. A decision model simulated patient events (response, remission, and...
Psychedelics as Psychiatric Medications
March 1, 2023
Joanna C. Neill, Mohammed Shahid, Rosalind Gittins et al.
Abstract Improved understanding of the potential risks and adverse effects of psychedelics is essential before psychedelic-assisted therapy is adopted into mainstream medicine. In spite of numerous recent clinical trials, gaps in knowledge remain. A comprehensive analysis of human receptor pharmacology is required to inform clinical dosing strategies and improve the understanding of drug-drug...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 30, 2022
Rebecca Smausz, Joanna C. Neill, John Gigg
60 citations
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound with profound perception-, emotion- and cognition-altering properties and great potential for treating brain disorders. However, the neural mechanisms mediating its effects require in-depth investigation as there is still much to learn about how psychedelic drugs produce their profound and long-lasting effects. In this review, we outline...
CNS Spectrums
September 30, 2021
Xénia Gonda, Péter Döme, Joanna C. Neill et al.
77 citations
Abstract Treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) including treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a major unmet need. Although there are several classes of dissimilar antidepressant drugs approved for MDD, the current drugs have either limited efficacy or are associated with undesirable side effects and withdrawal symptoms. The efficacy and side effects of antidepressant drugs are...
Behavioural Brain Research
October 1, 2016
Ceren Sahin, Nazanin Doostdar, Joanna C. Neill
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia remain an unmet clinical need. There is no licensed treatment specifically for this debilitating aspect of the disorder and effect sizes of new therapies are too small to make an impact on quality of life and function. Negative symptoms are multifactorial but often considered in terms of two domains, expressive deficit incorporating blunted affect and poverty...
Epigenomics
September 1, 2016
Helene A Fachim, Umarat Srisawat, Caroline F Dalton et al.
A deficit in parvalbumin neurons is found in schizophrenia and several animal models of the disease. In this preliminary study, we determined whether one such model, phencyclidine (PCP) administration, results in changes in DNA methylation in the rat Pvalb promoter. DNA from hippocampus and prefrontal cortex from rats, which 6 weeks previously received either 2 mg/kg PCP or vehicle for 7 days,...
Journal of Molecular Neuroscience
September 18, 2010
Shikha Snigdha, Joanna C. Neill, S. McLean et al.
Phencyclidine (PCP), used to mimic certain aspects of schizophrenia, induces sexually dimorphic, cognitive deficits in rats. In this study, the effects of sub-chronic PCP on expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophic factor implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, have been evaluated in male and female rats. Male and female hooded-Lister rats received vehicle...
Behavioural Brain Research
August 5, 2008
Shikha Snigdha, Joanna C. Neill
We have recently shown that sub-chronic phencyclidine (PCP) treatment produces social behaviour deficits in female rats which are reversed by ziprasidone but not haloperidol or clozapine. This investigation was designed to extend the previous findings and identify the role of 5-HT(1A) receptors in mediating the effects of these drugs in this model. Female hooded-Lister rats received vehicle...
Behavioural Brain Research
March 5, 2008
Shikha Snigdha, Joanna C. Neill
Sub-chronic phencyclidine (PCP) treatment mimics certain aspects of schizophrenia symptomology in rats. However, there is a marked lack of attempts to model negative symptomology such as social behaviour deficits in female rats. This study was conducted to assess whether sub-chronic PCP treatment produces social interaction deficits in female rats and to ascertain if these deficits can be...
Katie Landreth, Matthew Burgess, Linzi Watson et al.
preprint
Treatments for schizophrenia are not effective in ameliorating cognitive deficits. Therefore, novel therapies are needed to treat cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia (CIAS), which are modelled in rats through administration of sub-chronic phencyclidine (scPCP). We have previously shown that enrichment via voluntary exercise prevents and reverses impairments in novel object...