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David Erritzøe

Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital

131 papers in the library · 12,556 citations · publishing 2011-2026

Papers

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A model training curriculum for psychedelic, psycholytic, and entactogen-assisted psychotherapy.

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) June 10, 2025 Torsten Passie, Anja Loizaga-Velder, Alicia Danforth et al. 4 citations

The authors offer a model for curriculum for education and training in substance-assisted psychotherapy (SAP), that is, psychedelic, psycholytic, and entactogen/MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine)-assisted psychotherapy, addressing both the detailed contents of training and the question of experiential training. All authors of this model have an abiding interest and extensive experience in...

Enhanced meaning in life following psychedelic use: converging evidence from controlled and naturalistic studies

Frontiers in Psychology June 6, 2025 William Roseby, Hannes Kettner, Leor Roseman et al. 6 citations

Introduction Psychedelics, such as psilocybin, are increasingly recognized for their propensity to elicit powerful subjective experiences that carry personal meaning. While research has demonstrated the capacity for these compounds to promote psychological wellbeing, it has yet to be shown to what extent they modulate "meaning in life", a specific contributor to mental and physical health....

An international Delphi consensus for reporting of setting in psychedelic clinical trials.

Nature Medicine June 3, 2025 Chloé Pronovost-Morgan, Kyle T. Greenway, Leor Roseman et al. 26 citations

Psychedelic substances exhibit complex interactions with the 'set and setting' of use, that is, the mental state of the user and the environment in which a psychedelic experience takes place. Despite these contextual variables' known importance, psychedelic research has lacked methodological rigor in reporting extra-pharmacological factors. This study aimed to generate consensus-based...

Reduced Brain Responsiveness to Emotional Stimuli With Escitalopram But Not Psilocybin Therapy for Depression

American Journal of Psychiatry May 7, 2025 Matthew B. Wall, Lysia Demetriou, Bruna Giribaldi et al. 16 citations

Despite large improvements in depressive symptoms in the psilocybin group, psilocybin therapy had only a minor effect on brain responsiveness to emotional stimuli. These results are consistent with prior findings that the antidepressant action of SSRIs is often accompanied by a reduction in emotional responsiveness, but this effect may not occur in psychedelic therapy.

Dissociable effects of psilocybin and escitalopram for depression on processing of musical surprises

Molecular Psychiatry April 26, 2025 Rebecca Harding, Neomi Singer, Talma Hendler et al. 4 citations

Abstract Psilocybin therapy (PT) is emerging as an effective intervention for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), offering comparable efficacy to conventional treatments like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Music, an emotionally evocative stimulus, provides a valuable tool to explore changes in hedonic and predictive processing mechanisms via expectancy violations, or ‘surprises’....

How to set up a psychedelic study: Unique considerations for research involving human participants

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...

Psychedelics and Suicide-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Journal of Clinical Medicine February 20, 2025 Shakila Meshkat, Taha Malik, Jennifer Swainson et al. 3 citations

Background/Objectives: Suicide accounts for 1.4% of global deaths, and the slow-acting nature of traditional treatments for suicide risk underscores the need for alternatives. Psychedelic therapies may rapidly reduce suicide risk. This systematic review evaluates impact of psychedelic therapies on suicide-related outcomes. Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and...

From relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) to revised beliefs after psychedelics (REBAS).

Scientific Reports January 29, 2025 Richard J. Zeifman, Meg J. Spriggs, Hannes Kettner et al. 26 citations

The Relaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS) model proposes that serotonergic psychedelics decrease the precision weighting of neurobiologically-encoded beliefs. We conducted a preliminary examination of two psychological assumptions of REBUS: (a) psychedelics foster acute relaxation and post-acute revision of confidence in mental-health-relevant beliefs; which (b) facilitate positive...

Study Protocol for ‘PsilOCD: A Pharmacological Challenge Study Evaluating the Effects of the 5-HT2A Agonist Psilocybin on the Neurocognitive and Clinical Correlates of Compulsivity’

Cureus January 29, 2025 Sorcha O'Connor, Kate Godfrey, Sara Reed et al. 2 citations

This study's results are expected to offer critical insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy in treating OCD, and whether these correlate with changes in the cognitive features of the condition. As a secondary aim, it will ascertain whether a low, tolerable dose is a feasible and efficacious clinical treatment, and will provide crucial data to...

Exploring 5-MeO-DMT as a pharmacological model for deconstructed consciousness.

Neuroscience of Consciousness 2025 Christopher Timmermann, James W. Sanders, David Reydellet et al. 19 citations

5-MeO-DMT is a short-acting psychedelic that is anecdotally reported to induce a radical disruption of the self and a paradoxical quality of aroused, waking awareness that is nevertheless devoid of any specific perceptual contents. Here, we conducted an exploratory observational study of the phenomenological and neuronal effects of this compound. We collected micro-phenomenological interviews,...

Serotonergic psychedelics for depression: A comprehensive overview.

International review of neurobiology 2025 A M Wingert, Claudio Agnorelli, Joseph Peill et al. 1 citation

Depressive disorders continue to pose a major clinical challenge worldwide, particularly given the high prevalence and increasing number of treatment-resistant cases. Over the past decade, advances in research have elucidated the antidepressant potential of psilocybin and other 5-HT₂A receptor agonists in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD)....

Correction: Study Protocol for 'PsilOCD: A Pharmacological Challenge Study Evaluating the Effects of the 5-HT2A Agonist Psilocybin on the Neurocognitive and Clinical Correlates of Compulsivity'.

Cureus 2025 Sorcha O'Connor, Kate Godfrey, Sara Reed et al. correction

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex condition marked by persistent distressing thoughts and repetitive behaviours. Despite its prevalence, the mechanisms behind OCD remain elusive, and current treatments are limited. This protocol outlines an investigative study for individuals with OCD, exploring the potential of psilocybin to improve key components of cognition...

High hopes? Precision psychedelic addiction medicine.

Frontiers in Psychiatry 2025 Rayyan Raja Zafar, Patrick Kleine, Danielle Kurtin et al.

Despite decades of neuroscience research and significant investment in addiction neuroimaging, clinical outcomes for individuals with substance use and behavioural addictions remain poor. Only 1.8% of people with substance use disorders receive effective treatment, highlighting a major disconnect between mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. This paper calls for a reorientation of...

An investigation of acute physiological and psychological moderators of psychedelic-induced personality change among healthy volunteers

Neuroscience Applied December 2, 2024 Kate Godfrey, Brandon Weiss, Joseph Peill et al. 5 citations

This study investigated the effects of a single high-dose of psilocybin on personality traits in psychedelic-naïve healthy volunteers. These data originate from a larger within-subjects fixed-order design trial, where a single high dose of psilocybin (25 mg) was administered in a psychologically supportive setting and was compared against a (one-month) prior, 1 mg 'placebo' dose. Personality...

Neuroplasticity and Psychedelics: a comprehensive examination of classic and non-classic compounds in pre and clinical models

arXiv Preprint Archive November 29, 2024 Claudio Agnorelli, Meg J. Spriggs, Kate Godfrey et al. 32 citations

Neuroplasticity, the ability of the nervous system to adapt throughout an organism's lifespan, offers potential as both a biomarker and treatment target for neuropsychiatric conditions. Psychedelics, a burgeoning category of drugs, are increasingly prominent in psychiatric research, prompting inquiries into their mechanisms of action. Distinguishing themselves from traditional medications,...

The Effect of Psychedelics on Individuals with a Personality Disorder: Results from two Prospective Cohort Studies

Research Square October 15, 2024 Alexandra R. Gordon, Brennan M. Carrithers, Broc A. Pagni et al. 3 citations

Abstract Background: Personality disorders (PDs) are characterized by impairments in psychological functioning for which pharmacologic treatments have demonstrated limited efficacy. Psychedelics may offer a possible PD treatment, given preliminary evidence for their potential long-term positive effects on psychological functioning. However, little is known about safety or potential therapeutic...

Neuroimaging and the Investigation of Drug-Drug Interactions Involving Psychedelics.

Neurosci Insights October 8, 2024 Matthew B. Wall, Rebecca Harding, Natalie Ertl et al. 3 citations

Psychedelic therapies are an emerging class of treatments in psychiatry with great potential, however relatively little is known about their interactions with other commonly used psychiatric medications. As psychedelic therapies become more widespread and move closer to the clinic, they likely will need to be integrated into existing treatment models which may include one or more traditional...

Impact of psilocybin on cognitive function: A systematic review

Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences October 1, 2024 Shakila Meshkat, Fatemeh Gholaminezhad, Eric Vermetten et al. 24 citations

Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic with demonstrated preliminary clinical efficacy in a range of psychiatric disorders. Evaluating the impact of psilocybin on cognitive function is essential to unravel its potential benefits and risks. In this systematic review, we assessed psilocybin's effect on cognitive function through a comprehensive search of electronic databases from inception to...

Validation of the imperial psychedelic predictor scale.

Psychol Med September 27, 2024 Michael Angyus, Sarah Osborn, Eline Haijen et al. 10 citations

Abstract Background Access to psychedelic drugs is liberalizing, yet responses are highly unpredictable. It is therefore imperative that we improve our ability to predict the nature of the acute psychedelic experience to improve safety and optimize potential therapeutic outcomes. This study sought to validate the ‘Imperial Psychedelic Predictor Scale’ (IPPS), a short, widely applicable,...

Effect of psilocybin versus escitalopram on depression symptom severity in patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder: observational 6-month follow-up of a phase 2, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial

EClinicalMedicine September 23, 2024 David Erritzøe, Tommaso Barba, Kyle T. Greenway et al. 46 citations

The Alexander Mosley Charitable Trust and by the founding partners of Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research.

Longitudinal experiences of Canadians receiving compassionate access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.

Scientific Reports July 17, 2024 Sara de la Salle, Hannes Kettner, Julien Thibault Lévesque et al. 21 citations

Recent clinical trials have found that the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin effectively alleviates anxiodepressive symptoms in patients with life-threatening illnesses when given in a supportive environment. These outcomes prompted Canada to establish legal pathways for therapeutic access to psilocybin, coupled with psychological support. Despite over one-hundred Canadians receiving...

Interrupting the Psychedelic Experience Through Contextual Manipulation to Study Experience Efficacy.

JAMA Netw Open July 1, 2024 Leor Roseman, David Erritzøe, David Nutt et al. 12 citations

This quality improvement study investigates the association of interruptions during psychedelic therapy with ratings of intensity of experience.

Psychedelics in developmental stuttering to modulate brain functioning: a new therapeutic perspective?

Front Hum Neurosci June 19, 2024 Giuseppe Pasculli, Pierpaolo Busan, Eric S. Jackson et al. 5 citations

Developmental stuttering (DS) is a neurodevelopmental speech-motor disorder characterized by symptoms such as blocks, repetitions, and prolongations. Persistent DS often has a significant negative impact on quality of life, and interventions for it have limited efficacy. Herein, we briefly review existing research on the neurophysiological underpinnings of DS -specifically, brain metabolic and...

Study protocol for “Psilocybin in patients with fibromyalgia: brain biomarkers of action”

Frontiers in Psychiatry June 4, 2024 Julia Bornemann, James B. Close, Kirran Ahmad et al. 11 citations

Background Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Fibromyalgia is a particularly debilitating form of widespread chronic pain. Fibromyalgia remains poorly understood, and treatment options are limited or moderately effective at best. Here, we present a protocol for a mechanistic study investigating the effects of psychedelic-assisted-therapy in a fibromyalgia population. The...

Assessing expectancy and suggestibility in a trial of escitalopram v. psilocybin for depression.

Psychological Medicine June 1, 2024 Balázs Szigeti, Brandon Weiss, Fernando E. Rosas et al. 74 citations

To investigate the association between pre-trial expectancy, suggestibility, and response to treatment in a trial of escitalopram and investigational drug, COMP360, psilocybin, in the treatment of major depressive disorder (ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03429075). We used data (n = 55) from our recent double-blind, parallel-group, randomized head-to-head comparison trial of escitalopram...