ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
July 11, 2025
Zahira Ziva Cohen, Grace Blest‐hopley
9 citations
Ovarian hormone fluctuations, particularly estradiol and progesterone, modulate neurotransmitter systems involved in psychedelic pharmacology, including serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and glutamate. These hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle influence 5-HT2A receptor expression and functional connectivity, potentially affecting both the subjective intensity and therapeutic efficacy of psychedelics. The paper argues that incorporating menstrual phase tracking and hormonal assays into clinical trials and observational studies can reduce data variability, support individualized care, and improve informed consent practices for women. A better understanding of the interplay between female-specific biology and psychedelic pharmacodynamics is needed to advance safe, ethical, and effective therapies.
Brain and Behavior
July 1, 2025
Megan Calnan, Grace Blest‐hopley, Chris Busch et al.
4 citations
Military veterans who attended psilocybin or ayahuasca retreats showed significant improvements in eight measures of mental health and community reintegration, with the largest gains in depression (29.1% reduction on the PHQ-9) and PTSD (26.1% reduction on the PCL-5). Psilocybin retreats produced greater improvements on seven of eight outcomes, while ayahuasca retreats yielded slightly larger PTSD reductions (26.4% vs. 24.8%). Male participants improved more on all outcomes except PTSD, where females showed a larger reduction (32.1% vs. 24.1%). Veterans with worse initial symptoms benefited most. The findings suggest psychedelic retreats could offer a holistic treatment framework addressing psychological well-being, community factors, and civilian reintegration.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
August 6, 2025
Grace Blest‐hopley, Giuseppe Pasculli, Simon Ruffell et al.
3 citations
Veterans with traumatic brain injuries who participated in psilocybin retreats showed improvements in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms four weeks afterward. PTSD scores decreased by 50%, depression scores by 65%, and anxiety scores by 28%. Electroencephalography measurements revealed decreased delta and theta brainwave power in frontal and temporal regions, along with enhanced coherence in alpha and beta bands, suggesting improved cognitive control, emotional processing, and neural communication. The preliminary findings provide a rationale for larger controlled studies.
Research Square
June 19, 2026
Aline Frick, Grace Blest‐hopley, Manesh Grin et al.
In a reanalysis of a six-week randomized controlled trial comparing psilocybin with escitalopram for moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder, sex-related patterns emerged for anxiety and anhedonia. Women receiving psilocybin showed greater reductions in anxiety than men, while women receiving escitalopram showed greater reductions in anhedonia than men. For other depressive symptoms, thought suppression, and well-being, sex differences were small and uncertain. Sexual dysfunction severity was lower overall in the psilocybin group than in the escitalopram group and lower in women than in men, though the treatment-by-sex interaction was not significant. These preliminary findings suggest that responses to these serotonergic treatments may differ between women and men, supporting the need for adequately powered, sex-balanced trials.
medRxiv Preprint Server
April 23, 2026
Giada Lombardi, Grace Blest‐hopley, Martina Maria Tarantini et al.
preprint
Regular cannabis users show altered brain responses during reward anticipation and outcome processing, but their actual task performance does not differ from non-users. Using the Monetary Incentive Delay Task, the study found that cannabis users had reduced neural activity in reward-related brain regions during anticipation of potential gains and losses, yet their reaction times and accuracy were comparable to non-users. These findings suggest that regular cannabis use is associated with changes in reward-related brain function without corresponding behavioral deficits.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
November 3, 2021
Brandon Gunasekera, Cathy Davies, Grace Blest‐hopley et al.
preprint
A single dose of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alters brain activation signals in a widespread network of regions, with some areas showing increased and others decreased activity. The magnitude of these changes is directly related to the local expression of the cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptor, but not the type-2 (CB2) receptor. THC increased activation in the anterior cingulate, superior frontal cortices, middle temporal and occipital gyri, striatum, amygdala, thalamus, and cerebellum crus II, while decreasing it in the middle temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, angular gyrus, precuneus, cuneus, inferior parietal lobule, and cerebellum lobule IV/V. A dose-response relationship was observed in certain brain regions.