npj Mental Health Research
February 20, 2024
Kush V. Bhatt, Cory R. Weissman
29 citations
Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, produces lasting antidepressant effects, but its mechanism is unclear. Empathy and prosocial behavior may play a key role. This review examines how psilocybin affects empathy and prosocial behavior and proposes that it initiates a positive feedback loop involving these social processes, which could explain its enduring antidepressant benefits.
General Hospital Psychiatry
July 3, 2025
Kush V. Bhatt, James D Asuncion, Al Alam et al.
4 citations
Classical psychedelics show therapeutic promise for mental health conditions, but their acute subjective effects—while possibly enhancing outcomes—also pose clinical challenges. This review examines the phenomenology, benefits, risks, and implementation issues tied to these subjective experiences. Emerging research on nonhallucinogenic analogues may preserve neuroplastic benefits without inducing intense subjective effects. The authors argue that a debate over the necessity of acute subjective effects may be avoidable, and clinical psychiatry should accommodate both approaches. Future research should explore both the role of subjective experience and alternative compounds to expand treatment options.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
May 18, 2026
Kevin H. Yang, Miranda Rasmussen, Kush V. Bhatt et al.
1 citation
Lifetime use of hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, or PCP) is associated with a modest increase in the odds of valvular heart disease after accounting for sociodemographic factors and other health conditions. In a large US adult sample, 13.2% reported lifetime hallucinogen use. The unadjusted prevalence of VHD was lower among users (3.6%) than non-users (4.7%), but after adjustment the odds rose slightly (adjusted odds ratio 1.08). The authors call for longitudinal studies to confirm this exploratory finding.
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
August 1, 2025
Kush V. Bhatt, Jason Compton, Em Ellerman et al.
1 citation
Mystical experiences, which may have therapeutic value, occurred in about 17-18% of ketamine treatments among 60 veterans with treatment-resistant depression. In those receiving esketamine, more treatment sessions were linked to higher mystical experience scores; in those receiving racemic ketamine, higher doses were linked to higher scores. The findings suggest that ketamine can occasion mystical experiences in this population.
Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice
July 2, 2026
Kush V. Bhatt, Tara Austin, Danny Alam et al.
Intramuscular (IM) ketamine is as effective as intranasal (IN) esketamine for treatment-resistant depression, with comparable safety and a dramatically lower cost. In a retrospective cohort of 179 Veterans, the difference in depression symptom improvement was only 0.04 points on the PHQ-9, well within the non-inferiority margin. PTSD symptom reductions were also similar, and rates of emergency department visits or hospitalizations did not differ significantly. The cost per eight-treatment course was $6069 for IN esketamine versus $647 for IM ketamine, driven primarily by the cost of the nasal spray. These results indicate that IM ketamine could be a high-value alternative that expands access to care.
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice
May 11, 2026
Kush V. Bhatt, Adam W. Hanley, Chantal Martin-Soelch et al.
Mindfulness-based interventions reduce chronic pain, and a secondary analysis of two randomized controlled trials (480 patients on long-term opioid therapy) suggests that nondual awareness—a state of attenuated self-other distinction—partly explains this effect. Participants in an 8-week mindfulness program (MORE) showed significantly lower pain severity and interference than a supportive therapy control group, along with greater increases in nondual awareness. Path analyses indicated that gains in nondual awareness mediated the reductions in pain severity and interference, and nondual awareness was a stronger mediator than the mindfulness facet of nonreactivity. The findings link mindfulness-induced nondual awareness to chronic pain relief, and future work should explore neurobiological mechanisms and other interventions that foster nondual awareness.
Community mental health journal
April 1, 2026
Kush V. Bhatt, Joseph Friedman, Lindsay L Benster et al.
Recreational psychedelic use is increasing, but data on adverse events is limited. A retrospective chart review of emergency department visits at UC San Diego Medical Center from 2010 to 2023 identified 232 cases linked to LSD (35%), MDMA (30.2%), and psilocybin (24%). Patients were mostly young, white, and male. Common symptoms included agitation (25.9%) and anxiety (24.6%); 11.2% required psychiatric hospitalization. Factors associated with higher odds of hospitalization were concurrent cannabis use (odds ratio 10.9), history of bipolar disorder (odds ratio 12.67), and history of a primary psychotic disorder (odds ratio 17.10). Most psychedelic-related emergency visits are managed without hospitalization, but these specific vulnerabilities predict severe outcomes.