Consciousness research is having an AI moment. Will the hype help the field?
Nature July 28, 2026
Consciousness research is having an AI moment. Will the hype help the field?
Nature
ISSN 1476-4687
30 papers in the library · 4,218 citations · publishing 1964-2026
Papers
Plasticity and language in the anaesthetized human hippocampus.
Nature June 1, 2026 Kalman A Katlowitz, Eric R Cole, Elizabeth A Mickiewicz et al.
Consciousness is a fundamental component of cognition1, but the degree to which higher-order pattern recognition relies on it remains disputed2,3. Here we demonstrate the persistence of oddball discrimination, semantic processing and online prediction in individuals under general-anaesthesia-induced loss of consciousness4,5. Using high-density Neuropixels microelectrodes6 to record both...
Psychedelics elicit their effects by 5-HT2A receptor-mediated Gi signalling.
Nature January 28, 2026 Zheng Xu, Hongshuang Wang, Jingjing Yu et al. 5 citations
Psychedelics are undergoing a renaissance as potential therapy for psychiatric disorders, with more than 200 clinical trials being studied across several countries1-3. However, the precise mechanisms by which these drugs bring about benefits and the potential clinical risks are not yet fully understood. The serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) was reported to be a Gq-coupled receptor and the primary...
Adenosine signalling drives antidepressant actions of ketamine and ECT
Nature November 5, 2025 Chenyu Yue, Nan Wang, Haojiang Zhai et al. 22 citations
Ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) achieve rapid remission in treatment-resistant depression. However, their mechanisms of action—the understanding of which is essential for refining therapeutic precision—remain unclear1, 2–3. Here, using mouse models, we identify adenosine signalling as a central pathway that underlies the antidepressant effects of these interventions. Results from...
Adversarial testing of global neuronal workspace and integrated information theories of consciousness.
Nature June 1, 2025 Oscar Ferrante, Urszula Gorska-Klimowska, Simon Henin et al. 94 citations
Different theories explain how subjective experience arises from brain activity1,2. These theories have independently accrued evidence, but have not been directly compared3. Here we present an open science adversarial collaboration directly juxtaposing integrated information theory (IIT)4,5 and global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT)6-10 via a theory-neutral consortium11-13. The theory...
Psilocybin's lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors.
Nature June 1, 2025 Ling-Xiao Shao, Clara Liao, Pasha A. Davoudian et al. 75 citations
Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic with therapeutic potential for treating mental illnesses1-4. At the cellular level, psychedelics induce structural neural plasticity5,6, exemplified by the drug-evoked growth and remodelling of dendritic spines in cortical pyramidal cells7-9. A key question is how these cellular modifications map onto cell-type-specific circuits to produce the...
The neurons that mediate a psychedelic’s long-term antidepressive effects
Nature April 2, 2025
Psilocybin, a classic psychedelic, has therapeutic potential for psychiatric disorders. A specific brain circuit and receptor have now been found to be required for psilocybin’s long-term effects on neural plasticity and depression-related behaviour. The psychedelic psilocybin’s beneficial behavioural action depends on the activation of pyramidal-tract neurons in the frontal cortex.
Psilocybin desynchronizes the human brain.
Nature August 1, 2024 Joshua S. Siegel, Subha Subramanian, Demetrius Perry et al. 241 citations
A single dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic that acutely causes distortions of space-time perception and ego dissolution, produces rapid and persistent therapeutic effects in human clinical trials1-4. In animal models, psilocybin induces neuroplasticity in cortex and hippocampus5-8. It remains unclear how human brain network changes relate to subjective and lasting effects of psychedelics. Here...
Structural pharmacology and therapeutic potential of 5-methoxytryptamines.
Nature June 1, 2024 Audrey L Warren, David Lankri, Michael J. Cunningham et al. 74 citations
Psychedelic substances such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin show potential for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric disorders1-3. These compounds are thought to mediate their hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects through the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)) receptor 5-HT2A (ref. 4). However, 5-HT1A also plays a part in the behavioural effects of tryptamine...
Toad psychedelic points to biological target for antidepressants
Nature May 8, 2024
A hallucinogenic compound secreted by toads has served as a springboard for research into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. The findings suggest that these compounds exert antidepressant effects in part by binding an under-appreciated target in the brain. Research into a hallucinogenic compound secreted by a toad has cast light on the therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
Sustained antidepressant effect of ketamine through NMDAR trapping in the LHb
Nature October 18, 2023 Shuangshuang Ma, Min Chen, Yihao Jiang et al. 202 citations
The discrepancy between the short half-life of ketamine and its long-lasting effects is due to ketamine being trapped in NMDA receptors, and its release depends on neural activity in the lateral habenula. Ketamine, an N -methyl- d -aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist^ 1 , has revolutionized the treatment of depression because of its potent, rapid and sustained antidepressant effects^ 2 – 4 ....
Australia to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin for PTSD and depression in world first
Nature July 13, 2023 Rich Haridy 55 citations
Decision to make the previously illicit drugs available is dogged by suggestions that it was rushed. Decision to make the previously illicit drugs available is dogged by suggestions that it was rushed.
Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period
Nature June 14, 2023 Romain Nardou, Young Jun Song, Noelle Wright et al. 335 citations
Abstract Psychedelics are a broad class of drugs defined by their ability to induce an altered state of consciousness 1,2 . These drugs have been used for millennia in both spiritual and medicinal contexts, and a number of recent clinical successes have spurred a renewed interest in developing psychedelic therapies 3–9 . Nevertheless, a unifying mechanism that can account for these shared...
Ligand and G-protein selectivity in the κ-opioid receptor.
Nature May 1, 2023 Jianming Han, Jingying Zhang, Antonina L. Nazarova et al. 79 citations
The κ-opioid receptor (KOR) represents a highly desirable therapeutic target for treating not only pain but also addiction and affective disorders1. However, the development of KOR analgesics has been hindered by the associated hallucinogenic side effects2. The initiation of KOR signalling requires the Gi/o-family proteins including the conventional (Gi1, Gi2, Gi3, GoA and GoB) and...
Hope that psychedelic drugs can erase trauma
Nature September 29, 2022 Lauren Gravitz 3 citations
Some researchers are finding clues that MDMA might be able to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. But the science has yet to catch up with the optimism. Some researchers are finding clues that MDMA might be able to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. But the science has yet to catch up with the optimism.
A non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analogue with therapeutic potential.
Nature 2021 Lindsay P. Cameron, Robert J Tombari, Ju Lu et al. 468 citations
The psychedelic alkaloid ibogaine has anti-addictive properties in both humans and animals1. Unlike most medications for the treatment of substance use disorders, anecdotal reports suggest that ibogaine has the potential to treat addiction to various substances, including opiates, alcohol and psychostimulants. The effects of ibogaine-like those of other psychedelic compounds-are long-lasting2,...
Deep posteromedial cortical rhythm in dissociation
Nature September 16, 2020 Sam S Vesuna, Isaac V Kauvar, Ethan B Richman et al. 291 citations
Advanced imaging methods now allow cell-type-specific recording of neural activity across the mammalian brain, potentially enabling the exploration of how brain-wide dynamical patterns give rise to complex behavioural states1–12. Dissociation is an altered behavioural state in which the integrity of experience is disrupted, resulting in reproducible cognitive phenomena including the...
Altered minds: mescaline’s complicated history
Nature May 23, 2019 Alison Abbott 1 citation
A chronicle tracing the drug’s ancient roots and role in research grips Alison Abbott. A chronicle tracing the drug’s ancient roots and role in research grips Alison Abbott.
Serotonin transporter-ibogaine complexes illuminate mechanisms of inhibition and transport.
Nature May 1, 2019 Jonathan A. Coleman, Dongxue Yang, Zhiyu Zhao et al. 301 citations
The serotonin transporter (SERT) regulates neurotransmitter homeostasis through the sodium- and chloride-dependent recycling of serotonin into presynaptic neurons1-3. Major depression and anxiety disorders are treated using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors-small molecules that competitively block substrate binding and thereby prolong neurotransmitter action2,4. The dopamine and...
Oxytocin-dependent reopening of a social reward learning critical period with MDMA
Nature April 3, 2019 Romain Nardou, Eastman M. Lewis, Rebecca Rothhaas et al. 343 citations
A critical period is a developmental epoch during which the nervous system is expressly sensitive to specific environmental stimuli that are required for proper circuit organization and learning. Mechanistic characterization of critical periods has revealed an important role for exuberant brain plasticity during early development, and for constraints that are imposed on these mechanisms as the...
NMDAR inhibition-independent antidepressant actions of ketamine metabolites
Nature April 24, 2016 Panos Zanos, Ruin Moaddel, Patrick J. Morris et al. 1,602 citations
Major depressive disorder affects around 16 per cent of the world population at some point in their lives. Despite the availability of numerous monoaminergic-based antidepressants, most patients require several weeks, if not months, to respond to these treatments, and many patients never attain sustained remission of their symptoms. The non-competitive, glutamatergic NMDAR (N-methyl-d-aspartate...
NMDA Receptor Blockade at Rest Triggers Rapid Behavioural Antidepressant Responses
Nature June 15, 2011 Anita E. Autry, M. Adachi, E. Nosyreva et al.
Clinical studies consistently demonstrate that a single sub-psychomimetic dose of ketamine, an ionotropic glutamatergic NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) antagonist, produces fast-acting antidepressant responses in patients suffering from major depressive disorder, although the underlying mechanism is unclear. Depressed patients report the alleviation of major depressive disorder symptoms...
Identification of a serotonin/glutamate receptor complex implicated in psychosis.
Nature March 6, 2008 Javier González-Maeso, Rosalind L Ang, Tony Yuen et al.
The psychosis associated with schizophrenia is characterized by alterations in sensory processing and perception. Some antipsychotic drugs were identified by their high affinity for serotonin 5-HT2A receptors (2AR). Drugs that interact with metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) also have potential for the treatment of schizophrenia. The effects of hallucinogenic drugs, such as psilocybin and...
Psychedelic drugs: the ups and downs of ecstasy.
Nature May 1, 2004
Psychedelic drugs: the ups and downs of ecstasy.
Modulation of conscious experience by peripheral sensory stimuli.
Nature August 31, 1995 G Bottini, E Paulesu, R Sterzi et al.
Lack of awareness of touch associated with brain damage may transiently recover after stimulation of the vestibular system. We used positron emission tomographic regional cerebral blood flow measurements to study the neurophysiological effect of vestibular stimulation on touch imperception in a subject with a right brain lesion. We tested the hypothesis that the vestibular system aids conscious...