Psychedelic Medicine
September 14, 2026
Vasileios Chytas, Georgios Tsimploulis, Dimitrios Chytas
Purpose: Ketamine and classic psychedelics have recently gained increased scientific interest regarding their role in pain management, while there is evidence that pain induces neural connectivity changes. We performed a scoping review to investigate the correlation of ketamine and classic psychedelics with pain-related neural connectivity, aiming to find potential therapeutic targets for these...
Psychedelic Medicine
July 24, 2026
Matthew C. Company, Dylan J. Lifshitz, M. Farris Sawaya et al.
This narrative review traces how the scientific understanding of psychedelics has intersected with “reward processing” from before the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) era to the present, emphasizing how cultural and regulatory climates shaped what was viewed as an acceptable research question. Reward processing is treated as a family of partially overlapping phenomena: (1) reward-linked...
Psychedelic Medicine
July 22, 2026
Idir Zaher, Jérémie K. Richard
Introduction: The renewed clinical interest in psychedelics is often framed in ways that blur the distinction between psychotherapy and the psychedelic drug experience itself. Revisiting early research and clinical observations from the first wave of psychedelic science may help clarify how these processes were originally conceptualized. In the mid-20th century, LSD and other serotonergic...
Psychedelic Medicine
June 22, 2026
Otto Simonsson, Peter S. Hendricks, Walter Osika et al.
Background: Previous research indicates that psychedelics may produce outcomes that are dependent on the immediate context. Recent scholarship hypothesizes that such outcomes may also depend on the broader sociocultural context, but empirical data are lacking. Methods: Using a longitudinal observational research design with a large sample of US adults ( N = 21,990) followed during a 2-month...
Psychedelic Medicine
June 16, 2026
Max Wolff, Samuli Kangaslampi, Richard J. Zeifman et al.
This commentary critically examines the interpretation and analytic choices in Goodwin and colleagues’ recent analysis of therapeutic alliance in psilocybin treatment for treatment-resistant depression. While the authors conclude that alliance did not meaningfully contribute to treatment efficacy, we argue that this interpretation is not supported by the reported results, which are, in...
Psychedelic Medicine
May 9, 2026
Yitong Xin, Alan K. Davis, Susan Yoon et al.
Background and Purpose: Ayahuasca can produce a dynamic set of both positive and negative acute effects. Commonly reported challenges include physical symptoms (e.g., nausea, vomiting) and emotional distress (e.g., frightening hallucinations, paranoia). Despite these difficulties, many individuals describe their challenging experiences as contributing to personal healing and beneficial...
Psychedelic Medicine
April 23, 2026
Jill Oliver Robinson, Ruiying (aria) Xiong, Logan Neitzke-Spruill et al.
Background: Institutional review boards (IRBs) are gatekeepers of psychedelic research, deciding whether and under what conditions it may proceed. Yet IRB understanding, attitudes, perspectives, and concerns regarding psychedelics and psychedelic research have not previously been studied. These factors are important to assessing whether US IRBs are likely to be over- or underprotective of...
Psychedelic Medicine
April 9, 2026
Alex C. Kwan
Psychedelics rose to prominence in the 1960s, around the same time when neurobiologists identified the midbrain raphe as the brain’s primary source of serotonin. It is therefore no surprise that early studies on classical psychedelics like d -lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) focused on their effects within this brainstem nucleus. This review traces the arc of discovery: from the initial report...
Psychedelic Medicine
March 28, 2026
Levi Neal, Hannah E. Shaw, Brenda M. Gannon et al.
Background: There are currently three FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), but none of them are especially effective, some can precipitate withdrawal in dependent individuals, and all of them require daily administration. In the appropriate settings, single administrations of psychedelics can elicit persistent anti-addiction effects in humans and in laboratory animals, but...
Psychedelic Medicine
March 10, 2026
Amy Lehrner, Miryam Sperka, Lauren Lepow et al.
1 citation
There is growing interest in incorporating MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) into structured, evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment protocols for post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet this risks overlooking the distinctive qualities of MDMA-assisted therapy, which has already demonstrated strong clinical effects, high response rates, and low dropout using a principle-guided,...
Psychedelic Medicine
March 1, 2026
Jennifer Pincombe, Martin L Williams, Sean Carruthers et al.
Background: Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) may be an effective intervention for a range of mental disorders. However, there appears to be a relative lack of qualitative evidence to complement emerging quantitative findings. To our knowledge, no reviews have systematically mapped the literature on qualitative studies on PAP for the treatment of mental disorders with the intent to...
Psychedelic Medicine
March 1, 2026
Brian S. Barnett, Akhil Anand, Elizabeth N. Dewey et al.
Objective: While data on perceived availability of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) [paLSD] are collected annually in the United States, detailed investigations of recent trends in paLSD have not been published. Therefore, we sought to explore this topic. Method: Data were sourced from the 2015–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) administrations. To identify factors associated...
Psychedelic Medicine
February 8, 2026
Carolyn M. Porta, Cheng-Chang Wu, Anna Graefe et al.
Background: Despite being the largest sector of the health care workforce with potential to support advancing psychedelics in health care, nurses and their views toward psychedelics and changing legal restrictions remain mostly unknown. Aims: To identify an optimal predictive model for nurses’ support (or not) of decriminalization of psychedelics. Methods: Secondary analysis of e-survey data...
Psychedelic Medicine
February 3, 2026
Anton T. Gregersen, Tobias P. Whelan, Caroline T. Golden et al.
2 citations
Introduction: Cognitive flexibility is essential for behavioral adaptation in response to environmental changes and is impaired in various neuropsychiatric disorders. The serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin has shown potential in enhancing cognitive flexibility, although with mixed results. In this study, we investigated the effects of psilocybin on cognitive flexibility in rats using a...
Psychedelic Medicine
January 18, 2026
Anthony L. Back, Bonnie A. Mcgregor, Leslie Lazar Thorn et al.
1 citation
Background: Psilocybin is a promising therapy for cancer-related distress, but existing individual treatment models are resource intensive. In this study, we designed and tested a group model of psilocybin therapy for people with metastatic cancer and cancer-related anxiety and depression. Method: Eligibility criteria included metastatic cancer, moderate-to-severe symptoms of anxiety or...
Psychedelic Medicine
January 12, 2026
Kelsey T. Laird, Prabha Siddarth, Ashley Ramos et al.
Objective: Emerging evidence suggests that mystical experiences mediate the therapeutic effects of psychedelic-assisted therapy. The current study examines associations between mystical experiences and components of “set” (positive mindset, participant intentions, and spirituality) and “setting” (perceived positivity of the dosing environment) in the context of psilocybin-assisted therapy for...
Psychedelic Medicine
January 7, 2026
Dawn Lundin
Sponsor companies and physician investigators engaged in clinical research, including those involved in psychedelic drug development, are to design quality into the clinical studies upfront as outlined in International Council for Harmonization (ICH) E8 R1, General Considerations for Clinical Studies, and ICH E6 R3, Guideline for Good Clinical Practice. Identification of what is critical to...
Psychedelic Medicine
January 7, 2026
Carter J. Richardson, Alice J. McQueney, Thomas Stevens et al.
Introduction: Oxycodone is a necessary analgesic medication but carries abuse potential. There is an urgent need to develop therapeutics to reduce abuse potential. Psychedelic compounds may be a viable option, but the behavioral and pharmacological mechanism of action is undefined. Methods: Male and female Sprague–Dawley rats were implanted with indwelling jugular catheters and allowed to...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 30, 2025
Brian S. Barnett, Akhil Anand, Tatiana Falcone et al.
Objective: This study aimed to characterize changes in estimated past-year lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) use among sexual minorities in the United States using nationally representative data and to compare correlates of LSD use between lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (LGB) and heterosexual individuals. Method: Using National Survey on Drug Use and Health data on adults from 2015 to...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 26, 2025
Rhianna Rich, Kelsey T. Laird, Prabha Siddarth et al.
Background: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has shown promising results for treating alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other mental health conditions. Although the precise mechanisms of psychedelic therapies remain unclear, many studies report increased feelings of connectedness following psychedelic experiences. Specifically, both nature relatedness (one’s subjective sense of being connected...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 23, 2025
Anthony L. Back, Bonnie A. Mcgregor, Lindsay Billingsley et al.
1 citation
Background: Psilocybin therapy is an emerging treatment for cancer-related anxiety, depression, and existential distress. Most clinical trials to date have studied individual models of psilocybin therapy, but group models may offer increased access and benefits of community. Purpose: This technical report describes a group facilitation model developed for an food and drug administration...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 19, 2025
Amanda Husein, Madalynn Traylor, M. Frances Vest et al.
Background: Psilocybin has been granted breakthrough therapy status in the United States, speeding its advancement from research to clinical care. Due to the controversial nature of psilocybin, psychiatrists may not be fully prepared to incorporate it into clinical practice. The current study aimed to evaluate the opinions toward psilocybin among practicing psychiatrists in Louisiana. Louisiana...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 17, 2025
Luis E. Contreras, Grace M Elliott, Francesco Kment et al.
Introduction:Psychedelic-assisted therapies have recently gained attention as potential novel treatments for various mental health conditions. In Canada, there has been particular interest from the veteran communities regarding the potential therapeutic impact of psychedelics. However, legal access remains limited in Canada, leading some veterans to explore alternative pathways. Here, we aimed...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 16, 2025
Sophie Woodruff, Meghan Hibicke, Charles D. Nichols
Introduction:Psilocybin, a classical psychedelic, has shown to produce persistent antidepressant effects, including in patients with treatment-resistant depression. In clinical practice, it is common to coprescribe benzodiazepines (BZDs) alongside antidepressants. However, our preliminary study indicated that preadministration of lorazepam diminished the antidepressant-like efficacy and...
Psychedelic Medicine
December 15, 2025
M. Mehmood, Rebecka Bremler, M. Spriggs et al.
Background:Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to contribute to mental health issues and interfere with response to mental health interventions. Psychedelics have been found to improve mental health outcomes; however, the exploration of the effects of psychedelics on mental health in those with higher ACEs remains limited. The present study aimed to examine mental health outcomes and...