Neuroscience Applied - The Consciousness Library

A national approach in a European context: Multidisciplinary and multiprofessional recommendations on the clinical use of psychedelic substances

Neuroscience Applied September 1, 2026 Carolina Seybert, Ana Matos Pires, Luís Madeira et al.

The therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for neuropsychiatric conditions have gathered significant attention in Europe and around the world, with treatments using psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine as notable examples. However, the mind-altering effects of these substances, and the complexity of their regulatory frameworks, both within and outside of therapeutic use, imply careful clinical...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2026.107028

Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder in adolescence: a complex case of lysergic acid diethylamide-induced visual disturbances with trauma-associated exacerbation

Neuroscience Applied 2026 A. Fernandez Ribas, V. Pérez Rodríguez, M. Paduraru

Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) is a condition affecting 1-5% of psychedelic users, with higher prevalence observed among recurrentLSD consumers and synthetic cannabinoid users [1]. The disorder is characterised by persistent visual disturbances including palinopsia and visual snow, along with dissociative symptoms, which have been neurobiologically linked to 5-HT2A receptor...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2025.106728 Lysergic acid diethylamide Psilocybin Anxiety disorder Dissociative +14

Behavioral effects of psychedelic and non-psychedelic serotonin 2A receptor agonist drugs in pigs

Neuroscience Applied 2026 CA Madsen, M. Navarro, E. Kolesnik et al.

Background: Serotonergic psychedelics induce their psychoactive effects by stimulating the brain’s serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). In humans, a cerebral 5-HT2AR occupancy of ≥60% is required to elicit a profound psychedelic experience with psilocybin [1] and for pigs, a dose corresponding to ∼65% 5-HT2AR occupancy elicits headshakes [2]. We posit that in order to assess biochemical and...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2025.106824 Serotonin Receptor Drug Action physics +3

Implementing psychedelic-assisted therapy: History and characteristics of the Swiss limited medical use program

Neuroscience Applied 2025 Matthias E. Liechti, Peter Gasser, Helena Aicher et al. 16 citations

This article describes the Swiss limited access program for psychedelic/3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health can issue authorizations for the limited medical use of otherwise prohibited substances. To be eligible, patients suffer from a mostly incurable disease, the prohibited substance can alleviate the suffering, and there are no...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2025.105525

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...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2024.104092 Personality Clinical psychology

Safety pharmacology of acute psilocybin administration in healthy participants

Neuroscience Applied 2024 Isabelle Straumann, Friederike Holze, Laura Ley et al. 24 citations

Psilocybin is being studied for its therapeutic potential in various mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and addiction. Initial studies suggested that psilocybin is generally safe when used under controlled conditions, but more research is needed to better understand its safety profile. We report safety pharmacology data from a pooled analysis of three randomized crossover...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2024.104060 Psilocybin Anxiety Heart rate Adverse effect +5

Knowledge gaps in psychedelic medicalisation: Preclinical and neuroimaging mechanisms.

Neuroscience Applied 2024 Drummond E-Wen Mcculloch, Juan Pablo Lopez, Christina Dalla et al. 2 citations

Classical psychedelic drugs, e.g., psilocybin and LSD, stimulate the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) and have recently been intensely investigated for their clinical effects in various brain disorders. At the ECNP "New Frontiers meeting" in March 2023, scientific experts in psychedelics met to identify key knowledge gaps in the mechanism of action of psychedelics as investigated using...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2023.103929 Full text Hallucinogen investigation Psychoactive drug research Entheogen research Psychedelic compounds +15

Amygdala response to emotional faces following acute administration of psilocybin in healthy individuals

Neuroscience Applied December 30, 2023 Sophia Armand, Kristian Larsen, Martin K Madsen et al. 7 citations

The serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin acutely induces changes in emotional states. However, it remains unresolved whether psilocybin acutely modulates amygdala reactivity to emotions, a brain region critically involved in emotion processing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined in 26 healthy individuals whether amygdala responses to angry, fearful and neutral faces...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2023.103934 Psilocybin psychedelics Hallucinogens Emotional processing emotion Emotional regulation +10

Methodological challenges in psychedelic drug trials: Efficacy and safety of psilocybin in treatment-resistant major depression (EPIsoDE) – Rationale and study design

Neuroscience Applied 2022 Lea J. Mertens, Michael Koslowski, Felix Betzler et al. 40 citations

Psychedelics such as psilocybin have recently gained remarkable interest in both the specialist literature and the lay press because studies suggest that these substances may have great therapeutic potential in various psychiatric disorders, including major depression. However, clinical trials with psychedelic drugs pose particular methodological challenges to researchers, some of which differ...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2022.100104 Psilocybin Blinding Clinical trial Placebo +4

Papers