June 2026
LSD
What June 2026's 9 new studies found, synthesized from the papers below. All LSD research →
The synthesis
Synthesized from 9 studies in the library · AI-generated, grounded in the abstracts below
Found by searching the library for LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide, lysergide, then ranked by relevance.
Research on LSD published in June 2026 shows mixed but promising therapeutic signals: a low-dose RCT in ADHD found an effect only on temporal processing, while a crossover trial in healthy adults found improved offline motor learning and reduced stress one week after a full dose. However, a systematic review concluded there is insufficient evidence to recommend psychedelics for ADHD, and preclinical work cautions that the head-twitch response alone does not reliably indicate psychoactivity. Overall, findings are preliminary and limited by small samples, secondary analyses, and lack of long-term data.
Evidence by study
Direction is which way each study's own result points, not our rating of the study.
What the directions mean
- Supports:
- the study found the intervention worked, or its hypothesis held.
- Opposes:
- it found the opposite, no benefit or a harm.
- No effect:
- no significant difference either way.
- Mixed:
- effects in both directions within the same study.
- Unclear:
- the abstract does not report a direction.
| Study | Design | Sample size | Direction | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effects of repeated low-dose LSD on neuropsychological functioning in adults with ADHD: a randomized placebo-controlled study 2026 | randomized controlled trial | 53 | Mixed | Low-dose LSD (20 µg) improved temporal processing but had no effect on other neuropsychological domains in adults with ADHD. |
| Acute and post-acute neurobehavioral responses to lysergic acid diethylamide in healthy subjects: a randomized controlled study 2026 | randomized crossover trial | 45 | Supports | LSD (100 µg) significantly improved offline motor learning the day after dosing and reduced perceived stress and increased cognitive flexibility one week later. |
| The effects of psychedelics on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder - a systematic review. 2026 | systematic review | Unclear | The systematic review found insufficient evidence to give recommendations on psychedelic use for ADHD, with only one RCT showing no significant difference from placebo. | |
| Characterizing non-hallucinogenic psychedelics beyond the head twitch response: phenotypic fingerprinting of lisuride and LSD 2026 | preclinical experimental study | Mixed | Lisuride produced broad behavioral and physiological disruptions without head-twitch response, while LSD produced head-twitch response with minimal other effects, indicating the head-twitch response alone is not sufficient to identify psychoactivity. | |
| Electrophysiological mechanisms of psychedelic drugs: A systematic review. 2026 | systematic review | Mixed | Psychedelics modulate both excitatory and inhibitory processes in a cell-type- and compartment-specific manner, challenging the view that they uniformly increase cortical excitability. | |
| Integrating the Mystical Experience Questionnaire Into a Broader Psychometric Framework: English Validation of the Psychedelic Experience Scale and Comparison of Psilocybin and LSD Sessions Across Two Controlled Settings. 2026 | validation study | 145 | Unclear | The eight-factor PES48 is a valid psychometric tool in English, with higher MEQ40 scale means than in German data, suggesting setting may influence mystical experience. |
| Who Keeps Using Lysergic Acid Diethylamide? Correlates of Past-Year Use in People Who Initiated Use at least Five Years Ago. 2026 | cross-sectional survey | Unclear | Past-year LSD use is infrequent among lifetime users and declines with time since initiation, with perceived lower risk and higher availability being the strongest correlates. | |
| The intersection between psychedelics and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Reevaluating risk and therapeutic potential. 2026 | narrative review | Mixed | Psychedelics can exacerbate pre-existing psychotic illness and may trigger psychosis in vulnerable individuals, but phenomenological and mechanistic distinctions suggest potential therapeutic applications for carefully selected symptoms in stable patients. | |
| Synthetic Drugs and Behavioural Addictions: LSD, MDMA and Digital Toxicity 2026 | theoretical or philosophical paper | Unclear | Argues that Ayurvedic concepts can provide a systems-biology paradigm for understanding synthetic drug abuse and behavioral addictions, linking them to modern neurobiological mechanisms. |
Low-dose LSD (20 µg) improved temporal processing but had no effect on other neuropsychological domains in adults with ADHD.
randomized controlled trial Sample size: 53
LSD (100 µg) significantly improved offline motor learning the day after dosing and reduced perceived stress and increased cognitive flexibility one week later.
randomized crossover trial Sample size: 45
The systematic review found insufficient evidence to give recommendations on psychedelic use for ADHD, with only one RCT showing no significant difference from placebo.
systematic review
Lisuride produced broad behavioral and physiological disruptions without head-twitch response, while LSD produced head-twitch response with minimal other effects, indicating the head-twitch response alone is not sufficient to identify psychoactivity.
preclinical experimental study
Psychedelics modulate both excitatory and inhibitory processes in a cell-type- and compartment-specific manner, challenging the view that they uniformly increase cortical excitability.
systematic review
The eight-factor PES48 is a valid psychometric tool in English, with higher MEQ40 scale means than in German data, suggesting setting may influence mystical experience.
validation study Sample size: 145
Past-year LSD use is infrequent among lifetime users and declines with time since initiation, with perceived lower risk and higher availability being the strongest correlates.
cross-sectional survey
Psychedelics can exacerbate pre-existing psychotic illness and may trigger psychosis in vulnerable individuals, but phenomenological and mechanistic distinctions suggest potential therapeutic applications for carefully selected symptoms in stable patients.
narrative review
Argues that Ayurvedic concepts can provide a systems-biology paradigm for understanding synthetic drug abuse and behavioral addictions, linking them to modern neurobiological mechanisms.
theoretical or philosophical paper
Points of agreement
- LSD shows potential for specific cognitive or psychological effects, such as temporal processing or motor learning, but not broad improvements across all domains.
- Psychedelics carry risks for individuals with psychotic vulnerability, and their mechanisms are more complex than simple cortical excitation.
- Evidence for psychedelics in ADHD is currently insufficient for clinical recommendations.
Conflicts
- The RCT in ADHD found an effect on temporal processing, while the systematic review concluded there is no significant difference from placebo for ADHD overall.
- Preclinical findings show LSD produces head-twitch response with minimal other effects, whereas lisuride produces broad disruptions without head-twitch, challenging the reliability of the head-twitch response as a proxy for psychoactivity.
Gaps
- Long-term durability of LSD effects on learning and stress is unknown.
- Most studies have small sample sizes and are secondary analyses or exploratory.
- Blinding and expectancy effects are not fully addressed in psychedelic trials.
- Research on LSD in schizophrenia spectrum disorders is limited and risk quantification is inadequate.
- The systematic review on ADHD found no research on several psychedelics and called for more controlled studies.
- The validation study for the PES48 was conducted in psilocybin studies, not LSD, and setting effects need further exploration.