LSD and psilocybin for chronic nociplastic pain: A narrative review of the literature supporting the use of classic psychedelic agents in chronic pain.
J Van Der Walt, R Parker
South African Medical Journal November 6, 2023 DOI: 10.7196/samj.2023.v113i11.814 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Narrative review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | LSD Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Chronic pain treatment Alternative medicine Pain management |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key findings | Classic psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin may offer a novel approach to treating chronic nociplastic pain by acting on serotonergic pathways, and recent research on psychedelics for depression provides a basis for investigating their use in pain management. |
Abstract
Healthcare providers face the challenging task of managing patients who suffer from chronic nociplastic pain conditions. Pain is a multidimensional experience, and the current approach to managing people in chronic pain often fails to meet the needs of these patients. Novel ways of treating people who suffer from chronic nociplastic pain with classic psychedelic agents may offer a new lens through which to approach their pain. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin are both serotonergic agents with a long history of use in treating people with chronic pain and mental health disorders. The new wave of research into psychedelics for major depressive disorder provides an opportunity to investigate and understand the potential for incorporating these drugs into chronic pain management pathways. This narrative review presents healthcare workers with a framework to understand the method of action of these drugs in chronic nociplastic pain pathways and a brief history into their use. We conducted an online search using Pubmed with keywords 'chronic pain' AND/OR 'psilocybin' AND/OR 'lysergic acid diethylamide' AND/OR 'psychedelics' with no date limit applied. We identified further articles that contained information on the neuroscience of psychedelics and the serotonergic system using Google Scholar. During the final stages of writing the article, the latest publications on psychedelics and chronic pain in leading pain journals were again included to update the information.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study of a New Schizophrenomimetic Drug—Sernyl | 1959 | Review | |
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review | 2008 | Review | |
| Serotonin research: contributions to understanding psychoses | 2008 | Review | |
| ADVERSE REACTIONS TO PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE | 1984 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Classic Psychedelics in Pain Modulation: Mechanisms, Clinical Evidence, and Future Perspectives ACS Chemical Neuroscience June 6, 2025
- Psilocybin for disorders of consciousness: A case-report study. Clinical Neurophysiology May 1, 2025
- Psilocybin-containing mushroom-assisted psychotherapy is associated with sustained psychological and somatic improvements: two case studies from Jamaica Frontiers in Psychiatry July 29, 2026
- Psilocybin and Mental Health Outcomes: Scoping Review with ☸SAIMSARA SAIMSARA Journal June 15, 2026
Cites 23
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity Cell Reports June 1, 2018
- Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease March 4, 2014
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Drugs: Past, Present, and Future. Neuropsychopharmacology April 26, 2017
and 18 more in the library