Cognitive outcomes following psilocybin-assisted therapy in treatment-resistant depression: A post-hoc analysis of a randomized, waitlist-controlled trial
Shakila Meshkat, Noah Chisamore, Zoe Doyle, Jordan Bawks, Jeremy Riva-Cambrin, Orly Lipsitz, Roger S McIntyre, Danica E. Johnson, Erica Kaczmarek, Jennifer S. Rabin, Ryan M Brudner, Rodrigo B. Mansur, Krista L. Lanctôt, Joshua D. Rosenblat
Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry November 22, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111565 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preprint Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Individuals with treatment-resistant depression |
| Intervention | Psilocybin-assisted therapy |
| Topics | Depression Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Cognition Mood Test biology Schizophrenia object-oriented programming Randomized controlled trial Executive functions Cognitive remediation therapy Clinical psychology Affect linguistics |
| Key points | Psilocybin was associated with modest, short-term improvements in processing speed and executive function that did not consistently exceed expected practice effects. |
Abstract
PAP was associated with modest, short-term improvements in performance on measures of processing speed and executive function among individuals with TRD. While these changes appeared independent of mood, they did not consistently exceed expected practice effects. These findings highlight the need for adequately powered, controlled trials to clarify whether observed cognitive changes reflect genuine procognitive effects of psilocybin or are attributable to non-specific influences such as test familiarity or concurrent mood improvements.