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Magic mushrooms as a treatment for depression

Clinical pharmacist 2017 DOI: 10.1211/cp.2017.20204046 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational study Peer reviewed
Sample size 19
Population Patients with treatment-resistant depression
Intervention Psilocybin
Dose two doses
Topics Depression Psilocybin
Key findings Psilocybin alters brain blood flow in patients with treatment-resistant depression, suggesting a potential mechanism for its antidepressant effects.

Abstract

Psilocybin, a psychoactive component of magic mushrooms, is thought to have therapeutic potential in psychiatric disorders but its mechanism of action within the brain is unclear. In a study, researchers gave two doses of psilocybin to 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression, and studied blood flow within the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at […]

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on psilocybin for depression, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Patients with treatment-resistant depression 2017 Observational cohort n = 19
Psilocybin with psychological support improves emotional face recognition in treatment-resistant depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression and healthy controls 2017 Observational cohort n = 33
More Realistic Forecasting of Future Life Events After Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) 2018 Observational cohort n = 15
Natural speech algorithm applied to baseline interview data can predict which patients will respond to psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. 17 patients with treatment-resistant depression and 18 untreated age-matched healthy... 2018 Observational cohort with machine learning classification n = 35
Brain dynamics predictive of response to psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Responders and non-responders to psilocybin therapy for depression 2024 Observational cohort

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