bioRxiv
May 29, 2026
Aurora Savino, Carla Liaci, Ilaria Bertani et al.
Summary Psychedelic compounds such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are increasingly studied for their neuroplastic effects and potential relevance to brain aging and neurodegeneration. However, the molecular mechanisms linking psychedelic-induced plasticity to age-associated cognitive decline remain unclear. Brain aging and dementia are characterized by coordinated transcriptional programs...
UNC Libraries
May 21, 2026
Gavin P. Schmitz
Psychedelics are seeing renewed interest due to their potential as therapeutic tools; however, despite promising clinical findings, the underlying signaling mechanisms and brain-region specific effects of psychedelics remain unclear. This dissertation first describes a comprehensive study aimed at understanding the on and off-target actions of ~40 diverse psychedelic substances representing...
Brain Stimulation
May 21, 2026
Lucas Dwiel, Mackenzi L. Prina, Elise Bragg et al.
A leading theory for how psychedelics are able to produce robust clinical improvement and preclinical behavioral changes is that psychedelics act through neuroplastic mechanisms to induce lasting structural and functional alterations in neural circuits. However, psychedelics produce these effects across wide swaths of the brain. Based on our prior work, we hypothesized that engaging a specific...
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
May 11, 2026
Jared Plotkin, Elaine Zhu, Mélanie Druart et al.
Psychedelics produce long-lasting effects, but their circuit mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that, in rats, a single dose of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) persistently reduces pain affect. This effect is recapitulated by local administration in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), but not primary somatosensory cortex. Neuropixels recordings reveal that LSD suppresses stimulus-evoked...
Cell Reports Medicine
May 7, 2026
Mihai Avram, Aurore Menegaux, Felix Müller et al.
1 citation
The clinical trial NCT03866252 investigates the antidepressant effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 61 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) randomized to low-dose LSD (LD-LSD; 2 × 25 μg) or moderate-to-high-dose LSD (HD-LSD; 100 μg followed by 200 μg) 4 weeks apart. Although the trial reports positive clinical outcomes, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we test...
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
May 4, 2026
Kevin H. Yang, Nora Satybaldiyeva, Wayne Kepner et al.
1 citation
IntroductionMicrodosing involves consuming low doses of psychoactive substances, typically between 1/5th and 1/20th of a recreational dose. Despite increasing public attention to cannabis and psychedelics amid evolving drug policies, epidemiologic data on microdosing remain limited.MethodsA cross-sectional, web-based survey (Characterizing the Epidemiology of Cannabidiol Use Survey) of 1,523...
Sleep
May 1, 2026
Denise C. Vidot, Bria-Necole Diggs, Amrit Baral et al.
Abstract Introduction Psychedelic use and interest in its therapeutic potential are rapidly increasing; yet its relationship with insomnia remains poorly understood. This study aims to estimate differences in insomnia severity by type of psychedelic consumed among a cohort of 18-to-35-year olds. Methods Data are from the Herbal Heart Study - Sleep Ancillary (N=100) cannabis consumers....
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 1, 2026
Brian O'Mahony, Colm Harrington, Andrew Harkin et al.
Psychedelic drugs are increasingly under investigation as potential therapeutic agents for mental health conditions and are being increasingly used recreationally. Psychedelic use may result in an episode of intense psychological distress, commonly referred to as a "bad trip." Bad trips represent a potentially volatile, erratic, and dangerous situation, which may, in extreme cases, require...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 1, 2026
Otto Simonsson, Taylor Lyons, Joseph Marks et al.
Previous research suggests that psychedelics may, under certain conditions, decrease authoritarian attitudes, but larger and more rigorously designed studies are needed to confirm these findings. We aimed to examine the effects of psychedelic use on authoritarian attitudes. Using data from three separate studies with different designs and populations, we investigated the relationship between...
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 1, 2026
Otto Simonsson, Sunjuri Sun, Laura W. Wesseldijk et al.
While psychedelics have shown initial promise in the treatment of migraine, experimental studies have relied on small and homogenous samples, which limit the reliability and generalizability of findings. These limitations underscore the complementary value of other research designs that leverage larger and more representative samples. This cross-sectional study included three cohorts of twins...