Skip to content

Neuroplasticity research published in 2025

120 studies whose primary subject is neuroplasticity were published in 2025, up from 60 in 2024 and the most of any year since 2002. Newest first. Back to the neuroplasticity overview

Studies

BPL-003

Archives of Psychiatry Research December 29, 2025 Darko Vlahović, D. Vlahovic

BPL-003 is a novel investigational psychedelic compound being developed for the treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Its active ingredient, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), is a serotonergic psychedelic with preferential agonism at 5-HT1A receptors and rapid pharmacokinetics, allowing for a brief, supervised in-clinic administration. Preclinical studies demonstrate that 5-MeO-DMT...

Learning as the unifying mechanism of psychedelic action

Journal of Psychopharmacology December 26, 2025 Alice Caulfield, Allan H. Young, Mitul A. Mehta 2 citations

Psychedelics are gaining attention as putative treatments for a range of psychiatric conditions, and evidence suggests that they produce sustained behavioural and clinical change. Enhanced learning is an emerging candidate mechanism mediating these sustained effects. This narrative review synthesises evidence across behavioural, neural and computational levels to examine the current evidence...

DOI: 10.1177/02698811251405683 (opens in new tab) Neuroplasticity Mechanism biology Relevance law Action physics +7

Lysergic acid diethylamide pretreatment prolongs brain-stimulation induced neural activity changes

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) December 19, 2025 Lucas Dwiel, Mackenzi L. Prina, Elise Bragg et al. preprint

Abstract 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...

Ibogaine induces juvenile-like plasticity and modulates functional and structural regulators of plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex

Research Square December 18, 2025 Alejo Acuña, Federico Billeri, Valentino Totaro et al. preprint

Abstract Background: Psychedelics have emerged as powerful modulators of neural plasticity, yet whether the atypical psychedelic ibogaine can enhance plasticity remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether a single administration of ibogaine can reinstate juvenile-like experience-dependent plasticity in the adult mouse visual cortex, a canonical model for studying neuroplasticity....

Psilocybin triggers an activity-dependent rewiring of large-scale cortical networks

Cell December 5, 2025 Quan Jiang, Ling-Xiao Shao, Shenqin Yao et al. 15 citations

Psilocybin holds promise as a treatment for mental illnesses. One dose of psilocybin induces structural remodeling of dendritic spines in the medial frontal cortex in mice. The dendritic spines would be innervated by presynaptic neurons, but the sources of these inputs have not been identified. Here, using monosynaptic rabies tracing, we map the brain-wide distribution of inputs to frontal...

Ibogaine’s potential role in supporting reward system recovery across diagnostic boundaries

Frontiers in Pharmacology December 4, 2025 Maya Nicolas

This article proposes that ibogaine’s induction of GDNF, modulation of glutamate and dopamine signaling, and reopening of plasticity represent a unified mechanism capable of restoring reward system fidelity across disorders. This includes addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders, amongst others. These conditions are labelled as...

Psychedelics as neuroplasticity enhancers: Mechanisms, therapeutic applications, and translational challenges

Advanced Neurology December 4, 2025 Taslim Uddin, Sharmin Akter, Kaustabh Ghosh

Psychedelics are gaining recognition for their effectiveness as modulators of neuroplasticity in the treatment of a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, and ketamine are substances that mainly affect the serotonergic and glutamatergic systems. They induce rapid synaptogenesis, dendritic remodeling, and changes in functional...

Psilocybin Maintains Better Brain Function in an Alzheimer’s Disease Model with Reduced Neuroinflammation and Improved Hippocampal Neurogenesis

Alzheimer s & Dementia December 1, 2025 Leelavathi N. Madhu, Yogish Somayaji, Sanya Kotian et al.

Abstract Background Chronic neuroinflammation plays a significant role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis associated with a decline in cognitive and mood function. Currently, there are no effective therapies to alleviate the progression of brain dysfunction in AD. Psilocybin, an FDA‐approved drug for treating major depressive disorder, can restrain neuroinflammation and improve...

Correction: Short- and long-term modulation of rat prefrontal cortical activity following single doses of psilocybin.

Molecular Psychiatry December 1, 2025 Ross J. Purple, Rahul Gupta, Christopher W. Thomas et al. correction

In this article the author’s name Robin Carhart-Harris was incorrectly written as Robin Carhartt-Harris. The original article has been corrected.

Oral Glutamatergic Augmentation for Trauma-Related Disorders with Fluoxetine- / Bupropion- Potentiated Dextromethorphan ± Piracetam: A Four-Patient Case Series

Research Square November 25, 2025 Nai‐kong V. Cheung 1 citation preprint

Abstract Traditional monoaminergic medications often offer limited relief for the physical and cognitive symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD. Growing data now point to fast-acting, glutamate-based treatments that boost synaptic plasticity and interrupt fear-conditioned neural circuits. We report four sequential cases of hard-to-treat trauma-spectrum...

Sex-specific role of the 5-HT2A receptor in psilocybin-induced extinction of opioid reward.

Nature Communications November 20, 2025 Alaina M Jaster, Thomas M Hadlock, Belle Buzzi et al. 9 citations

Emerging evidence suggests that classical psychedelics may offer therapeutic potential for opioid use disorder (OUD) by alleviating key hallmarks such as altered reward processing and dependence. However, the mechanisms behind these effects remain unclear. Our data demonstrate that a single administration of the psychedelic psilocybin (PSI) reduces conditioned behavior and withdrawal induced by...

Synaptic priming: A framework for pharmacotherapy in depression.

Neuron November 19, 2025 Kyle A Brown, Musa I Ajibola, Gustavo C Medeiros et al. 6 citations

Recent antidepressant drug development focuses on a next generation of drugs to rapidly relieve symptoms. Yet, how ketamine, the prototype rapid-acting antidepressant, maintains symptom relief days after drug elimination, and how repeated doses sustain longer-lasting therapeutic effects, remains unclear. Derived from elements of metaplasticity (synaptic priming), this review discusses a...

Unmixing the Psychedelic Connectome: Brain Network Traits of Psilocybin

November 17, 2025 Krishna Prasad Bhavaraju, Natasha L. Mason, Pablo Mallaroni et al. preprint

Abstract Psilocybin induces profound alterations in consciousness, yet prevailing neural models often describe a monolithic change in brain connectivity that may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of the psychedelic state. To test the hypothesis of a composite neural state, this study applied a robust, data-driven framework, Connectome Independent Component Analysis (connICA) with...

Psychedelics produce enduring behavioral effects and functional plasticity through mechanisms independent of structural plasticity

Neuropsychopharmacology November 12, 2025 Hannah M. Kramer, Meghan Hibicke, Jason W. Middleton et al. 7 citations

Activation of serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptors is thought to underly the long-lasting antidepressant effects of psychedelics such as psilocybin, but beyond that, the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved are not well understood. Recent preclinical studies using mice have primarily examined relatively short time points after psychedelic administration, which does not address the long-lasting...

Neural and molecular changes during a mind-body reconceptualization, meditation, and open label placebo healing intervention

Communications Biology November 6, 2025 Alex Jinich-Diamant, Sierra Simpson, Juan Pablo Zuniga-Hertz et al. 4 citations

Abstract Mind-body interventions offer promising avenues for improving physical and mental health, yet the comprehensive biological effects of increasingly popular mind-body retreat interventions remain poorly understood. The neural and molecular effects of a 7-day retreat intervention combining meditation, reconceptualization, and open-label placebo healing rituals are investigated in an...

Psilocybin reduces depressive-like behavior and improves cognition in healthy aging mice via epigenetic regulation of plasticity- and immune-related genes

Research Square November 5, 2025 Sarah E. Mennenga, Toni J. Hanson, Moira G. Semple et al. 2 citations preprint

Abstract For many, cognitive and affective health declines through typical aging. Although cognitive and affective symptoms are often studied in isolation, they share substantial overlap, and arise, in part, from common biological processes. Aging is accompanied by diminished neural plasticity, heightened neuroinflammation, and widespread alterations in the epigenome. These molecular changes...

Modulation of Religious and Spiritual Neural Networks for Improving Mental Health

Preprints.org November 4, 2025 William J. Tyler preprint

Religious and spiritual (R/S) practices and experiences invoke measurable neurocognitive processes that enhance resilience and recovery from affective disorders. Converging evidence from functional neuroanatomy and network studies demonstrate R/S practices recruit brain networks that regulate self-referential processing, salience attribution, executive control, reward, and social bonding....

5mC and 5hmC Detection Highlights How Psychedelics Affect Brain Epigenetic Patterns

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) November 4, 2025 Uri Bertocchi, Amit Schwartz, Gali Umschweif et al. preprint

Background: Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic compound, has demonstrated long-term antidepressant effects, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Emerging evidence suggests that epigenetic modifications, particularly 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), may play a role in its therapeutic action. Unlike passive demethylation, which requires cell division and...

Psychedelics and ketamine/esketamine in depressive disorders: biological mechanisms and associated neuroimaging and clinical changes.

Translational Psychiatry October 31, 2025 Giacomo D’andrea, Stefania Chiappini, Laura Ciavoni et al. 3 citations

BACKGROUND: Over the past ten years, several psychedelic compounds, including tryptamines like lysergic acid diethylamide/LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and dimethyltryptamine/DMT, have been tested in clinical trials for a range of psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety and depression. While these compounds are relatively available for treatment, ketamine and its S(+) enantiomer, esketamine, are...