Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
December 29, 2025
Silvia Tapia-Gonzalez, Josue G. Yagüe, George E. Barreto
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a multifactorial mental health condition involving genetic, environmental, and neurobiological factors. Conventional antidepressants such as fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, require weeks to exert therapeutic effects, whereas ketamine and esketamine act rapidly via glutamatergic modulation. These drugs may also converge on the inhibition...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
December 28, 2025
Mateusz Kowalczyk, David Aebisher, Jakub Szpara et al.
3 citations
Depression is a common, debilitating, and potentially life-threatening mental disorder affecting individuals across all age groups and populations. It represents one of the major challenges of contemporary medicine. It is estimated that more than 300 million people worldwide are affected, and patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit a significantly increased risk of suicide,...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
December 26, 2025
Kurt Stocker, Matthias Hartmann, Yasmin Schmid et al.
5 citations
The Altered States of Consciousness Scale (3/5D-ASC or 11-ASC) is widely used to assess non-ordinary states of consciousness, particularly for psychedelic research. However, its original dimensional model (3D-ASC within 5D-ASC) and later 11-subscale structure (11-ASC) have a hierarchically incompatible higher/lower-order structure. Although the 11-ASC offers superior model fit, the 3D-ASC...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
December 26, 2025
Jenna Houff, Andrew Williams, Obie Allen et al.
preprint
ABSTRACT Clinical trials suggest that a single dose of psilocybin is an effective treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). Choice impulsivity is a value-based decision-making bias that predicts drug-intake escalation and is commonly associated with SUDs. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) regulates choice impulsivity and is enriched with 5-HT 2A receptors that mediate effects of...
Nature Neuroscience
December 24, 2025
Charles D. Nichols
Psychedelic science is growing rapidly and offers great promise for exciting new therapies, but this rapid growth has brought growing pains. These include a lack of appreciation of the history of the field and what has already been accomplished, and a lack of understanding of the pharmacology of psychedelics and 5-HT_2A receptors. These gaps must be recognized, acknowledged and addressed in...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
December 22, 2025
Sheida Shadani, Kaspar McCoy, Lina Ong et al.
preprint
Abstract With the resurgence of psychedelic research and the growing interest in their therapeutic potential, there is an urgent need to understand how these compounds act across biological sexes. Despite widespread interest in their use for conditions marked by social impairments, including depression, anxiety, and anorexia nervosa, the influence of sex as a biological variable (SABV) on the...
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
December 20, 2025
Praachi Tiwari, Vidita A Vaidya
Recent evidence suggests that psychedelics hold promise in treating a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, highlighting the need to better understand their broader behavioral effects. Many animal-based behavioral assays related to mood, like anxiety and despair-like behavior, highly depend on locomotor activity. However, the influence of psychedelics on movement, especially in emotionally...
Creative Science
December 19, 2025
Qinqing Chen, Peiyuan Chen, Tao Wei et al.
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring tryptamine alkaloid found in over 200 species of fungi, has emerged as a focal point in the modern revival of psychedelic science. Once relegated to the margins of psychopharmacology due to its association with counterculture and strict legal restrictions, psilocybin is now undergoing a scientific renaissance. This transformation is driven by its unique...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
December 19, 2025
Kirsty J. Matthews Nicholass, Ilona Flis, Me Hanley et al.
preprint
Abstract Research into psychedelic compounds is in resurgence due to the exciting potential for their use in the treatment of psychiatric and mental health disorders. Despite this revival, remarkably little is known about their evolution. One of the most intriguing psychedelic compounds is psilocybin, the compound found in ‘magic’ mushrooms and used in ritual ceremonies in Central America for...
Journal of Affective Disorders
December 17, 2025
Faheem Ahmed Khan, Nuruliarizki Shinta Pandupuspitasari, Tewin Tencomnao et al.
2 citations
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic substance present in certain mushrooms, has drawn growing attention as a therapeutic breakthrough for several mental and psychiatric conditions. Psilocybin originated in spiritual and cultural traditions and has become the focus of extensive scientific research. This meta-analysis and systematic review aggregate results from the literature to...