Gemma Knight

From COMPASS Pathfinder (G.M.G., J.C.B., L.M., S.M., S.C.S., J.T., S.W., E.M.), the Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London (C. Bird, L.A.J., G.K., L.N.M., F.R., J.R., S. Ruffell, M. Seynaeve, A.H.Y.), the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Facility, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (K.C.-C., J.C., A.D.), and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Bethlem Royal Hospital (L.A.J., L.N.M., J.R., A.H.Y.), London, and the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Foundation Trust and Newcastle University, Newcastle (M.W.) - all in the United Kingdom; the Institute for Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics, Sheppard Pratt, Baltimore (S.T.A., M.F., T.L.M., S. Rudow); Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and the Sant Joan de Déu Research Foundation, Barcelona (O.A.); SUNY Downstate College of Medicine (P.C.A.), the New York State Psychiatric Institute (D.J.H., R.E.K., R.K., M.C.M., E.M.N.), and the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University (D.J.H., R.K., M.C.M., E.M.N.) - all in New York; the Department of Psychiatry, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin (A.B., C. Brennan, L.B., J.R.K., V.O.); the Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht (R.E.B., H.M.H., A.I.H., M.H.B.K., S.R.O., M.C.R., A.R., M. Somers, L.V., P.Y.), the Research Department, GGz Centraal Innova, Amersfoort (R.E.B.), and the Department of Psychiatry, UMC Groningen, Groningen (J. Kamphuis, J.M., R.A.S.) - all in the Netherlands; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego (D.B., J. Kawasaki, S.K.P., D.P., S.S., A.S., S.Z.), and Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute (D.F., S.K.P., A.M., D.S.), La Jolla, the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco (R.C.-H.), and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford (C.D., K.E., M.L.) - all in California; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta (B.W.D., J.L.M.-K., T.M.-C.); the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (M.I.H.); the Department of Psychiatry, Aalborg University Hospital, and the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark (R.W.L., R.E.N.); the National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic (T.P.); Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin (D.R.); Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC (A.J.R.); and the University of Texas (UT) Harris County Psychiatric Center and the UT Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UT Houston Medical School, Houston (J.C.S.).

3 papers in the library · 1,414 citations · publishing 2021-2022

Papers

Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression.

The New England journal of medicine November 3, 2022 Guy M Goodwin, Scott T Aaronson, Oscar Alvarez et al. 1,095 citations

A single 25 mg dose of psilocybin, but not 10 mg, reduced depression scores more than a 1 mg control dose over three weeks in adults with treatment-resistant depression. In this phase 2 trial, 233 participants were randomly assigned to 25 mg, 10 mg, or 1 mg of synthetic psilocybin with psychological support. The 25 mg group showed an average 12-point drop on the MADRS depression scale versus a 5.4-point drop in the 1 mg group, a significant difference. The 10 mg group did not differ significantly from control. Response and remission rates at three weeks supported the primary result, but sustained response at 12 weeks was not significantly different.

DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2206443 Full text Treatment-resistant depression Psilocybin therapy Psychedelic medicine Mental health research +1

Psychedelics, Mystical Experience, and Therapeutic Efficacy: A Systematic Review

Frontiers in Psychiatry July 12, 2022 Kwonmok Ko, Gemma Knight, James Rucker et al. 296 citations

Mystical experience—characterized by oceanic boundlessness, ego dissolution, and universal interconnectedness—may be a psychological mechanism influencing outcomes in psychedelic therapy. A review of 12 studies using psilocybin, ayahuasca, or ketamine found that 10 reported a significant association (correlation, mediation, or prediction) between mystical experience and symptom reduction across cancer-related distress, substance use disorder, and depressive disorders including treatment-resistant depression. However, most studies had small, non-diverse samples, and half were open-label, introducing potential bias. Future research needs larger, more diverse randomized designs and deeper exploration of mystical experience's nature and predictors to maximize therapeutic benefits while minimizing anxiety.

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.917199 Anxiety Clinical psychology Psychotherapist Distress +1

Psilocybin-assisted therapy for the treatment of resistant major depressive disorder (PsiDeR): protocol for a randomised, placebo-controlled feasibility trial

BMJ Open December 1, 2021 James Rucker, Hassan Jafari, Tim Mantingh et al. 23 citations

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial is testing the feasibility of psilocybin-assisted therapy for people with major depressive disorder who have not responded to at least two prior treatments. Up to 60 participants in London, UK receive either 25 mg psilocybin or a placebo in a single dosing session, along with psychological therapy. The primary outcomes are recruitment rates, dropout rates, and variance in depression scores measured by the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale at 3 and 6 weeks. The trial also collects neuroimaging and omics data and offers an open-label extension dose of psilocybin.

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056091 Full text Psilocybin Major depressive disorder Treatment-resistant depression Placebo +12