Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews
July 1, 2026
Marcus J Glennon, Catherine I V Bird, Prateek Yadav et al.
2 citations
Setting up a psychedelic research study involves a long, arduous, and Kafkaesque process with many unstandardised challenges. These complexities challenge existing assumptions about psychiatric prescribing, the placebo effect, and definitions of selfhood. This review brings together major UK psychedelic research teams to formalise these unique considerations, addressing sociocultural, political, legal, pharmacological, safety, study design, and experiential facets. It identifies continuing areas of debate and provides a practical, experience-based guide with recommendations for policymakers and future researchers intending to set up a psychedelic study or clinical trial.
arXiv Preprint Archive
March 28, 2025
Marcus J. Glennon, Catherine I. V. Bird, Prateek Yadav et al.
Setting up a psychedelic study is a long and complex process that presents unique challenges not yet standardized. This review brings together major UK research teams to formalize these considerations, identify ongoing debates, and provide a practical guide for researchers and policymakers. It addresses challenges to existing assumptions about psychiatric prescribing, the placebo effect, and definitions of selfhood. The paper can be read end-to-end or used as a manual with sections for specific needs.
Frontiers in psychiatry
January 1, 2025
Rayyan Raja Zafar, Patrick Kleine, Danielle Kurtin et al.
Only 1.8% of people with substance use disorders receive effective treatment, revealing a gap between neuroscience research and clinical care. This paper argues that addiction neuroscience should shift from a diagnostic focus to a theragnostic framework that uses biomarkers to guide treatment decisions. Integrating fMRI, EEG, and PET biomarkers within psychedelic addiction research offers an opportunity for this change. Psychedelics like psilocybin engage neuroplasticity and reward networks central to addiction. The authors review neuroimaging paradigms for indexing drug effects and propose a roadmap for embedding biomarkers in clinical trials. They outline ongoing work at Imperial College London co-developing biomarkers for gambling and opioid use disorders to identify biotype-specific responses, aiming for regulatory-grade tools similar to those in oncology.