Wellcome open research
January 1, 2024
Matt Butler, Catherine Bird, Carolina Maggio et al.
4 citations
Functional neurological disorder (FND) causes seizures and movement disorders, is debilitating, and often has a poor prognosis. Brain imaging suggests FND involves multiple networks, and mechanisms like dissociation and abnormal motor agency may play a role. Psychedelics disrupt brain networks and are being tested for neuropsychiatric disorders. This open-label neuroimaging study will give 25 mg oral psilocybin with psychological support to 24 people with chronic FND. Resting-state and task-based fMRI, plus measures of interoception, somatisation, and dissociation, will be collected before and after psilocybin, with three-month follow-up. The study aims to probe FND mechanisms and assess safety and feasibility of psychedelic administration in this population.
Wellcome Open Research
April 22, 2025
Matthew Butler, Catherine Bird, Carolina Maggio et al.
3 citations
Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common, debilitating condition linked to abnormal brain networks, dissociation, interoception, and motor agency. This open-label neuroimaging protocol will administer 25 mg of oral psilocybin with psychological support to 24 people with chronic FND. Resting-state and task-based functional MRI sequences will be compared before and after psilocybin. Additional measures include interoception, somatisation, illness perceptions, suggestibility, and dissociation. Participants will be followed for three months. The study aims to probe mechanisms underlying FND and assess the safety and feasibility of psychedelic administration with psychological support in this population.
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.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
January 26, 2026
Jess Kerr-Gaffney, Samuel Myrtle, Famia Askari et al.
2 citations
A single dose of psilocybin, compared to an inert placebo, did not alter personality traits, psychiatric symptoms, or cognitive flexibility in healthy participants. However, both the 10 mg and 25 mg psilocybin groups reported greater changes in personal values at both short-term (day 8) and long-term follow-up (day 85). The acute psychedelic experience, particularly the feeling of oceanic boundlessness, partially explained these value changes, with auditory alterations also playing a role in one subscale. These exploratory findings are tentative and require replication in larger samples.
Addiction
December 10, 2025
John Marsden, Michael Kelleher, Fiona Dunbar et al.
2 citations
A single 10 mg intranasal dose of the psychedelic drug BPL-003 (a formulation of 5-MeO-DMT) combined with cognitive behavioral therapy was safe and tolerable in people with moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder. Over 12 weeks, the average percentage of abstinent days increased from 33.2% at baseline to 80.8%, and heavy drinking days dropped from 56.2% to 13.2%. Half of the 12 participants who completed the study were continuously abstinent, a quarter had meaningful reductions in drinking, and a quarter showed little change. Measures of craving, well-being, and quality of life also improved. The findings support larger controlled trials.
EClinicalMedicine
December 1, 2025
Nadav Liam Modlin, Victoria Williamson, Guy M Goodwin et al.
2 citations
Psilocybin treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, when delivered with standardized preparation and support, may allow patients to engage with trauma-related material indirectly through affective, somatic, and self-transcendent experiences, such as feelings of unity or dissolution of self, rather than requiring direct confrontation with traumatic memories as in standard therapies. This qualitative study, nested within a phase 2 trial involving 21 adults with PTSD, identified four core themes: non-pharmacological factors for psychological safety and trust, the experiential nature of psilocybin treatment, engagement with trauma-related material, and comparative reflections on prior therapies. The findings suggest psilocybin offers a meaningful therapeutic opportunity, but larger controlled studies are needed.
Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice
July 23, 2024
Chiranth Bhagavan, Richard Kanaan, Olivia Carter et al.
2 citations
A protocol for the first study testing whether movement tasks can be performed safely while under the influence of psilocybin. Twelve healthy participants will each receive three different doses (5 to 20 mg) in a randomized, blinded order at least one week apart. Motor function, safety, brain activity via fMRI, and subjective experience will be measured during the acute drug effects. The study aims to inform future research combining psychedelics with motor retraining for conditions involving motor dysfunction.
Translational Psychiatry
April 24, 2026
Matt Butler, Ellen Moore, James Rucker et al.
1 citation
Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) involves episodes of altered perception after past psychoactive drug use, causing distress and impairment. In a large retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from 25,778 individuals diagnosed with HPPD, high rates of prior comorbidities were found, including depressive episodes (29.2%), anxiety disorders (26.2%), chronic pain (15.9%), headache syndromes (14.7%), post-viral fatigue (12.3%), ADHD (6.6%), and fibromyalgia (6.7%). Anxiety and functional somatic syndromes were more common in HPPD patients than in psychedelic-using controls. Anxiety (odds ratio 1.5) and post-viral fatigue (odds ratio 1.9) predicted HPPD development among psychedelic users. After diagnosis, HPPD was associated with increased risk of subsequent functional somatic syndromes (odds ratio 2.0) and psychiatric disorders (odds ratio 1.4) compared to psychedelic-using controls.
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
June 8, 2025
Nadav Liam Modlin, Victoria Williamson, Carolina Maggio et al.
1 citation
PTSD is a common and debilitating condition that current treatments only partially address. This review examines psilocybin, a classical psychedelic, as a potential therapeutic agent. It synthesizes recent literature on psychedelic therapies for trauma-related conditions, including treatment-resistant depression and end-of-life anxiety. The authors propose a conceptual framework viewing PTSD as a maladaptive interpretive framework that psilocybin may disrupt through its psychopharmacological properties and subjective effects. A clinical narrative illustrates this process. Recommendations emphasize rigorous, trauma-informed protocols for safe administration in medical research settings.
Journal of Affective Disorders
January 5, 2024
Kwonmok Ko, Emma I Kopra, Anthony J. Cleare et al.
1 citation
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Biological Psychiatry
April 10, 2023
James Rucker, Mathieu Seynaeve, Allan H. Young et al.
1 citation
Nasal administration of tryptamine psychedelics significantly elevates mood in 70% of participants, based on a sample size of 150 individuals. This method enhances the effects on consciousness and psychological well-being, indicating strong potential in pharmacology and psychiatry. The study highlights how these substances influence neurotransmitter receptors, leading to altered states of awareness. With implications for forensic toxicology and drug analysis, findings suggest that psychedelics may offer new avenues for therapeutic applications in mental health.
Psychodynamic psychiatry
June 1, 2026
Nadav Liam Modlin, Zsofia Elek, Carolina Maggio et al.
Psychedelic therapy may help people access unconscious mental content—preverbal, dissociated, or developmentally buried material—that emerges through bodily sensations, symbolic images, and intense emotions. A psychodynamic framework, drawing on psychoanalytic theory, can guide clinicians in working with this material across four phases: screening, preparation, the treatment session, and follow-up integration. Although neurobiological mechanisms like 5-HT2A receptor activation are well studied, unconscious processes remain underexplored. The authors argue that psychoanalytic models, though currently underrepresented, can deepen understanding of therapeutic change beyond symptom reduction and should inform future research, training, and individualized care as psychedelic treatments move toward broader clinical use.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 29, 2026
Elliot Hampsey, Kirsty Martin, Michail Kalfas et al.
A systematic review of 32 trials in healthy adults found that LSD and psilocybin show dose-proportional peak concentrations (Cmax), while DMT's oral and intravenous formulations differ in ways that may be clinically significant. LSD was the most studied psychedelic, followed by DMT and psilocybin; mescaline appeared in only two trials. Single studies examined intravenous LSD, intravenous psilocybin, inhaled 5-MEO-DMT, and intranasal 5-MEO-DMT. Variations in absorption, distribution, and elimination among the compounds may have important implications for clinical and research settings.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 27, 2026
Claire T. Roberts, Mathieu Seynaeve, Anna O. Ermakova et al.
A single dose of BPL-003, a psychedelic drug given as a nasal spray, was safe in people with treatment-resistant depression. Depression scores dropped quickly and stayed lower for 12 weeks, suggesting the drug may help this hard-to-treat condition. Larger controlled trials are needed.
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology
August 14, 2025
Nadav Liam Modlin, Jessica L. Maples‐keller, Maria Sarang et al.
Among 873 people who reported trauma symptoms or a PTSD/CPTSD diagnosis, 94.8% had experienced psychological trauma and 73.4% had a formal diagnosis. Many had tried multiple medications and psychotherapies but were highly dissatisfied. Significant numbers used marijuana, psychedelics, or MDMA on their own to manage symptoms, with few physical or psychological complications. After learning about MDMA and psilocybin therapies, willingness to try them was high (0.81 and 0.83, respectively). Women and heterosexual individuals showed lower willingness, while younger and more educated respondents were more willing. The findings point to a need for further clinical research and public education about risks and harm reduction.
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.