Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
January 1, 2025
Zitong Wang, Brett Robbins, Ryan Zhuang et al.
15 citations
In a rodent model of chronic stress, psilocybin reduced behavioral despair and cognitive impairments. Twenty-two male Wistar rats were exposed to predator odor and social instability; those given psilocybin showed improvements in memory and mood-related behaviors compared to sham-treated stressed animals. The benefits appear to involve the endocannabinoid system dampening overactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The results suggest psilocybin may hold promise as an early intervention for stress-related mental health disorders.
Scientific reports
May 26, 2025
Zitong Wang, Brett Robbins, Ryan Zhuang et al.
4 citations
Psilocybin showed a significant and sustained beneficial effect on behavioral despair and cognitive impairment in a rat model of treatment-resistant depression. The treatment increased thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels without significantly affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Psilocybin countered stress-induced TSH reductions, suggesting TSH may serve as a proxy marker of therapeutic response, though its causal role in mood regulation remains unclear. Changes in cannabinoid receptor type I (CB1R) after psilocybin administration suggest potential modulation of the endocannabinoid system, but causal links remain unconfirmed. These findings highlight psilocybin's potential to treat treatment-resistant depression through previously unexplored biological pathways.
Psychopharmacology
July 1, 2026
Sarah Ann Smith, Haseeb Mohammad, Lik Hang N Lee et al.
A review of 20 studies examined whether psychedelic drugs can affect social cognition in people with psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders that involve cognitive impairment. The drugs studied were ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca, tested in depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Findings included neural activation patterns suggesting that ketamine and psilocybin may modulate processes relevant to social perception, especially facial emotion processing, in depressive disorders. MDMA was linked to improvements in self-reported psychosocial functioning, self-awareness, and self-compassion in participants with PTSD. Direct evidence of improved social-cognitive functioning remains limited.