OBM Neurobiology
June 24, 2021
Sarah-Catherine Rodan, Phillip Aouad, Iain S. Mcgregor et al.
10 citations
Anorexia nervosa (AN) has high mortality and treatment costs, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) achieves remission in at most 50% of adults. Drop-out and relapse rates are high, and no approved pharmacological treatments exist. Over the past two decades, research into classic psychedelics (LSD, 5-MeO-DMT, DMT, and psilocybin) shows that one or two exposures can produce lasting reductions in anxiety and depression, which are the most common co-morbid psychiatric symptoms in AN. The authors suggest that classic psychedelics, especially psilocybin, may normalize dysfunctional neurobiological systems in AN and offer a novel intervention, particularly for treatment-resistant patients.
JAMA network open
July 1, 2025
Sarah-Catherine Rodan, Sarah Maguire, Noah Meez et al.
5 citations
In a large international survey of over 6,600 adults with eating disorders or disordered eating, cannabis and psychedelics were rated as most helpful for improving eating disorder symptoms, while prescription antidepressants were seen as beneficial for overall mental health but not for eating disorder symptoms, except for fluoxetine in bulimia nervosa and lisdexamfetamine in binge-eating disorder. Alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco were rated as most harmful. The findings suggest that cannabis and psychedelics may alleviate eating disorder symptoms, supporting further research into these substances as potential treatments.
Journal of eating disorders
July 24, 2025
Sarah-Catherine Rodan, Noah Meez, Sophie Lloyd-Hurwitz et al.
2 citations
Among adults with eating disorders, about one in three reported having used a psychedelic drug at some point, and one in five had used one in the past year. Users tended to be younger, less likely to take prescription drugs or be hospitalized for their eating disorder, and more likely to use other non-prescription drugs and to have ADHD, PTSD, ASD, or substance misuse. Those with anorexia nervosa were less likely to report psychedelic use, while those with an undiagnosed eating disorder were more likely. Qualitative comments described profound transformation, increased connectedness, and new insights into illness, though a few reported bad trips or worsened symptoms. The findings suggest psychedelics may hold promise for this population and warrant clinical trials.
bioRxiv
May 18, 2026
Kyna Conn, Ngok Wong, Serenay Sunnetci et al.
A single dose of psilocybin (1.5 mg/kg) in female rats enhanced cognitive flexibility in several learning tasks by amplifying dopamine signals in the nucleus accumbens. The drug increased learning rates and reduced reliance on prior expectations, leading to faster reversal learning. However, calorie restriction and prior exposure to activity-based anorexia (ABA) reduced these benefits. Calorie restriction shifted the timing of psilocybin's effect on reversal learning and increased neural activity in the nucleus accumbens. Prior ABA exposure eliminated improvements in discrimination accuracy and trended toward worsening reversal learning, likely due to reduced cortical 5-HT2A receptor availability. The results show that nutritional state and history of anorexia-like behavior critically moderate psilocybin's cognitive effects.