David J Nutt

Perceptive Inc. (formerly Invicro LLC), Hammersmith Hospital, London (Wall, Demetriou, Ertl); Department of Metabolism, Digestion, and Reproduction (Wall, Ertl) and Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine (Wall, Ertl, Giribaldi, Roseman, Erritzoe, Nutt, Carhart-Harris), Imperial College London; Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (Demetriou); Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco (Carhart-Harris).

28 papers in the library · 1,039 citations · publishing 2016-2026

Papers

Exploring new avenues: Psychedelic-assisted therapy for young people.

British journal of clinical pharmacology May 8, 2026 Ioanna Artemis Vamvakopoulou, Dasha Nicholls, David J Nutt et al.

Rates of mental illness among young people are rising, but few new treatments have emerged. Psychedelic-assisted therapy with psilocybin and MDMA has shown promise for adults with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and interest is growing in its use for adolescents. A comprehensive review of all research on children and young people—from 1950s experiments to recent observational and retrospective studies of traditional and non-medical use—finds that psychedelics appear safe overall and may improve mental wellbeing in this age group. However, young people may face greater risks of anxiety, challenging experiences, and ego dissolution, warranting more thorough clinical research. The authors recommend a rigorous ethical framework with family involvement and consideration of lower doses to reduce potential harms.

DOI: 10.1002/bcp.70579 Full text Adolescents Psychedelics Psychedelic‐assisted therapy Young people

A Systematic Review of MDMA’s Effects on Social Functioning in Placebo-Controlled Trials

May 4, 2026 Victoria Burmester, Laura Aggett, David J Nutt et al. preprint

MDMA reliably enhances subjective social feelings such as sociability, emotional openness, closeness, and emotional empathy, but these changes do not consistently translate into observable prosocial behaviors like cooperation or trust, which remain highly context dependent. The most robust social effect is a reduction in the processing of social threat, including diminished sensitivity to negative social cues and impaired recognition of fear and anger. This divergence between felt and enacted social effects helps explain variability in laboratory findings and underscores the importance of context and measurement. These mechanisms may inform MDMA's therapeutic use for conditions involving heightened social threat and avoidance.

DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/sgdau_v1 MDMA Prosocial behavior Social cognition Context archaeology +19

Ketamine: reclassification alone will not reduce harms

BMJ February 3, 2026 Adam Winstock, David J Nutt, Caroline Copeland

Reclassifying ketamine without accompanying public health measures would be a symbolic action rather than an effective strategy for reducing harm, according to the authors. They argue that regulatory changes alone are insufficient and must be paired with broader public health interventions to meaningfully address risks associated with ketamine use.

DOI: 10.1136/bmj.s222 Full text Computer science Public health Medicine Internet privacy +4