A 10 mg dose of psilocybin produced a rapid, moderate-to-large reduction in compulsive symptoms in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), lasting up to one week after dosing. In a blinded pharmacological challenge study, 18 adults with at least moderate OCD received a 1 mg and then a 10 mg dose of oral psilocybin, separated by four weeks. One week after the 10 mg dose, scores on the compulsion subscale of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale showed a significant improvement compared to the 1 mg dose (Cohen's d = 0.74). No effect on depression was detected. The drug was well tolerated with no serious adverse events.
The study aims to uncover the neural mechanisms by which psilocybin-assisted therapy affects obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and whether those brain changes align with improvements in cognitive symptoms. A secondary goal is to test whether a low, tolerable dose is both practical and effective as a clinical treatment. The results will provide essential data for designing a future randomized controlled trial.
A protocol describes a planned study testing whether a low-moderate dose of psilocybin (10 mg), combined with non-interventional therapy, can improve cognitive flexibility and neuroplasticity in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Twenty blinded participants will receive an active placebo (1 mg psilocybin) in a first session and 10 mg in a second session four weeks later. Cognitive flexibility will be measured with the intradimensional-extradimensional shift task two days after each session, and neuroplasticity will be assessed via electroencephalography immediately after each session. Secondary outcomes include OCD symptom severity and patient-reported measures. The results are expected to clarify neural mechanisms and guide a future randomized controlled trial.