Australas Psychiatry
February 13, 2023
Joshua J Berger, Paul B Fitzgerald
19 citations
A survey of Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists found that most recognize a shortage of effective psychiatric treatments and believe psychedelic therapies could help address it. However, the psychiatrists reported limited knowledge about these therapies, with 60% interested in further training. Around 70% expressed concerns about psychedelic treatments, and many thought future prescribing should be restricted to psychiatrists. The authors suggest that as research and regulations evolve, up-to-date education on psychedelics for psychiatrists is needed.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
July 7, 2022
Neil W Bailey, Harry Geddes, Isabella Zannettino et al.
5 citations
preprint
Experienced meditators exhibit distinct neural activity during performance monitoring and error-processing compared to non-meditators. Using a larger sample and more rigorous analyses than prior work, the study clarifies previously inconsistent findings, showing that long-term mindfulness practice is associated with altered brain responses when detecting and processing errors.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
July 2, 2025
Neil W Bailey, Aron T Hill, Kate Godfrey et al.
4 citations
Mindfulness meditation, which trains attention on sensory experiences with nonjudgmental awareness, is thought to sharpen sensory processing and reduce top-down expectations. This study measured forward and backward traveling cortical alpha waves—proposed to reflect bottom-up inhibition and top-down inhibition, respectively—using electroencephalography in meditators and nonmeditators. During eyes-closed resting (97 participants) and a visual Go/No-go task (126 participants), meditators showed stronger forward traveling waves than nonmeditators in both conditions, and weaker backward traveling waves during rest. These neural differences may underlie enhanced attention and reduced mind-wandering associated with meditation, supporting models where mental training increases sensory awareness.
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
January 7, 2025
Natalie T Mills, Stevan Nikolin, Nick Glozier et al.
3 citations
Anxiety disorders and treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD) often occur together. In a randomized controlled trial comparing subcutaneous ketamine to midazolam in 174 people with TRD, ketamine reduced anxiety only when given at flexible, response-guided doses (0.5-0.9 mg/kg). At a fixed low dose (0.5 mg/kg), the reduction in anxiety was not statistically significant. The anxiety-reducing effect was linked to overall depression improvement and was not sustained four weeks after treatment ended. The findings suggest that adequate dosing is necessary for ketamine's anxiolytic effect in this population.
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
December 11, 2025
Adem T Can, Jim Lagopoulos, Paul B Fitzgerald et al.
2 citations
Ketamine is a fast-acting treatment for psychiatric conditions that do not respond to other therapies, but its use is controversial. Evidence shows it can reduce depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, yet it also carries risks such as dissociation, dependence, and unknown long-term effects. Its reputation as a recreational drug adds stigma and regulatory hurdles. The authors argue that ketamine should be accepted as a legitimate psychiatric treatment, but its use must be guided by ethical principles—autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice—and supported by careful regulation and research, avoiding both unwarranted rejection and premature hype.
Journal of affective disorders
October 15, 2025
Mary Lou Chatterton, Johana Kevin Perez, Thao Thai et al.
2 citations
Subcutaneous ketamine appears cost-effective for treatment-resistant depression from a health sector perspective when the costs of the control treatment (midazolam) are included, but not from a societal perspective. A cost-utility analysis alongside a randomized controlled trial with 174 participants compared ketamine to midazolam given twice weekly for four weeks. At the end of the trial, quality of life scores were significantly higher for ketamine. When control arm costs were included, ketamine was less costly and more effective, with an 89% probability of being cost-effective at a $50,000 per quality-adjusted life year threshold. Excluding those costs made ketamine not cost-effective, highlighting the importance of comparator choice.