Psilocybin-assisted physiotherapy for refractory motor functional neurological disorder: protocol for a randomised dose-comparison pilot study
Acta Neuropsychiatrica November 4, 2025 Chiranth Bhagavan, Alexander Bryson, Olivia Carter et al. 4 citations
Combining psychedelics with physiotherapy may offer a new treatment for motor functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition with no effective medications and often persistent disability. This protocol describes the first trial testing two psilocybin-assisted physiotherapy regimens in 24 people with refractory motor FND. Participants are randomly assigned to either 15 mg psilocybin with movement tasks during the drug's acute effects or 25 mg psilocybin alone. All receive two physiotherapy sessions before dosing and six after, with follow-ups at one and four weeks. The study assesses tolerability, feasibility, symptom severity, and brain imaging to inform a larger definitive trial.