Communications Biology
June 20, 2023
Joel Frohlich, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Francesco Bavato et al.
16 citations
Low-frequency delta-band neural activity is typically associated with loss of consciousness and cortical down states, especially when diffuse and high amplitude. However, several classes of pharmacological agents—including antiepileptic drugs, GABA B receptor activators, acetylcholine receptor blockers, and psychedelics—can produce neural activity resembling cortical down states while participants remain conscious. Among these substances safe for healthy volunteers, some may serve as valuable research tools for determining which neural activity patterns are sufficient for consciousness or its absence.
NeuroImage: Clinical
September 19, 2022
Josua Zimmermann, Nicole Friedli, Francesco Bavato et al.
14 citations
Chronic MDMA users show increased fractional anisotropy in white matter tracts, particularly the corpus callosum and corticospinal tracts, with some links to usage intensity. However, blood neurofilament light chain levels did not differ from controls. The absence of reduced fractional anisotropy and elevated NfL—typically seen in conditions with white matter lesions, such as stimulant and ketamine use disorders—suggests MDMA use is not associated with significant white matter damage. Thus, axonal degradation observed in animal models was not replicated in this human sample of 39 chronic users and 39 matched controls.
Der Nervenarzt
September 1, 2024
Johannes Jungwirth, Francesco Bavato, Boris B Quednow
6 citations
A review article examines the risks and methodological weaknesses of studies on psychedelic and dissociative agents for mental health treatment. While ketamine, esketamine, LSD, and psilocybin show promising results for conditions like treatment-resistant depression, leading to approvals of esketamine in the US, EU, and Switzerland, and psilocybin for compassionate use in Australia, Canada, and Switzerland, the authors caution that excessive expectations and insufficient risk-benefit estimation can harm patients and physician reputation. The article focuses specifically on treatment risks and study quality issues, emphasizing that careful assessment of challenges is crucial despite hopes for a paradigm shift in psychiatry.
Asian journal of psychiatry
October 1, 2024
An-Nie Chung, Ming-Chyi Huang, Tung-Hsia Liu et al.
5 citations
People who develop persistent psychosis from heavy, chronic ketamine use show the highest blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NFL), a marker of nerve cell damage, compared to ketamine users without persistent psychosis, people with schizophrenia, and healthy controls. NFL levels averaged 24.5 pg/mL in ketamine users with persistent psychosis, 12.9 pg/mL in those without, 9.2 pg/mL in schizophrenia patients, and 6.2 pg/mL in controls. Ketamine dependence was linked to higher NFL than schizophrenia, and the elevated NFL in those with persistent psychosis suggests a distinct neurobiological basis for this condition, even though its symptoms resemble schizophrenia.
Translational psychiatry
May 21, 2026
Francesco Bavato, Andrea Steuer, Anna M Jacobsen et al.
Chronic users of methamphetamine (METH) and MDMA (Ecstasy) show distinct alterations in blood levels of tryptophan-related metabolites, which may help explain their different clinical effects. In a study of 36 chronic MDMA users, 33 chronic METH users, and 71 healthy controls, METH use was linked to depleted serum tryptophan and serotonin and broad activation of kynurenine pathways, whereas MDMA use was associated with selective activation of the OH-kynurenine branch. These metabolite changes correlated with the severity of depression and psychosis symptoms. The findings suggest that persistent changes in peripheral tryptophan metabolism may contribute to the substances' contrasting addiction and psychiatric profiles.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
August 25, 2025
Francesco Bavato, Andrea Steuer, Anna M. Jacobsen et al.
preprint
Chronic users of methamphetamine (METH) and MDMA (Ecstasy) show distinct changes in blood metabolites derived from tryptophan, a building block for serotonin and other signaling molecules. METH use was linked to lower serotonin levels and broad activation of the kynurenine pathway, while MDMA use was associated with a specific increase in a different branch of that pathway. These metabolite changes correlated with the severity of depression and psychosis symptoms. The findings suggest that lasting alterations in tryptophan metabolism may help explain the different clinical effects of the two drugs and could point to new therapeutic targets.