Cancer
December 18, 2023
Johannes Thrul, Zofia Kozak, Michael A. Carducci et al.
5 citations
Psilocybin, when administered in a group-based, assisted intervention, shows promise for treating depression in cancer patients. Two articles in Cancer report that this approach leads to persistent improvements in mood, building on earlier work that found psilocybin reduces existential distress in this population. The editorial discusses these findings, noting the positive effects on mood without specifying effect sizes or sample details.
Biological Psychiatry
April 9, 2018
Michael C. Mckenna, John R. Fedota, Albert Garcia‐romeu et al.
3 citations
No Summary
June 9, 2023
Sandeep M. Nayak, Sydney White, Samantha Hilbert et al.
1 citation
preprint
A longitudinal study of 657 people planning a psychedelic experience measured changes in beliefs about mind perception, metaphysical positions, and Atheist-Believer status before and after the experience. Replicating prior work, participants showed increased mind perception for living and non-living targets such as plants and animals. However, there was little to no change in metaphysical beliefs like dualism or in Atheist-Believer status. These results contrast with cross-sectional studies suggesting psychedelics alter non-naturalistic beliefs or religious identity, but they support the idea that psychedelics specifically affect how people perceive minds in various entities.
Journal of Health Psychology
December 31, 2025
Laura C. Carvalho, Jorge Encantado, Arlen C. Moller et al.
Psychedelic experiences may help people adopt healthier behaviors, according to a survey of 271 adults. Participants reported changes across 74 behaviors after their most impactful psychedelic experience. The most common changes were increases in contemplative practices (63%), time spent in nature (55%), and personally meaningful social activities (54%). Most changes were in a healthy direction. Higher perceived meaningfulness of the experience and having a set intention beforehand were significantly associated with overall healthy change. The study cannot establish causality but suggests that intention and meaningfulness are candidate mechanisms for how psychedelics might facilitate positive behavior change.
Scientific Reports
December 8, 2025
Amrit Baral, Yue Pan, Wayway M. Hlaing et al.
Among older U.S. men, those who reported lifetime use of classic psychedelics alone had more than two and a half times the odds of a prostate cancer diagnosis compared with non-users, after adjusting for demographic, behavioral, and clinical factors. In men aged 65 or older, the odds were more than three and a half times higher. The analysis used nationally representative survey data from 2015–2019, covering 19,460 men aged 50 and older. Cannabis-only use and co-use of cannabis and psychedelics did not show a significant association. The authors suggest further research is needed to understand possible reasons and biological mechanisms behind this link.
SLEEP
May 1, 2025
Denise C. Vidot, Amrit Baral, Bria-Necole Diggs et al.
Among 18-to-35-year-olds in the Herbal Heart Study, 39.5% reported lifetime psychedelic use and 32.8% reported psilocybin use. Overall, 54.5% were satisfied with sleep, 23.0% dissatisfied, and 22.5% neutral, with no differences in sleep satisfaction across the full sample. However, among Hispanic/Latino participants, 33.9% of psychedelic consumers reported sleep dissatisfaction versus 17.2% of non-consumers. Hispanic/Latino psychedelic consumers had 4.4 times higher odds of both sleep dissatisfaction and satisfaction compared to being neutral; psilocybin-alone consumers had 9.2 times higher odds of dissatisfaction. No associations appeared among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, or other groups, suggesting a complex link specific to Hispanic/Latino individuals.
Psychedelic Medicine
September 1, 2024
Albert Garcia‐romeu
High-dose dextromethorphan (DXM) and psilocybin both increased ratings of personal meaning, spiritual significance, psychological challenge, and psychological insight compared to placebo, and these experiences predicted psychological benefit one week later, even when expectancy effects were minimized. The effects tended to favor psilocybin in a dose-dependent manner, and DXM's utility was limited by poor physical tolerability. The findings suggest that dissociatives administered in supportive, psychedelic-like contexts may have therapeutic potential.
October 14, 2023
David S. Mathai, Daniel E. Roberts, Sandeep M. Nayak et al.
preprint
A longitudinal study of 679 adults planning to use psilocybin in naturalistic settings found that while most users (89.7%) described the experience as positive, acute feelings of shame or guilt were commonly reported (68.2% of users) and difficult to predict. The ability to constructively work through these feelings predicted wellbeing 2-4 weeks after use. Psilocybin produced a small but significant average decrease in trait shame that lasted 2-3 months, but trait shame increased in a notable minority (29.8%) of participants. The activation of shame-related experiences with psychedelics may pose a unique learning condition for both therapeutic and detrimental forms of memory reconsolidation.