Christina J. Sauder

University of Wisconsin–Madison

2 papers in the library · 3 citations · publishing 2024-2025

Papers

Co-administration of midazolam and psilocybin: Differential effects on subjective quality versus memory of the psychedelic experience

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) June 13, 2024 Christopher R. Nicholas, Matthew I. Banks, Richard Lennertz et al. 3 citations preprint

Co-administering the amnestic benzodiazepine midazolam with psilocybin in 8 healthy participants partially impaired memory for the psychedelic experience while still allowing a conscious experience to occur. The degree of memory impairment was inversely associated with salience, insight, and well-being induced by psilocybin. These results suggest that memory of the acute psychedelic experience contributes to therapeutically relevant behavioral effects. Because midazolam blocks memory by blocking cortical neural plasticity, it may also help evaluate how the pro-neuroplastic properties of psychedelics contribute to their therapeutic activity.

DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.13.598878 Full text Psilocybin Serotonergic Neuroplasticity Midazolam +6

Electrophysiological effects of psilocybin co-administered with midazolam

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) July 29, 2025 May Kung Sutherland, Christopher R. Nicholas, Richard Lennertz et al. preprint

Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, induces neural plasticity and alters consciousness, while midazolam, a benzodiazepine, blunts plasticity and causes sedation and amnesia. In an open-label pilot study, 25 mg of oral psilocybin was given alongside intravenous midazolam at doses that allowed a full psychedelic experience but reduced memory of it. EEG recordings showed that 15-30 minutes after dosing, when midazolam was at its target concentration, beta power increased and the spectral exponent decreased. As psilocybin's effects emerged over the next six hours, Lempel-Ziv complexity and spectral exponent increased while broadband power decreased. These findings suggest psilocybin's effects persist even with midazolam, supporting its use in mechanistic studies.

DOI: 10.1101/2025.07.25.666887