Psilocybin, an Effective Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in Adults - A Systematic Review
Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience October 16, 2023 Tessa Watford, Naqash Masood 21 citations
Psilocybin, a classical psychedelic used for healing for millennia, shows promise as a treatment for major depressive disorder by acting on 5-HT1a receptors. This systematic review of 6 studies involving 319 participants found that every study significantly favored psilocybin in reducing depressive symptoms, with few side effects. This gives psilocybin an advantage over commonly prescribed SSRIs, which carry more risk and cause more adverse effects. The drug shows promise as a clinical treatment, but future research should develop a standardized paradigm for its use, including timing of sessions and type of psychological support, and more studies are needed to detect publication bias.