Announcement of special issue: ‘Behavioural pharmacology of ketamine and psychedelic drugs’
Behavioural Pharmacology May 6, 2026 Bart A. Ellenbroek, Gernot Riedel
A growing body of evidence shows that psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin can have long-lasting beneficial effects for treatment-resistant depression, drug and alcohol addiction, and other mental health problems. Ketamine and its S-enantiomer esketamine have been approved for severe, chronic depression. These drugs have unique properties including fast onset of action and, for psilocybin and LSD, very long-lasting effects up to six months or longer after a single administration. This has spurred research in behavioural pharmacology and neuroscience to understand their mode of action. The journal Behavioural Pharmacology is devoting a special issue to this topic and invites submissions of original empirical studies and reviews.