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Journal of Psychopharmacology

ISSN 0269-8811

223 papers in the library · 25,482 citations · publishing 1998-2026

Papers

Greater empathy in MDMA users

Journal of Psychopharmacology February 5, 2019 Molly Carlyle, Tobias Stevens, Leah Fawaz et al. 22 citations

People who use MDMA (ecstasy) recreationally over the long term show normal or even enhanced empathy compared to other drug users. In a study of 67 individuals, those who used MDMA scored higher on self-reported emotional empathy and on a computer task measuring cognitive empathy than poly-drug users who did not use MDMA. However, MDMA users did not differ from other groups in how they subjectively reacted to social exclusion. The amount or frequency of MDMA use was not linked to empathy levels. These findings suggest that moderate, long-term recreational MDMA use does not cause heightened social distress and may be associated with better empathy, supporting the drug's safety profile for potential therapeutic use.

DOI: 10.1177/0269881119826594 MDMA Ecstasy Empathy Personal distress +5

Therapeutic uses of psychedelics for eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder

Journal of Psychopharmacology December 14, 2022 Nicole Ledwos, Justyne D. Rodas, Muhammad Ishrat Husain et al. 20 citations

A systematic review of five studies (two exploratory studies, two case reports, and one prospective study) found limited evidence on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders. Effects on symptoms were identified mostly through thematic analyses and self-reports. The review concludes that more research is needed to determine the safety and efficacy of psychedelics in these conditions and suggests avenues for future exploration.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811221140009 Full text Body dysmorphic disorder Eating disorders Clinical psychology Psychiatry +2

Effect of ketamine dose on self-rated dissociation in patients with treatment refractory anxiety disorders

Journal of Psychopharmacology October 1, 2017 Cameron Castle, Andrew Gray, Shona Neehoff et al. 20 citations

Ketamine produces dose-dependent dissociative symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant anxiety, while midazolam does not. The Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS) shows high internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.937) for measuring these symptoms, though it does not capture thought disorder. Individual items varied in their sensitivity to ketamine dose and magnitude of change. Removing items did not meaningfully improve the scale's reliability, and acceptable consistency remained even after excluding items unresponsive at lower doses. The CADSS is an internally consistent tool for assessing ketamine-induced dissociation in clinical trials for anxiety.

DOI: 10.1177/0269881117725685

Among psychedelic-experienced users, only past use of psilocybin reliably predicts nature relatedness

Journal of Psychopharmacology January 1, 2023 Matthias Forstmann, Christina Sagioglou, Alexander Irvine et al. 18 citations

Among people who have used psychedelics, only past use of psilocybin—not LSD, mescaline, Salvia divinorum, ketamine, ibogaine, or DMT—reliably predicted a stronger sense of connection to nature (nature relatedness). The finding held even when people who had never used psychedelics were included in the analysis. For those who had used only psilocybin, more frequent use was linked to higher nature relatedness. This suggests that psilocybin may have a unique association with nature relatedness, possibly due to its pharmacology or the contexts in which it is used.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811221146356 Full text Psilocybin MDMA Hallucinogen Clinical psychology +1

Naturalistic psychedelic therapy: The role of relaxation and subjective drug effects in antidepressant response

Journal of Psychopharmacology September 20, 2024 Abigail E Calder, Benjamin Rausch, Matthias E Liechti et al. 17 citations

In Switzerland, where psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is permitted under a limited medical use program, patients receiving PAT and healthy volunteers given LSD or psilocybin reported similar overall drug effects and mystical experiences. However, patients reported lower ratings of ego dissolution. Depressive symptoms, measured by the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, significantly decreased in patients. The strongest predictor of antidepressant improvement was relaxation during the session, while mystical-type experiences did not predict antidepressant effects. Most patients had mild adverse effects that resolved within 48 hours. Hourly assessments of drug effects may better predict clinical outcomes than retrospective measures of mystical experience.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241278873 LSD Psychedelic-assisted therapy Depression Mystical experience +7

Is microdosing a placebo? A rapid review of low-dose LSD and psilocybin research

Journal of Psychopharmacology June 14, 2024 Vince Polito, Paul Liknaitzky 16 citations

A rapid review of 19 placebo-controlled studies found that microdosing with LSD and psilocybin produces changes in neurobiology, physiology, subjective experience, affect, and cognition compared to placebo. The authors argue that claims microdosing is mostly a placebo are premature and possibly wrong, citing eight reasons: few controlled studies, small sample sizes, evidence of dose-dependent effects, limited dose ranges tested, possibly too-small doses, non-clinical populations only, selection bias, and small measured impact of expectancy. They conclude it is not yet possible to determine whether microdosing is a placebo.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241254831 Psilocybin Hallucinogen Placebo Expectancy theory +3

Psychedelics and the ‘inner healer’: Myth or mechanism?

Journal of Psychopharmacology April 12, 2024 Joseph Peill, Miriam Marguilho, David Erritzoe et al. 16 citations

In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, 59 patients with depression received either a high (25 mg) or placebo (1 mg) dose of psilocybin. Those given the high dose reported stronger perceived 'inner healing' effects, and within that group, higher inner healer scores predicted greater improvement in depressive symptoms two weeks later. The findings suggest that the concept of an intrinsic healing mechanism activated by psychedelics merits further scientific investigation, though the idea remains scientifically nascent.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241239206 Telos Automatic Psychedelic-therapy Natural-healing +3

The psychedelic effects of cannabis: A review of the literature

Journal of Psychopharmacology November 10, 2023 David Wolinsky, Frederick Streeter Barrett, Ryan Vandrey 16 citations

Cannabis, especially high-THC varieties, may be able to produce perceptual changes, aversiveness, and mystical experiences similar to those caused by classic psychedelics like psilocybin. Although cannabis is not typically regarded as having psychedelic effects in modern research, historical use alongside psychedelics suggests otherwise. The review finds that recent controlled studies may have failed to observe these effects due to the doses, set, and settings used. Further research is needed to test high doses of THC in therapeutic contexts similar to those used for psychedelics. If cannabis can reliably generate psychedelic experiences, it could be explored as an adjunctive treatment for psychiatric disorders and as an active comparator in clinical trials.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811231209194 Mystical experience Psilocybin Altered consciousness THC +6

Single-dose psilocybin therapy for alcohol use disorder: Pharmacokinetics, feasibility, safety and efficacy in an open-label study

Journal of Psychopharmacology February 28, 2025 Dea Siggaard Stenbæk, Emil Deleuran Poulsen, Marie Katrine Klose Nielsen et al. 15 citations

A single 25 mg dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic compound, safely reduced alcohol consumption in ten adults with severe alcohol use disorder. Over 12 weeks, heavy drinking days fell by 37.5 percentage points and drinks per day dropped by 3.4. Participants also reported rapid and lasting decreases in craving and increases in self-efficacy. Peak blood levels of the drug varied widely among individuals, from 14 to 59 µg/L. The open-label, single-group design lacked a placebo control, so larger randomized trials are needed to confirm the findings.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811251319457 Alcohol use disorder Psilocybin Craving Pharmacokinetics +6

Meditating on psychedelics. A randomized placebo-controlled study of DMT and harmine in a mindfulness retreat

Journal of Psychopharmacology September 27, 2024 Daniel Meling, Klemens Egger, Jovin Mueller et al. 15 citations

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study over a 3-day meditation retreat, 40 experienced meditators received either DMT-harmine or a placebo. Those who took DMT-harmine reported greater mystical-type experiences, non-dual awareness, and emotional breakthrough during the acute substance effects, and greater psychological insight one day later after adjusting for baseline differences. Mindfulness and compassion did not differ significantly between groups. At one-month follow-up, the DMT-harmine group rated their experience as more personally meaningful, spiritually significant, and well-being-enhancing than the placebo group. The findings suggest specific synergistic effects of DMT-harmine during meditation.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241282637 Ayahuasca Meditation Mindfulness Psilocybin +5

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine is a connectogen with empathogenic, entactogenic, and still further connective properties: It is time to reconcile “the great entactogen—empathogen debate”

Journal of Psychopharmacology July 28, 2024 Kurt Stocker, Matthias E. Liechti 15 citations

MDMA is described by two terms—empathogen (promoting empathy and openness) and entactogen (promoting introspection and self-awareness). A review of the origin and usage of these terms finds no consistent reason why researchers choose one over the other. The authors argue that both properties stem from a single holistic experience: an intense feeling of connection. Entactogen refers to deep connection with oneself, empathogen to deep connection with others. They propose the new term connectogen to unify these effects, noting that MDMA may also foster connection with the here-and-now, the body, the world, and spiritual principles. The paper compares MDMA's connectogenic properties with those of classic psychedelics.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241265352 MDMA Ecstasy Introspection Openness to experience +4

Body mass index (BMI) does not predict responses to psilocybin

Journal of Psychopharmacology November 14, 2022 Meg J Spriggs, Bruna Giribaldi, Taylor Lyons et al. 15 citations

A fixed 25 mg dose of psilocybin produces similar acute psychedelic effects and improvements in well-being regardless of body mass index (BMI). Pooling data from three therapeutic studies, results support the null hypothesis that BMI does not predict overall intensity of the altered state, mystical experiences, perceptual changes, or emotional breakthroughs. There was weak evidence that lower BMI participants reported greater 'dread of ego dissolution,' but BMI did not meaningfully add to predictions beyond age, sex, and study. Mystical-type experiences and emotional breakthroughs strongly predicted well-being improvements, but BMI did not. These findings suggest body weight-adjusted dosing may be unnecessary, supporting fixed dosing to reduce practical and financial burdens on psychedelic therapy scalability.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811221131994 Psychedelic therapy Psychedelic-assisted therapy 5-ht2a Bayes factor +7

Two newly-emerging substituted phenethylamines MAL and BOD induce differential psychopharmacological effects in rodents

Journal of Psychopharmacology July 10, 2020 Raly James Perez Custodio, Leandro Val Sayson, Chrislean Jun Botanas et al. 15 citations

The substituted phenethylamines MAL and BOD have different abuse potentials. MAL produced psychostimulant effects, locomotor sensitization, and was self-administered by rats, indicating reinforcing properties. Both drugs induced conditioned place preference in mice, which was blocked by dopamine receptor antagonists, and both altered dopamine receptor D1 and D2 protein expression in the nucleus accumbens, tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine transporter in the ventral tegmental area, increased dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, and enhanced delta and gamma brain wave activity. BOD caused locomotor depression and lacked rewarding and reinforcing effects, suggesting little to no capability to engender compulsive behavior despite its dopaminergic alterations.

DOI: 10.1177/0269881120936458 Ventral tegmental area Nucleus accumbens Conditioned place preference Mesolimbic pathway +5

Developing the Open Psychedelic Evaluation Nexus consensus measures for assessment of supervised psilocybin services: An e-Delphi study

Journal of Psychopharmacology June 18, 2024 Kim Hoffman, Alissa Bazinet, Kellie Pertl et al. 14 citations

Experts with extensive experience facilitating psilocybin experiences, including in ceremonial settings, indigenous practices, and clinical trials, developed a set of core measures to monitor the safety, quality, and outcomes of supervised psilocybin services. Through a three-phase e-Delphi process with 36 experts, 55 candidate measures were identified and then prioritized to a core set of 11 process measures (e.g., preparatory hours with client, documentation of touch/sexual boundaries), 11 outcome measures (e.g., adverse events, well-being), and 17 structure measures (e.g., facilitator training in trauma informed care). The findings suggest that service providers and policy makers should consider standardizing these measures for community-based psilocybin services.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241257839 Psilocybin Delphi method Thematic analysis Applied psychology +4

Connected to the spirit of the frog: An Internet-based survey on Kambô, the secretion of the Amazonian Giant Maki Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor): Motivations for use, settings and subjective experiences

Journal of Psychopharmacology March 4, 2021 Tomislav Majić, Meike Sauter, Felix Bermpohl et al. 14 citations

An online survey of 386 mostly well-educated individuals who had used Kambô, the secretion of the Giant Maki Frog, found that motivations included general healing, detoxification, and spiritual growth. Acute effects involved severe physical reactions and mild psychoactive experiences, with 41.97% reporting a feeling of connection to the frog's spirit. Most participants (87.31%) reported increased well-being or life satisfaction, and 64.26% considered Kambô of high spiritual significance. Few reported lasting physical (2.85%) or mental (1.81%) health problems attributed to Kambô. The authors note that further research is needed to understand how setting and expectations influence reported effects.

DOI: 10.1177/0269881121991554 Feeling Mental health Indigenous Demography +1

Psychedelics as an intervention for psychological, existential distress in terminally ill patients: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Journal of Psychopharmacology December 10, 2024 Mattia Marchi, Riccardo Farina, Karim Rachedi et al. 13 citations

A systematic review and network meta-analysis of nine randomized controlled trials involving 606 participants with terminal illnesses found that psychedelic compounds—psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA, and LSD—significantly reduced depression (standardized mean difference −0.80) and anxiety (standardized mean difference −0.84) compared to control conditions. Psilocybin appeared most effective for depression, and LSD for anxiety, though direct comparisons between psychedelics did not show statistically significant differences. Rates of treatment discontinuation and adverse events were similar between psychedelic and control groups. The findings suggest psychedelics, particularly psilocybin and LSD, may help alleviate existential distress in end-of-life care, but limitations include few trials, blinding challenges, and a lack of head-to-head comparisons.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241303594 Full text Anxiety Depression Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens +6

Psilocybin for clinical indications: A scoping review

Journal of Psychopharmacology August 13, 2024 Kim Madden, Breanne Flood, Darren Young Shing et al. 13 citations

A systematic scoping review of clinical indications for psilocybin identified 193 published and 80 ongoing studies. Most studies had small sample sizes, with a median of 22 participants and 18 who had taken psilocybin. Only 12% were randomized controlled trials, while 37% were systematic reviews. The most common indication studied was depression (28%), followed by substance use (14%), mental health in life-threatening illness (9%), headaches (6%), depression and anxiety (6%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (3%), and anxiety disorders (3%). Thirty-eight percent of studies reported at least one potential conflict of interest. The authors conclude there is a need for high-quality randomized trials and to expand consideration to other promising indications, such as chronic pain.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241269751 Psychedelic-assisted therapy Hallucinogenic therapy Psilocybin studies Psychedelic compounds +4

Real-world effectiveness of repeated intravenous ketamine infusions for treatment-resistant depression in transitional age youth

Journal of Psychopharmacology May 16, 2023 Noah Chisamore, Kevork Danayan, Nelson B Rodrigues et al. 13 citations

Ketamine infusions led to clinically significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts in transitional age youth (ages 18–25) with treatment-resistant depression. In a retrospective analysis of 52 youth matched with a general adult sample (ages 30–60), both groups showed comparable improvements after four infusions over two weeks, with moderate effect sizes and no significant group differences. Adverse effects were mild and transient. The findings suggest ketamine is similarly effective and safe for younger adults as for older adults with treatment-resistant depression.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811231171531 Full text Medicine Psychology

Psychedelic drug abuse potential assessment for new drug applications and controlled substance scheduling: A United States perspective

Journal of Psychopharmacology January 1, 2023 Jack E Henningfield, Judy Ashworth, David J Heal et al. 13 citations

Psychedelics present unique challenges for abuse potential assessment due to their distinct pharmacological profiles: entactogens act as weak reinforcers and hallucinogens as non-reinforcers, requiring more flexible approaches than standard regulatory guidelines. Standard nonclinical techniques like receptor binding and physical dependence tests adapt easily, while human abuse trials need modification because supratherapeutic doses may be unsafe and safety monitoring procedures can bias outcomes. Existing knowledge varies widely, from extensive data on psilocybin to none for novel compounds. Many assessments can be applied to animals and humans without compromising scientific integrity, but human abuse studies merit reconsideration to ensure safety and validity. Other methods can evaluate pharmacological equivalence to known drugs of abuse to guide scheduling.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811221140004 LSD MDMA Psilocybin Abuse potential assessment +9

Postpartum depression: A role for psychedelics?

Journal of Psychopharmacology May 30, 2022 Chaitra Jairaj, James J Rucker 13 citations

Postpartum depression (PPD) involves a core sense of maternal disconnection from self, infant, and support system, and differs from major depressive disorder (MDD), especially regarding the mother-infant relationship. Current PPD treatments, borrowed from MDD, show low remission rates and emerging treatment resistance. This narrative review proposes that serotonergic psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, could treat PPD by fostering reconnection. Evidence from MDD trials indicates psilocybin is safe and shows encouraging efficacy, catalyzing reconnection. In PPD, this reconnection might improve mood and maternal sensitivity, enhancing maternal role gratification and the mother-infant relationship. Psychedelic-assisted therapy for PPD warrants further examination.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811221093793 Psilocybin Major depressive disorder Postpartum depression Mood +7

Psilocybin for major depressive disorder: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Journal of Psychopharmacology October 31, 2024 Sepehr Aghajanian, Arman Shafiee, Samira Parvizi Omran et al. 12 citations

Psilocybin, a classic hallucinogen, produces a large and clinically observable reduction in depressive symptoms when added to supportive therapy, compared to baseline measurements and to placebo. The effect remains significant across various time intervals after administration. This systematic review and meta-analysis substantiates that psilocybin is superior to psychotherapy alone for treating depression, warranting further studies with larger samples and longer follow-up.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811241287542 Depression Psilocybin Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens +5

β-carboline-independent antidepressant-like effect of the standardized extract of the barks of Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd) Poir. occurs via 5-HT2A/2C receptors in mice

Journal of Psychopharmacology June 20, 2022 Luiz Antonio Miranda de Souza Duarte Filho, Isabela Araújo E Amariz, Rodolfo Hideki Vicente Nishimura et al. 12 citations

A standardized extract of Mimosa tenuiflora (SEMT), the plant used to prepare jurema wine, shows antidepressant-like effects in mice. The extract contains 24.74 ± 0.8 mg/g of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and also yuremamine. In the tail suspension and forced swim tests, SEMT reduced immobility, indicating antidepressant-like activity, and this effect did not require harmine, a β-carboline. A sub-dose combination with ketamine also reduced immobility. SEMT enhanced head twitch behavior induced by 5-HTP, and ketanserin blocked its antidepressant-like effect, suggesting the effect involves activation of 5-HT2A/2C receptors.

DOI: 10.1177/02698811221104050 Antidepressant Traditional medicine Pharmacology Receptor +1