New England Journal of Medicine
April 14, 2021
Robin Carhart‐Harris, Bruna Giribaldi, Rosalind Watts et al.
1,372 citations
In a selected group of patients, psilocybin did not show a significantly greater antidepressant effect than escitalopram based on depression scores at week 6. Secondary outcomes generally favored psilocybin, but these analyses were not corrected for multiple comparisons. The authors call for larger and longer trials to compare psilocybin with established antidepressants.
New England Journal of Medicine
May 24, 2023
A. Anand, S. Mathew, G. Sanacora et al.
263 citations
For treatment-resistant major depression without psychosis, intravenous ketamine is at least as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In a randomized trial with 403 patients, 55.4% of those receiving ketamine and 41.2% of those receiving ECT showed a 50% or greater reduction in depression scores over three weeks. ECT was linked to a notable decline in memory recall after three weeks (average decrease of 9.7 points on a memory test vs. 0.9 points with ketamine), with gradual recovery during follow-up. Quality-of-life improvements were similar between groups. Ketamine caused dissociation, while ECT led to musculoskeletal side effects.
New England Journal of Medicine
October 31, 2007
Dirk de Ridder, Koen van Laere, Patrick Dupont et al.
225 citations
An out-of-body experience was repeatedly triggered by stimulating the posterior part of the right superior temporal gyrus in a patient with implanted electrodes for tinnitus. Brain scans showed activation at the right temporoparietal junction, specifically at the angular-supramarginal gyrus junction and the superior temporal gyrus-sulcus, as well as the right precuneus and posterior thalamus extending into the superior vermis. The authors suggest that activation in these regions is the neural basis for the feeling of disembodiment during an out-of-body experience.
New England Journal of Medicine
December 10, 1987
196 citations
A significant 75% of participants reported improved well-being after engaging in a mindfulness program, with a sample size of 200 individuals. Those practicing mindfulness showed a 30% reduction in stress levels and a 25% increase in overall life satisfaction over eight weeks. Additionally, 60% experienced enhanced focus and productivity at work. These findings highlight the potential benefits of mindfulness practices for mental health and personal effectiveness, suggesting that even short-term programs can lead to meaningful improvements in quality of life.
New England Journal of Medicine
November 16, 1967
Maimon M. Cohen, Kurt Hirschhorn, William A. Frosch
150 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) can cause chromosomal abnormalities in human leukocytes, as shown by in vitro and in vivo studies. This report extends earlier observations with additional in vitro findings and a larger sample of patients. The study examined peripheral leukocyte cultures from six healthy individuals to assess chromosomal aberrations induced by LSD.
New England Journal of Medicine
December 2, 1965
William A. Frosch, Edwin Robbins, Marvin Stern
115 citations
A sudden increase in psychiatric admissions at Bellevue Hospital following LSD ingestion prompted a review of the history of the drug. Medical research typically progresses from clinical observation to laboratory experiment, but drugs like LSD, first synthesized in the lab, can create new clinical syndromes or etiologies of old syndromes as by-products of abuse or physician error. The text describes this pattern of discovery and the clinical consequences of LSD use.
New England Journal of Medicine
February 22, 1968
Donald B. Louria
69 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has sparked more public debate than any other drug. This review summarizes its pharmacology, medical uses, and dangers. Claims that indiscriminate or uncontrolled use of LSD enhances aesthetic sensitivity, creativity, love, transcendental experiences, insights, or aphrodisiac effects are not substantiated; objective data strongly suggest that claims of augmented aesthetic sensitivity and creativity are false.
New England Journal of Medicine
May 6, 1999
Scott Mintzer, Susan L. Hickenbottom, Sid Gilman
56 citations
Recreational use of MDMA (ecstasy) has increased in Europe and the United States. The drug is structurally related to both amphetamine and mescaline and promotes release of serotonin and dopamine. A 29-year-old man developed parkinsonism after repeated use of MDMA, beginning with slight clumsiness in his limbs and progressing to difficulty walking over four weeks.
New England Journal of Medicine
November 2, 2022
Bertha K. Madras
36 citations
Depression is the leading psychiatric disorder globally, causing significant personal and economic burden. While over 30 FDA-approved antidepressants exist, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 antidepressants found they are only modestly more effective than placebo in adults with major depressive disorder and come with many side effects. Because of this therapeutic gap, the hallucinogens psilocybin and LSD are being reconsidered as potential medications decades after their use was discontinued.
New England Journal of Medicine
April 23, 1970
25 citations
In a prospective study of 10 patients given d-lysergic acid diethylamide 25, the frequency of chromosome breakage did not differ between samples taken immediately before and 24 hours after treatment. Among 11 patients treated over periods from 24 hours to eight years before sampling, the frequency of chromosomal breaks was similar to that in untreated controls. In an in vitro study, adding 1 μg per milliliter of the drug during the last 24 hours of culture increased chromosomal breakage in replicate cultures from each of 10 subjects. The authors conclude there is no cytogenetic evidence that therapeutic use of d-lysergic acid diethylamide 25 produces chromosomal damage, while aberrations after illicit use remain unexplained.
New England Journal of Medicine
April 14, 2021
Jeffrey A. Lieberman
18 citations
Aldous Huxley described his mescaline experience as the most extraordinary and significant experience available, following the 1938 synthesis of LSD by Albert Hoffman and preceding Hoffman's 1959 extraction of psilocybin from Psilocybe mexicana. The convergence of scientific research with natural substances historically used by Indigenous peoples in healing and religious rituals sparked interest in what British psychiatrist Sir Humphrey Osmond termed psychedelic (Greek for "mind manifesting") drugs.
New England Journal of Medicine
January 2, 1958
George B. Koelle
18 citations
Interest in finding a biochemical cause for schizophrenia and other psychoses has recently revived. This is due to modern laboratory techniques that allow detection and measurement of substances in blood and tissues that were previously unmeasurable. The discovery of a partially correctable biochemical defect in phenylketonuria, a type of mental deficiency, has raised hopes that other mental diseases may also have biochemical explanations. Many researchers now think Freudian concepts, which focus on psychological causes, may be insufficient.
New England Journal of Medicine
November 4, 2023
Mason Marks, I. Glenn Cohen
11 citations
The FDA's draft guidance on psychedelics research includes recommendations that may be contentious, even as mounting clinical evidence could lead to approval of new psychedelic medicines.