Research square
March 8, 2024
Hannes Kettner, Leor Roseman, Adam Gazzaley et al.
5 citations
Older adults (age 60+) who participated in a guided psychedelic group retreat showed significant improvements in well-being, with larger gains among those with a prior psychiatric diagnosis. Compared to younger adults, older adults experienced weaker acute psychedelic effects, and these effects did not predict well-being changes. Instead, a sense of communitas—the relational or social connection during the group session—predicted well-being improvements in older adults, suggesting that the social context of psychedelic therapy may be especially important for this age group.
Research square
April 8, 2026
Oliver C Robinson, David Luke, Jules Evans et al.
1 citation
In a large global online survey of 6,476 people who have used psychedelics, nearly half (48.3%) reported at least one difficulty lasting 24 hours or more, and 9.9% experienced difficulties for over a year. The most common difficulties were existential struggle (36.6%), depression (34%), and derealization (29.4%). Existential struggle was rated as the most severe difficulty but also the one most linked to healing. Clinically relevant disruptive difficulties lasting at least a month and disrupting daily life were reported by 8% of participants and were associated with younger age, lower income, lack of family support, lower emotional stability, higher pre-existing anxiety or depression, and using psychedelics to treat mental health conditions. The findings highlight the need for education on risks and benefits, safety guidelines, and support services.
Research square
March 21, 2024
Agustin Ibanez, Rubén Herzog, Florentine Barbey et al.
1 citation
Ketamine increases redundancy in brain dynamics, particularly in the alpha frequency band, and this effect is more pronounced during resting state and associated with dissociative experiences. In a double-blinded cross-over design with 30 male adults, racemic ketamine was compared to saline infusion. Higher-order interactions (HOI) computed from EEG data showed that ketamine boosted redundancy, especially for predictable stimuli in an auditory oddball task. These findings suggest that ketamine-induced shifts toward dissociation correlate with increased redundancy in neural signal interactions, highlighting the potential of complexity measures with portable EEG for monitoring pharmacological changes in consciousness.
Research square
May 19, 2026
Sunjuri Sun, Claudia Hanson, Peter S Hendricks et al.
The evidence on child and maternal outcomes after exposure to classic psychedelics during pregnancy is very sparse and of very low certainty. A systematic review of 42 studies, mostly case reports from high-income countries, found that LSD was the most commonly reported substance. Outcomes reported included spontaneous abortions (2 studies), stillbirth (1 study), neonatal mortality (16 studies), preterm birth (17 studies), birthweight (15 studies), and congenital malformations (26 studies). No maternal deaths were reported. Because of small sample sizes and varied study designs, no meta-analysis was possible. The authors conclude that methodologically rigorous research on psychedelic use during pregnancy is urgently needed.
Research square
April 23, 2026
Leah M Salinsky, Joshua L Fox, Kyra C Diaz et al.
Withdrawal from repeated use of methamphetamine and fentanyl together reduces social preference in rats, confirming earlier findings that polysubstance withdrawal impairs social behavior. A single dose of psilocybin did not restore sociability within 24 hours. In the medial prefrontal cortex, psilocybin had opposite effects on CRHR1 gene expression depending on drug history: it decreased expression in control rats but increased it in polysubstance-treated rats. In the nucleus accumbens, polysubstance treatment reduced CRHR1 expression. OPRM1 expression was sex-dependent, with a marked reduction in the nucleus accumbens of females after polysubstance treatment and sex-dependent effects in the medial prefrontal cortex.
Research square
February 12, 2026
Jenessa Johnston, Greg Jones, Shiyong Peng et al.
Rapid-acting antidepressants such as ketamine and psychedelics share common downstream effects on gene expression in human cortical neurons, despite targeting different initial receptors. Using stem cells from people with treatment-resistant depression and healthy volunteers, neurons were treated with several compounds. After 6 and 24 hours, gene activity was highly correlated across all drugs, converging on pathways related to inflammation, mTORC1 signaling, and cell growth. One compound, HNK, increased gene activity in excitatory neurons and decreased it in inhibitory neurons. These gene changes matched protein changes in spinal fluid from people given ketamine, supporting the model's relevance for studying antidepressant mechanisms.
Research square
January 5, 2026
Noor Tasnim, Alana Hutchinson, Daphne Gyamfi et al.
Flow, a state of deep immersion linked to better performance and well-being, was studied in professional Memphis Jookin' dancers. Six dancers reported high levels of flow and greater interoceptive awareness than people trained in other mind-body practices. Two dancers wore EEG caps; one showed theta-band activity during dance across several brain regions, including the posterior cingulate and supplementary motor area. Resting-state functional connectivity increased after dance across theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands. The findings suggest street dance elicits robust flow states with distinct patterns of brain activity and connectivity, highlighting dance as an embodied practice relevant for health.
Research square
December 22, 2025
Negar Fani, Alexa Kondas, Vishwadeep Ahluwalia et al.
Sternal vibration paired with mindfulness meditation improved body awareness and increased neurite density in the corticospinal tract in trauma-exposed adults with elevated dissociative symptoms. In a study of 116 participants, those who received sternal vibration (n=60) showed significant improvements in body awareness and increased neurite density index in the left cerebral peduncle compared to those without vibration (n=56). Increased neurite density in the left and right corticospinal tracts was also observed. Decreased body dissociation correlated with increased neurite density only in the vibration group. The findings suggest sternal vibration as a low-cost neurostimulation method that may enhance interoception through neuroplastic changes.
Research square
July 4, 2025
Erika Blair, David Chester
People often rely on others to help manage their emotions, a process called interpersonal emotion regulation (IER), while mindfulness involves turning inward to regulate emotions. A longitudinal study of 469 undergraduates across three waves, each about 20 days apart, examined how these strategies relate to each other and to aggression. Contrary to predictions, individuals who were generally more mindful engaged in less IER over time. However, when participants were more mindful than their own average, they subsequently used more IER. Neither mindfulness nor IER consistently predicted aggressive behavior. The inverse relationship between these effective regulatory approaches raises questions about trade-offs between their costs and benefits.
Research square
June 4, 2025
Isaac N Treves, Ya-Yun Chen, Caitlyn L Wilson et al.
Mindfulness-based interventions produce small-to-medium improvements in self-reported interoceptive awareness, according to a meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials involving 2,191 participants (77.8% female, mean age 32.8 years). The overall effect size was g = 0.31, with mindfulness-based programs showing the largest effects (g = 0.41). Improvements in interoception were similar in size to improvements in self-reported mindfulness and were linked to reductions in psychological distress. No evidence of publication bias was found, and no other moderators—such as practice dosage or clinical sample—were significant. The findings suggest that mindfulness training leads to adaptive changes in how people subjectively experience bodily signals, which may contribute to better mental wellbeing.
Research square
July 15, 2024
Cynthia U Price, Kenneth C Pike, Anna Treadway et al.
Integrating mindfulness-based interoceptive training with medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) led to significant health improvements. In a study involving 303 participants across six clinics, those receiving Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) alongside MOUD reported enhanced interoceptive awareness, reduced PTSD symptoms, and lower pain severity compared to those on MOUD alone. Although overall substance use levels remained similar between groups, MABT showed promise in addressing mental health and physical symptom challenges, highlighting its potential as an adjunct intervention in treating opioid use disorder.