PPT
Psychedelic-Driven Pharmacological Therapy in Mental Illness
(Psychopharmatherapy)
RESEARCH TIMELINE
On this page we have attempted to summarize relevant research performed on the subject of psychedelic substances throughout the last two decades. Any research of interest is displayed here - and we have taken careful steps to avoid biased reporting. All of the studies can be found in the references section at the bottom of the page. Research performed before the scheduling of psychedelics often involved flawed methodologies, or was abandoned before completion due to the scheduling of these substances.
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Note that the use of terms like "clinically significant" refers to findings that have been determined, through rigorous statistical analysis, to be very likely not due to chance or other confounding factors (unless otherwise noted).
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If you would like to see studies organized by drug class or by the condition treated, see the interactive database under the "Research Timeline" tab or click here.
2000-PRESENT
2021
Microdosing of the classic psychedelics in participants who were not previously microdosing yielded results suggesting improvements in well-being, depression, and anxiety scores (Kaertner et al., 2021).
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A study on mice and rats found that LSD increased sociability and positive interaction with peers (De Gregorio et al., 2021).
2020
A literature review concluded that there is significant evidence for, or great promise in, the use of LSD for alcoholism (in improving quality of life), neurotic disorders like anxiety and depression, heroin use disorder, and anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases (Fuentes et al., 2020).
2019
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies published its Phase 3 clinical trial data, along with an FDA approval granting breakthrough status to the promising use of MDMA in the treatment of PTSD. (Mithoefer et al., 2019).
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Ketamine was shown to reduce symptoms of depression for up to 1 week following intravenous infusion, with the effects being extended to more than twice that long with subsequent injections (Bratsos et al., 2019).
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A placebo-controlled trial in the USA found that patients who received ketamine for Major Depressive Disorder experienced clinically significant symptom reduction for up to one week (Nugent et al., 2019).
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The use of 5-MeO-DMT for recreational purposes was correlated with improvements in anxiety and depression scores in approximately 80% of participants (Davis et al., 2019).
2018
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Ibogaine was found to help opioid addicts recover and maintain sobriety for longer than the standard methadone or buprenorphine tapering approaches (Mash et al., 2018).
2017
Randomized controlled trial data was used to conclude that ketamine has significant therapeutic potential via its ability to rapidly and persistently reduce symptoms of major depressive disorders that have not responded to conventional treatment (Grady et al., 2017).
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Ibogaine was found after a single treatment to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms and allow greater numbers of people to abstain from use over a 12 month period (Noller et al., 2017).
2016
A review found that across all types of psychedelics being studied, almost 4/5 participants experienced a clinically significant reduction in symptoms in all of the studied mental illnesses (Rucker et al., 2016).
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Ayahuasca (a preparation containing DMT and a compound designed to make it last longer in the body and brain) was proposed to have numerous beneficial effects to mental health based on its pharmacology, which was examined in detail (Frecska et al., 2016).
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A study and review of literature found that the use of DMT in the form of ayahuasca produced long-term or projected long-term positive effects on cognition and mental health with no notable negative side effects (Santos et al., 2016).
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LSD was found to reduce the reliving of traumatic experiences, also called mental time travel, in patients being treated for trauma-related mental illness (Speth et al., 2016).
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LSD therapy was found to produce the most clinically significant reduction of depressive symptoms compared to any available antidepressant medication in chronically depressed adults, with some experiencing a complete remission (i.e. complete elimination of symptoms) (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016).
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A study found that there is still much more research to be done as to whether or not Kappa Agonist Dissociative Psychedelics like Salvinorin A play a role in enhancing or combating depression in humans (Taylor et al., 2016).
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MDMA as a PTSD therapy was found to produce the lowest number of individuals discontinuing therapy and the highest number of successful outcomes, compared to alternative therapies (Amoroso et al., 2016).
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Two studies on depression and anxiety found a decrease in associated psychological symptoms for six or more months in up to 60-80% of patients following a single dose of psilocybin (Griffiths et al., 2016; Ross et al., 2016).
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2015
DMT (prepared as ayahuasca) was found to reduce symptoms within four hours in patients with depression who had not responded to conventional medications, with effects still present at the 3-week follow-up. Note that this study was not placebo controlled (Frood, 2015).
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A study involving chronically depressed patients suffering from life-threatening diseases demonstrated significant relief of all depressive symptoms in all patients for at least 12 months following LSD administration in a therapeutic setting (Gasser et al., 2015).
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Psilocybin was found to be more effective than traditional treatments alone when treating patients for alcoholism (Bogenshutz, 2015).
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A study on patients with life-threatening cancers showed a significant decrease in end-of-life related anxiety and depression for as long as six months after the administration of psilocybin (Advokat et al, 2019 referencing Griffiths, 2015).
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2C-B (a catecholamine psychedelic) was found to increase feelings of wellbeing and was proposed as a tool to aid violent individuals during the course of their psychotherapy (González et al., 2015).
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2014
A study on patients attempting to quit smoking revealed promising results when psilocybin was used as an adjunct to smoking-cessation therapy (Johnson et al., 2014).
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Ketamine was confirmed via retrospective review to have research potential in the management of treatment-resistant depression (Serafini et al., 2014).
2013
A study of over nearly 22'000 individuals found negligible negative impacts to mental health as a result of the use of classic psychedelics and found that lasting positive mental health outcomes were the norm (Krebs et al., 2013).
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MDMA-related PTSD therapy found to be no more effective than the gold-standard treatment at the time. However, non-PTSD related positive effects were documented (Oehen et al., 2013).
2012
The classic psychedelics were found to produce promising results in a study on its use in treating addictions, with the study concluding that further research would be necessary to confirm these findings (Bogenschutz, 2012).
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A meta-analysis found that even a single dose of LSD in conjunction with alcoholism therapy produced significantly better outcomes for patients regarding alcohol misuse than therapy alone (Krebs et al., 2012).
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A study involving MRIs on patients who had received doses of psilocybin found that their brains were much more capable of entering states of deep meditation, associated with positive mental health improvements (Carhart-Harris et al., 2012).
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In a study on alcoholism, GHB was found to be effective for alcohol abstinence in the areas of controlled drinking, relapses, heavy drinking and daily drinks for alcoholics - more so than placebo or the gold-standard treatment of naltrexone and disulfiram (Brambilla et al., 2012).
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2011
Clinical trial demonstrates clinically significant reduction in PTSD-related symptoms following controlled administration of MDMA (Mithoefer et al., 2011).
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A study performed on terminal cancer patients found a clinically significant reduction in anxiety and depression associated with their condition following administration of psilocybin (Grob et al., 2011).
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A review of existing literature found the risk of physiological harm due to psilocybin mushroom use to be negligible, with the risk of panic attacks (which can be mitigated by proper clinical conditions) being the only concern (van Amsterdam et al., 2011).
2010
A study involving alcoholism and withdrawal treatments found that GHB reduced withdrawal symptoms in alcoholics and was more effective than disulfiram in allowing the maintenance of abstinence from alcohol, with the only expressed concern being the development of addiction to GHB, which was not seen in this study to any degree (Leone, 2010).
2009
A retrospective review of administration of ketamine for procedural sedation found that negative effects upon regaining consciousness were rare and that experiences were "pleasant" and "not distressing" (Treston et al., 2009).
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GHB found to be an effective agent in the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome and to not produce a withdrawal syndrome of its own when used as an adjunct to alcohol withdrawal therapies (Caputo et al., 2009).
2006
Psilocybin therapy found to produce profound reduction in OCD-related symptoms (23-100%) in all participants with no adverse effects (other than temporary increases in blood pressure without consequence in one patient) (Moreno et al., 2006)
PRE-2000
1993
GHB was found to reduce symptoms of opioid withdrawal in a safe and well-tolerated manner, and improve sustained abstinence in an Italian study on 27 patients (Gallimberti et al., 1993).