Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27354908›Full record

ReviewTherapeutic advances in psychopharmacology2016

Antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive effects of ayahuasca, psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD): a systematic review of clinical trials published in the last 25 years.

Rafael G Dos Santos, Flávia L Osório, José Alexandre S Crippa, Jordi Riba, Antônio W Zuardi, Jaime E C Hallak

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 107 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
107citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
33.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

107 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 301 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  11. Deconstruction of lysergic acid diethylamide.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
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  19. Serotonin 5-HTACS chemical neuroscience · 2025
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47 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Rafael G Dos SantosDepartamento de Neurociências e Ciências do Comportamento, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Hospital das Clínicas, Terceiro Andar, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
Flávia L OsórioDepartment of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), CNPq, Brazil.
José Alexandre S CrippaDepartment of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), CNPq, Brazil.
Jordi RibaCentre d'Investigació de Medicaments, Servei de Farmacologia Clínica, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.
Antônio W ZuardiDepartment of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), CNPq, Brazil.
Jaime E C HallakDepartment of Neuroscience and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM), CNPq, Brazil.
National Council for Scientific and Technological Development · BRUniversidade de São Paulo · BRClinics Hospital of Ribeirão Preto · BRUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To date, pharmacological treatments for mood and anxiety disorders and for drug dependence show limited efficacy, leaving a large number of patients suffering severe and persistent symptoms. Preliminary studies in animals and humans suggest that ayahuasca, psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) may have antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive properties. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of clinical trials published from 1990 until 2015, assessing these therapeutic properties. Electronic searches were performed using the PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases. Only clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals were included. Of these, 151 studies were identified, of which six met the established criteria. Reviewed studies suggest beneficial effects for treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and depression associated with life-threatening diseases, and tobacco and alcohol dependence. All drugs were well tolerated. In conclusion, ayahuasca, psilocybin and LSD may be useful pharmacological tools for the treatment of drug dependence, and anxiety and mood disorders, especially in treatment-resistant patients. These drugs may also be useful pharmacological tools to understand psychiatric disorders and to develop new therapeutic agents. However, all studies reviewed had small sample sizes, and half of them were open-label, proof-of-concept studies. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with more patients are needed to replicate these preliminary findings.

Indexed as

ayahuascadimethyltryptaminehallucinogensLSDpsilocybintryptamines

Identifiers

PMID27354908
PMCPMC4910400
OpenAlexW2325558246

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.