Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29030624›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2017

Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms.

Robin L Carhart-Harris, Leor Roseman, Mark Bolstridge, Lysia Demetriou, J Nienke Pannekoek, Matthew B Wall, Mark Tanner, Mendel Kaelen, John McGonigle, Kevin Murphy and 3 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07306364 (Psilocybin in Chronic Low Back Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 232 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
232citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
48.5field-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.

NCT07306364 phase2not yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Psilocybin in Chronic Low Back Pain: An Integrative Study of Lab-Based Mechanisms and Real-World Physical Therapy Outcomes

TypeinterventionalSponsorYale UniversityRan2026 to 2029Enrolled45ConditionsChronic Low Back Pain (CLBP), Physical Therapy, PsilocybinArmsPsilocybin 10 mg, Psilocybin 25 mg, Niacin 100 mg
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

232 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 580 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. Catalyst for change: Psilocybin's antidepressant mechanisms-A systematic review.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025
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  10. Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
    Pooled it
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  17. Low doses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) increase reward-related brain activity.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
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  20. Preliminary Report on the Effects of a Low Dose of LSD on Resting-State Amygdala Functional Connectivity.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2020
    Trial

172 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

13 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Robin L Carhart-HarrisPsychedelic Research Group, Psychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK. r.carhart-harris@imperial.ac.uk.
Leor RosemanPsychedelic Research Group, Psychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK.
Mark BolstridgePsychedelic Research Group, Psychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK.
Lysia DemetriouImanova Centre for Imaging Sciences, Burlington Danes Building, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
J Nienke PannekoekPsychedelic Research Group, Psychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK.
Matthew B WallPsychedelic Research Group, Psychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK.
Mark TannerImanova Centre for Imaging Sciences, Burlington Danes Building, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
Mendel KaelenPsychedelic Research Group, Psychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK.
John McGonigleImanova Centre for Imaging Sciences, Burlington Danes Building, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
Kevin MurphyCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Physics and Astronomy, CF24 4HQ, Cardiff, UK.
Robert LeechComputational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (C3NL), Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK.
H Valerie CurranClinical Psychopharmacology Unit, University College London, WC1E 6BT, London, United Kingdom.
David J NuttPsychedelic Research Group, Psychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, W12 0NN, London, UK.
Imperial College London · GBHammersmith Hospital · GBCardiff University · GBUniversity College London · GBUniversity of Cape Town · ZA

Funding

Medical Research CouncilWellcome Trust 200804/Z/16/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Psilocybin with psychological support is showing promise as a treatment model in psychiatry but its therapeutic mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, cerebral blood flow (CBF) and blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after treatment with psilocybin (serotonin agonist) for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Quality pre and post treatment fMRI data were collected from 16 of 19 patients. Decreased depressive symptoms were observed in all 19 patients at 1-week post-treatment and 47% met criteria for response at 5 weeks. Whole-brain analyses revealed post-treatment decreases in CBF in the temporal cortex, including the amygdala. Decreased amygdala CBF correlated with reduced depressive symptoms. Focusing on a priori selected circuitry for RSFC analyses, increased RSFC was observed within the default-mode network (DMN) post-treatment. Increased ventromedial prefrontal cortex-bilateral inferior lateral parietal cortex RSFC was predictive of treatment response at 5-weeks, as was decreased parahippocampal-prefrontal cortex RSFC. These data fill an important knowledge gap regarding the post-treatment brain effects of psilocybin, and are the first in depressed patients. The post-treatment brain changes are different to previously observed acute effects of psilocybin and other 'psychedelics' yet were related to clinical outcomes. A 'reset' therapeutic mechanism is proposed.

Indexed as

AdultBrainDepressionFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedPsilocybinPsilocybin

Identifiers

PMID29030624
PMCPMC5640601
OpenAlexW2762746674

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.