SynthesisPsychological medicine2020
Post-acute psychological effects of classical serotonergic psychedelics: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Psychological medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Psychedelic Microdosing on Psychological Outcomes in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.CNS drugs · 2026Pooled it
- Magnitude of response in treatment and control groups within psychedelic trials for psychiatric disorders: A meta-analysis.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Pooled it
- Risk of bias in randomized clinical trials on psychedelic medicine: A systematic review.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Acute and post-acute neurobehavioral responses to lysergic acid diethylamide in healthy subjects: a randomized controlled study.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Meditating on psychedelics. A randomized placebo-controlled study of DMT and harmine in a mindfulness retreat.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Psilocybin-induced changes in neural reactivity to alcohol and emotional cues in patients with alcohol use disorder: an fMRI pilot study.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Psychedelics do not always enhance cognitive flexibility: The potential role of time-varying effects on reward learning processes.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- Ten practical suggestions for setting up a psychedelic study.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the replicability of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of the effects of health interventions.Research synthesis methods · 2026Article
- Mindset over molecule: comparing self-transcendent and mystical experiences across recreational psilocybin, MDMA, and cannabis use.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Classifying Psychedelic-Related Complications.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- Psychedelic-Related Psychosis: From Model Psychosis to Psychotherapy.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- Ketamine-Occasioned Mystical Experience in Veterans with Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Retrospective Exploratory Analysis.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- The Afterglow Inventory (AGI): Validation of a new instrument for measuring subacute effects of classic serotonergic psychedelics.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- The Psychedelic Renaissance: A Catholic Perspective.The Linacre quarterly · 2025Article
- Use of psychedelic treatments in psychiatric clinical practice: an EPA policy paper.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Article
- Knowledge, perceptions, and use of psychedelics for mental health among autistic adults: An online survey.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Can psychedelic use benefit meditation practice? Examining individual, psychedelic, and meditation-related factors.PloS one · 2025Article
- Can Psychedelic Use Benefit Meditation Practice? Examining Individual, Psychedelic, and Meditation-Related Factors.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Alternative beliefs in psychedelic drug users.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundScientific interest in the therapeutic effects of classical psychedelics has increased in the past two decades. The psychological effects of these substances outside the period of acute intoxication have not been fully characterized. This study aimed to: (1) quantify the effects of psilocybin, ayahuasca, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on psychological outcomes in the post-acute period; (2) test moderators of these effects; and (3) evaluate adverse effects and risk of bias.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies (single-group pre-post or randomized controlled trials) that involved administration of psilocybin, ayahuasca, or LSD to clinical or non-clinical samples and assessed psychological outcomes ⩾24 h post-administration. Effects were summarized by study design, timepoint, and outcome domain.
resultsA total of 34 studies (24 unique samples, n = 549, mean longest follow-up = 55.34 weeks) were included. Classical psychedelics showed significant within-group pre-post and between-group placebo-controlled effects on a range of outcomes including targeted symptoms within psychiatric samples, negative and positive affect-related measures, social outcomes, and existential/spiritual outcomes, with large between-group effect in these domains (Hedges' gs = 0.84 to 1.08). Moderator tests suggest some effects may be larger in clinical samples. Evidence of effects on big five personality traits and mindfulness was weak. There was no evidence of post-acute adverse effects.
conclusionsHigh risk of bias in several domains, heterogeneity across studies, and indications of publication bias for some models highlight the need for careful, large-scale, placebo-controlled randomized trials.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.