Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35411074›Full record

Trial reportNature medicine2022

Increased global integration in the brain after psilocybin therapy for depression.

Richard E Daws, Christopher Timmermann, Bruna Giribaldi, James D Sexton, Matthew B Wall, David Erritzoe, Leor Roseman, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · bronzeAbstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Nature medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 202 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
202citing papers in PubMed, 17 pooled it
75.6field-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.

NCT03429075 phase2completednot on this map

Psilocybin vs Escitalopram for Major Depressive Disorder: Comparative Mechanisms

TypeinterventionalSponsorImperial College LondonRan2019 to 2020Enrolled59ConditionsDepressive Disorder, MajorArmsPsilocybin + Placebo, Psilocybin + Escitalopram
NCT07169747 phase2recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin in Anorexia Nervosa in Young Adults

TypeinterventionalSponsorRegion SkaneRan2026 to 2027Enrolled40ConditionsAnorexia NervosaArmsPsilocybin
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

202 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 417 citations in OpenAlex.

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  6. Catalyst for change: Psilocybin's antidepressant mechanisms-A systematic review.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025
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  10. Autism, youth suicide, and psychedelics: A review of the 21st century evidence.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2024
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  16. Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
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142 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Richard E DawsThe Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory (C3NL), Imperial College London, London, UK. richard.daws@kcl.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6639-5768
Christopher TimmermannThe Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory (C3NL), Imperial College London, London, UK.
Bruna GiribaldiCentre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Academic Psychiatry, Imperial College London, London, UK.
James D SextonCentre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Academic Psychiatry, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3402-2748
Matthew B WallInvicro London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
David ErritzoeCentre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Academic Psychiatry, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Leor RosemanCentre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Academic Psychiatry, Imperial College London, London, UK.
David NuttCentre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Academic Psychiatry, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1286-1401
Robin Carhart-HarrisCentre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Academic Psychiatry, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Imperial College London · GBWellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging · GBHammersmith Hospital · GBUniversity of California, San Francisco · US

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/J00460X/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Psilocybin therapy shows antidepressant potential, but its therapeutic actions are not well understood. We assessed the subacute impact of psilocybin on brain function in two clinical trials of depression. The first was an open-label trial of orally administered psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg, 7 d apart) in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was recorded at baseline and 1 d after the 25-mg dose. Beck's depression inventory was the primary outcome measure ( MR/J00460X/1 ). The second trial was a double-blind phase II randomized controlled trial comparing psilocybin therapy with escitalopram. Patients with major depressive disorder received either 2 × 25 mg oral psilocybin, 3 weeks apart, plus 6 weeks of daily placebo ('psilocybin arm') or 2 × 1 mg oral psilocybin, 3 weeks apart, plus 6 weeks of daily escitalopram (10-20 mg) ('escitalopram arm'). fMRI was recorded at baseline and 3 weeks after the second psilocybin dose ( NCT03429075 ). In both trials, the antidepressant response to psilocybin was rapid, sustained and correlated with decreases in fMRI brain network modularity, implying that psilocybin's antidepressant action may depend on a global increase in brain network integration. Network cartography analyses indicated that 5-HT2A receptor-rich higher-order functional networks became more functionally interconnected and flexible after psilocybin treatment. The antidepressant response to escitalopram was milder and no changes in brain network organization were observed. Consistent efficacy-related brain changes, correlating with robust antidepressant effects across two studies, suggest an antidepressant mechanism for psilocybin therapy: global increases in brain network integration.

Indexed as

HallucinogensMajor Depressive DisorderAntidepressive AgentsBrainDepressionDouble-Blind MethodEscitalopramHumansPsilocybinAntidepressive AgentsEscitalopramHallucinogensPsilocybin

Identifiers

PMID35411074
OpenAlexW4223491164

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.