ReviewNature neuroscience2022
The neural basis of psychedelic action.
Review in Nature neuroscience, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 176 papers, 6 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
176 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 269 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of the pharmacokinetics of classical serotonergic psychedelic compounds in healthy adult subjects.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of LSD, DMT and psilocybin on cognitive and psychological functions: A systematic review of the literature.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluating the effectiveness of psilocybin in alleviating distress among cancer patients: A systematic review.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Pooled it
- Clinical Pharmacokinetics of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT): A Systematic Review and Post-hoc Analysis.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2025Pooled it
- What fMRI studies say about the nature of the psychedelic effect: a scoping review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Psilocin After Psilocybin Administration: A Systematic Review and Post-Hoc Analysis.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2025Pooled it
- Spatiotemporal mapping of brain organisation following the administration of 2C-B and psilocybin.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Negative affective bias in depression following treatment with psilocybin or escitalopram - a secondary analysis from a randomized trial.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of a 6-h N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Infusion in Healthy Volunteers: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Clinical and translational science · 2025Trial
- Modulation of long-term potentiation following microdoses of LSD captured by thalamo-cortical modelling in a randomised, controlled trial.BMC neuroscience · 2024Trial
- Psilocybin-induced default mode network hypoconnectivity is blunted in alcohol-dependent rats.Translational psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Network effects of Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy (SNT) in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder: a randomized, controlled trial.Translational psychiatry · 2023Trial
- LSD reconfigures cortical dynamics through faster brain rhythms and increased fractal dimension.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Serotonin biology as a basis for explaining psychedelic drug action.Current biology : CB · 2026Review
- Moving beyond 5-HTPsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Deconstruction of lysergic acid diethylamide.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Prior trauma shapes the effects of psilocybin on stress sensitization in mice.Neuroscience letters · 2026Article
- High ventilation breathwork as a non-pharmacological model for inducing psychedelic-like states: expert evaluations of therapeutic potential and risk.Npj mental health research · 2026Article
- Resetting the hippocampal buffer: a neurocognitive account of psychedelic therapy for anxiety-related psychopathology.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- The Emergence of Isotryptamine Analogs as Novel Serotonergic Agents with Psychotherapeutic Potential.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2026Review
116 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Psychedelics are serotonin 2A receptor agonists that can lead to profound changes in perception, cognition and mood. In this review, we focus on the basic neurobiology underlying the action of psychedelic drugs. We first discuss chemistry, highlighting the diversity of psychoactive molecules and the principles that govern their potency and pharmacokinetics. We describe the roles of serotonin receptors and their downstream molecular signaling pathways, emphasizing key elements for drug discovery. We consider the impact of psychedelics on neuronal spiking dynamics in several cortical and subcortical regions, along with transcriptional changes and sustained effects on structural plasticity. Finally, we summarize neuroimaging results that pinpoint effects on association cortices and thalamocortical functional connectivity, which inform current theories of psychedelic action. By synthesizing knowledge across the chemical, molecular, neuronal, and network levels, we hope to provide an integrative perspective on the neural mechanisms responsible for the acute and enduring effects of psychedelics on behavior.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.