ArticleBrain and behavior2026
Expectations and Motivations for Participation in Clinical Trials Utilizing Psychedelics for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Qualitative Study.
Article in Brain and behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Psychedelics in Mental Health: Opportunities and Challenges.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeExpectations strongly shape participant experiences in clinical trials, contributing to placebo effects that complicate interpretation of outcomes. While quantitative tools exist to measure expectations, their subjective and multidimensional nature, especially for individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), remains underexplored. This study aimed to explore the motivations and expectations of participants in psychedelic clinical trials.
methodSeventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals prior to screening for two TRD clinical trials involving 5-MeO-DMT or psilocybin at a German university hospital. Two matched follow-up interviews were also completed after trial participation. Data were analyzed thematically to identify overarching themes and subthemes.
findingsTwo main themes emerged: motivations and expectations, each with four subthemes. Motivations included hope, demoralization, prior psychedelic experience, and social motivation. Expectations involved anticipated symptom reduction, perceived mechanisms of change during the psychedelic experience, the role of setting, and retrospective expectations. Many participants viewed trial participation as a last resort due to chronic illness and previous treatment failures. In two cases, retrospective accounts suggested that initially cautious expectations were reinterpreted as stronger after participation.
conclusionExpectations in psychedelic trials are complex and may evolve over time. These findings highlight the need to systematically address expectancy in trial design, informed consent, and interpretation of clinical outcomes, particularly in treatment-resistant populations.
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Registered trials
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