Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42745840›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2026

On the meaning of "plasticity" in neuroscience and mental health research and its relation to the action of psychedelic therapy.

R L Carhart-Harris, R J Zeifman, L Pasquini, B Nandi, C Rohani-Shukla, S Suseelan, P Mediano, F Rosas, C Timmermann, H Kettner and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. The entropic brain today.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026
    Review
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

11 authors.

R L Carhart-HarrisCarhart-Harris Lab, Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
R J ZeifmanCentre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
L PasquiniDepartment of Neurology, Neuroscape, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
B NandiDepartment of Neurology, Carhart-Harris Lab, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
C Rohani-ShuklaCentre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
S SuseelanDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
P MedianoDepartment of Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
F RosasCentre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
C TimmermannCentre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
H KettnerDepartment of Neurology, Carhart-Harris Lab, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
P A McConnellDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Carhart-Harris Lab, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Funding

Substance Use Disorders Treatment/Services Research Training ProgramT32DA007250 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Derek D Satre, Janice Y Tsoh · 1991 to 2026
$7.4M
NIDA NIH HHS T32 DA007250
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

First-line dictionary definitions of "plasticity" describe it as the ability (of a thing) to be shaped or molded; we call this "plasticity proper" (PP). In neuroscience, however, "neural plasticity" or "neuroplasticity" is defined as an induced change in brain function or structure. These two plasticities are not the same. Several popular biomarkers of neuroplasticity index part of an evoked process, often linked to learning. Paradoxically, these processes often bias phenotypic canalization, the opposite of phenotypic plasticity. Recognizing this paradox puts into question the custom of using "plasticity" as a shorthand for all neuroplastic phenomena. This custom risks an overgeneralization fallacy and the conflation of assays of evoked brain changes with plasticity proper. We also question extrapolating from any biomarker of neuroplasticity to improved mental health, whether it be aligned with plasticity proper or not. The relationship between the two is, logically,

Indexed as

allostatic recalibrationcritical-period reopeningentropy of spontaneous brain activityHebbian plasticityLempel-Ziv complexitymaladaptive plasticitypsilocybinpsychological flexibility

Identifiers

PMID42745840
PMCPMC13574699

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.