Reduced Brain Responsiveness to Emotional Stimuli With Escitalopram But Not Psilocybin Therapy for Depression
Despite large improvements in depressive symptoms in the psilocybin group, psilocybin therapy had only a minor effect on brain responsiveness to emotional stimuli. These results are consistent with prior findings that the antidepressant action of SSRIs is often accompanied by a reduction in emotional responsiveness, but this effect may not occur in psychedelic therapy.
Authors
- Natalie Ertl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9010-1870)
- Leor Roseman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9990-6029)
- Robin Lester Carhart-Harris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6062-7150)
- David Erritzøe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7022-6211)
- Lysia Demetriou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5249-0900)
- Bruna Giribaldi
- Matthew B. Wall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0493-6274)
- David Nutt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6423-9411)
Institutions
- Imperial College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2025-05-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20230751
- Citations
- 14
- Primary Topic
- Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 32.30