Single 25mg Psilocybin Dose Cuts Depression in 53% After 6 Weeks

5 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · May 25

35 patients with recurring depression saw symptoms ease within eight days after a single 25mg psilocybin dose, and 53% no longer met depression criteria by six weeks versus one person on placebo.
Benefits on self-rated measures lasted just over three months before the gap with placebo narrowed, partly as depression symptoms improved over time and about a third in each group later started antidepressants.
Two participants had anxiety lasting several weeks, but the treatment was otherwise generally well tolerated alongside psychological support before, during and after dosing.
Almost all participants correctly guessed whether they received psilocybin or vitamin B3 placebo, highlighting a blinding problem that may inflate the apparent drug effect through expectation.
The JAMA Network Open study extends psilocybin evidence beyond treatment-resistant cases to more common depression, while underscoring that larger trials must separate biological effects from placebo and experience.

One dose of psilocybin offers months of depression relief. How does this therapy physically rewire the brain for lasting psychological change?

With benefits fading and serious risks identified, is psilocybin a true cure or just a temporary, high-risk psychological reset?