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Review
. 2025 May;85(5):609-626.
doi: 10.1007/s40265-025-02172-2. Epub 2025 Mar 24.

Classic Psychedelics for the Treatment of Depression: Potential Benefits and Challenges

Sharmin Ghaznavi  1   2 , Sarah G Richter  3
Affiliations
Review

Classic Psychedelics for the Treatment of Depression: Potential Benefits and Challenges

Sharmin Ghaznavi et al. Drugs. 2025 May.

Abstract

There has been a recent resurgence in research on psychedelics as therapeutic agents for psychiatric conditions. This leading article outlines the studies to date of classic psychedelic treatments for treatment-resistant depression and major depression, including psilocybin, ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and O-methyl-bufotenine (5-Me-O DMT). We discuss the potential of expanding treatment options for depression based on the data available, as well as the difficulties and limitations of research on psychedelics that make assessing that potential more challenging.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Funding: SG acknowledges support from the Arielle Soussan Memorial Fund for Psychedelic Research and the Goldsmith and Malievskaia Family Fund for Clinical Neuroscience Research. Conflict of interest: SG reports ownership of stock in atai Life Sciences. SR has no reported conflict of interest. Availability of data and material: Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study. Ethics approval: Not applicable. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Code availability: Not applicable. Author contributions: SG and SR conceptualized, reviewed the literature, wrote, and edited the manuscript. Both authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for the work.

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