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Review
. 2025 Aug 4:4:1605051.
doi: 10.3389/frdem.2025.1605051. eCollection 2025.

Psychedelics meet human brain organoids: insights into proteomics and potential for Alzheimer's disease treatment

Xenia Androni  1 , Rachel J Boyd  1   2   3 , Paul B Rosenberg  3   4 , Vasiliki Mahairaki  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Psychedelics meet human brain organoids: insights into proteomics and potential for Alzheimer's disease treatment

Xenia Androni et al. Front Dement. .

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a long preclinical phase lasting more than a decade before the onset of its clinical phase of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Recent advances in psychedelic research underscore numerous neuroplastogenic and anti-inflammatory alterations induced by these compounds, making them promising therapeutic candidates for AD. In this mini review, we will briefly summarize the existing literature using human cerebral organoids to study the molecular and metabolic changes caused by various psychedelic compounds, focusing on their potential therapeutic applications for AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; brain organoids; neuroplasticity; psychedelics; stem cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

Rosenberg received research grants from the National Institutes of Aging, Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium, Richman Family Precision Medicine Center of Excellence on Alzheimer’s Disease, Eisai, Functional Neuromodulation, and Lilly; honoraria from Lilly, GLG, Leerink, Medalink, Novo Nordisk, Noble Insights, TwoLabs, Otsuka, MedaCorp, ExpertConnect, HMP Global, Worldwide Clinical Trials, Medscape, and Neurology Week. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An overview of the state of the current literature evaluating the effects of psychedelic compounds in human cell-derived 3D brain organoids. Presently, only proteomics studies evaluating the effects of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) have been applied to cerebral organoid models.
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