Schizophrenia Research
March 13, 2026
Michel Sabé, Paul Grof, Nathan B. Sackett et al.
1 citation
Serotonergic psychedelics, which are being explored for treatment-resistant depression, might also help with depressive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). Schizophrenia and depression share some underlying brain disturbances, including problems with dopamine, glutamate, and neuroplasticity, as well as abnormal brain network connectivity. Depressive symptoms in SSDs may combine features of both disorders, and psychedelics could potentially recalibrate maladaptive brain networks. Preclinical studies show psychedelics increase dendritic spines and BDNF and restore reward sensitivity. Clinical evidence is limited: uncontrolled psychedelic use is linked to increased psychosis, but controlled administration may be tolerated in stable individuals. Only one early-phase trial with MDMA in schizophrenia is ongoing; no randomized trials have tested psilocybin or LSD in SSDs. The authors conclude that psychedelics are biologically plausible but unproven for these symptoms.
Schizophrenia Research
August 25, 2022
Olga Santesteban-Echarri, Lu Liu, Madeline Miller et al.
Youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis report more lifetime, past-six-month, and baseline cannabis use than healthy controls, along with greater frequency, severity, and rates of cannabis use disorder. Among high-risk youth, those who use cannabis show higher baseline grandiosity and lower social anhedonia at 12 months. Cannabis use severity was unrelated to clinical status at two years and did not distinguish those who later developed psychosis from those who did not. The small number of cannabis users in the high-risk group limited statistical power.
Schizophrenia Research
May 1, 2015
T. Winton-Brown, V. Kumari, F. Windler et al.
Sensorimotor gating—measured by how a quieter sound modifies the eye-blink startle reflex to a loud noise—is altered in people with psychosis, their relatives, and those at high clinical risk. Cannabis use also alters gating, though less strongly, and is a known risk factor for psychosis in susceptible individuals. This study tested prepulse inhibition (PPI) and prepulse facilitation (PPF) in participants with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS) for psychosis and matched controls, some of whom had recently used cannabis (confirmed by urine drug screening). ARMS participants showed reduced PPF and PPI compared to controls; the PPI reduction was driven by an interaction with cannabis use, where recent use reduced PPI only in ARMS participants.