Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS FEATURE

How ecstasy and psilocybin are shaking up psychiatry

Regulators will soon grapple with how to safely administer powerful psychedelics for treating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  1. Paul Tullis

    1. Paul Tullis is a journalist based in Amsterdam.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Cartoon showing a patient on couch with a therapist taking notes and a vivid coloured background.

Illustration by Gizem Vural

On a sunny day in London in 2015, Kirk Rutter rode the Tube to Hammersmith Hospital in hopes of finally putting an end to his depression.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 589, 506-509 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00187-9

References

  1. Davis, A. K. et al. JAMA Psychiatry http://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3285 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Agin-Liebes, G. I. et al. J. Psychopharmacol. 34, 155–166 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Carhart-Harris, R. L. et al. Psychopharmacology 235, 399–408 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Vollenweider, F. X. & Preller, K. H. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 21, 611–624 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Vollenweider, F. X. et al. Neuropsychopharmacology 16, 357–372 (1997).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhang, G. et al. Neuropharmacology 64, 403–413 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Hutten, N. R. P. W. et al. ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00099 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lebedev, A. V. et al. Hum. Brain Mapp. 37, 3203–3213 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • Postdoc in Neurobiology – Testa Group

    Human Technopole (HT) is an interdisciplinary research institute in Milan (Italy) created and supported by the Italian government to develop innova...

    Milan (IT)

    Human Technopole

  • Postdoctor in tumor immunity

    Postdoctor in tumor immunity Reference number PAR 2024/1129 The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 00...

    Gothenburg (Stad), Västra Götaland (SE)

    University of Gothenburg

  • Faculty Positions in Westlake University

    Founded in 2018, Westlake University is a new type of non-profit research-oriented university in Hangzhou, China, supported by public a...

    Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

    Westlake University

  • W3 Professorship in "Buiatrics" (m/f/d)

    Job advertisement The University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) is inviting applications for a W3 Professorship in "Buiatrics" (m/f/d), whi...

    30559, Hannover (DE)

    Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover

  • Scientist / Postdoc (m/f/d): Proteomics

    Developing methods for low sample inputs for proteomics in high resolution mass spectrometry, with applications in neuromuscular diseases

    Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE)

    Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V.

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links