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Impact of psilocybin on cognitive function: A systematic review.

Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
December 1, 2024
Shakila Meshkat et al. (14 authors)
Systematic ReviewJournal ArticleReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate psilocybin's effects on cognitive function and its potential benefits and risks in psychiatric disorders.

Results Summary

Psilocybin showed mixed effects on cognitive function, with no significant changes in global cognition or processing speed in healthy individuals but improvements in sustained attention, working memory, and executive function in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) patients. Emotional processing and empathy were positively modified, while cognitive flexibility and creative cognition initially declined but potentially improved over time.

Population

Healthy volunteers (85% of studies) and patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Effective Dosage

Macrodoses ranging from 45 μg/kg to 30 mg/70 kg.

Duration

Not specified.

Interactions

None mentioned.

Extracted Claims (17)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
Psilocybin
no change
global cognitive function
healthy individuals
-
remained mostly unchanged
#1
Psilocybin
no change
processing speed
healthy individuals
-
remained mostly unchanged
#2
Psilocybin
increase
sustained attention
patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)
-
improvements
#3
Psilocybin
increase
working memory
patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)
-
improvements
#4
Psilocybin
increase
executive function
patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)
-
improvements
#5
Psilocybin
increase
emotional processing
TRD patients
-
positively modified
#6
Psilocybin
increase
emotional empathy
-
-
enhance
#7
Psilocybin
no change
cognitive empathy
-
-
without significantly altering
#8
Psilocybin
no change
social cognition
-
-
without significantly altering
#9
Psilocybin
decrease
cognitive flexibility
-
-
initially decline
#10
Psilocybin
decrease
creative cognition
-
-
initially decline
#11
Psilocybin
increase
cognitive flexibility
-
-
potentially improve over time
#12
Psilocybin
increase
creative cognition
-
-
potentially improve over time
#13
Psilocybin
increase
specific memory types such as semantic associations
-
-
showed promise in improving
#14
Psilocybin
increase
associative learning
-
-
showed promise in improving
#15
Psilocybin
no change
episodic memory
-
-
less pronounced
#16
Psilocybin
no change
verbal memory
-
-
less pronounced
#17
Abstract

Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic with demonstrated preliminary clinical efficacy in a range of psychiatric disorders. Evaluating the impact of psilocybin on cognitive function is essential to unravel its potential benefits and risks. In this systematic review, we assessed psilocybin's effect on cognitive function through a comprehensive search of electronic databases from inception to January 2024, identifying 20 articles involving 2,959 participants. While 85% of studies were conducted in healthy volunteers, most of these studies (85%) used macrodoses, ranging from 45 μg/kg to 30 mg/70 kg. Various cognitive aspects were evaluated and yielded mixed results. Global cognitive function, and processing speed remained mostly unchanged in healthy individuals; However, a limited number of studies reported improvements in certain areas such as sustained attention, working memory, and executive function especially in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Emotional processing was positively modified, particularly in TRD patients. Psilocybin was observed to enhance emotional empathy without significantly altering cognitive empathy and social cognition. Cognitive flexibility and creative cognition were noted to initially decline but could potentially improve over time. Additionally, with respect to learning and memory skills, psilocybin showed promise in improving specific memory types such as semantic associations and associative learning, while its effects on episodic and verbal memory have been less pronounced compared to other cognitive enhancers. The observed mixed findings underscore the complexity of psilocybin's cognitive influence. Further research is essential to provide a clearer understanding of psilocybin's impact on cognitive domains and to guide the development of safe and effective interventions.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansPsilocybinHallucinogensCognitionDepressive Disorder, Treatment-ResistantExecutive FunctionCognitive Dysfunction
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations5
Citations/Year5.0
Relative Citation Ratio2.02
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.25
Weight Score2.98
Normalized Score0.67
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Impact of psilocybin on cognitive function: A systematic rev... | Panacea Index