MindShift

The Big Story

Doped or enlightened: the next frontier in sports. Are ketamine and psilocybin poised to become the next big thing in athletic performance, or the next doping scandal? A recent paper in Performance Enhancement & Health explores how these might aid athlete recovery, boost resilience, and sharpen cognitive flexibility. But safety concerns still loom large. There is also a chance these substances could end up on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list, authors say.

The science is still catching up. Researchers found only a handful of studies examining the interplay between psychedelics and exercise. For example, a 2019 study hinted that aerobic exercise might amplify ketamine’s effects. Some researchers went so far as to suggest that ketamine be added to the standard medical kit at the Olympic Games.

Yet, despite the sparse evidence, psychedelics are already making waves in the sports world. A 2024 study in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, though based on a modest sample of 175 athletes, revealed that 35.8% had used psychedelics in the past year, with psilocybin being the most consumed. 61% of athletes said they’d consider using psychedelics for recovery, and 71% of training staff supported the idea.

Science & Innovation

Magic microbes to mass produce psilocybin. Bacteria are dependable, high-efficiency, low-cost “live factories” that produce a whole range of chemical compounds for the industry in bioreactors. To do so, scientists insert genes into them that produce specific molecules. But applying this approach to psilocybin has proven difficult. The reason: a key protein in mushrooms, called PsiH, which performs poorly in bacteria. Scientists have solved that issue by replacing the fungal PsiH with a fully bacterial version of the protein in the bacterium E. coli. The engineered strains produce over twenty times more psilocybin than previous systems.
→ Metabolic Engineering

Filling in the blanks. Visual hallucinations are not only a hallmark of psychedelics but also of conditions like Parkinson’s disease and dementia. A recent review in Schizophrenia Bulletin suggests that these neurodegenerative disorders and a psilocybin trip share common mechanisms. In both cases, activity at the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor weakens visual signals, prompting higher brain regions to “fill in the gaps.” This shift from external input to internally generated imagery leads to a similar progression of distortions, from simple visual shifts to vivid, complex scenes.
→ Psychology Today

Psychedelic Express. During a phase 1 trial of BPL-003, 32 healthy, psychedelic-naïve participants reported the details of their trip. The drug acts within minutes and its effects last about an hour. Participants reported intense emotional sensations and bodily sensations such as “letting go” and ego dissolution but relatively few visual effects, they said. BPL-003 is an intranasal psychedelic developed by AtaiBeckley, now in phase 2b for treatment-resistant depression, as mentioned in our business section.
→ Scientific Reports

Do magic mushrooms boost creativity? Scientists tested this hypothesis on 171 participants. They show that a regular intake of very low, sub-hallucinogenic doses led to more original ideas, especially when the doses were adjusted for body weight. No benefits were found for other creativity measures. The researchers also found strong placebo effects, particularly among people with prior psychedelic experience.
→ Neuropharmacology

Patients suffering from eating disorders say psychedelics help. Over 7000 individuals self-reporting anorexia, bulimia, and related conditions were asked about their experience with prescribed and nonprescribed drugs. Cannabis and psychedelics were the highest-rated for improving symptoms, while alcohol, nicotine, and tobacco were poorly rated, researchers show in JAMA Network Open. Prescribed antidepressants were generally not well rated for treating eating disorder symptoms, but were positively rated for effects on general mental health.
→ The University of Sydney

Society & Policy

A risky bet: teenagers and psychedelics. While teenagers have long used psychedelics, their trips do not always end well. Some land in the emergency room with acute psychological distress, others suffer persistent hallucinations or cognitive impairments, and a few even develop symptoms resembling schizophrenia. Yet, for some, these substances seem to foster resilience, helping them better navigate the stressors of daily life at a formative age—potentially altering their trajectories for years to come. Are the risks justified, and under what conditions? What do we know about the unique vulnerabilities of adolescents in this context? In The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, an international team of scientists tackles these questions.
→ Nautilus

Experts debate US federal legalization. Risks, ethical concerns, stringent FDA approval standards, and chronic underfunding for clinical trials remain the primary obstacles to nationwide legalization, according to a panel convened at a Harvard Law School event. “We really need government funding, or other large, very large sources of funding, to do these pivotal, large trials that will allow us to really understand this issue,” said a professor of psychedelic research at Johns Hopkins University, while a medical ethicist insisted on the importance of providing stronger evidence of benefits to the public.
→ The Harvard Crimson

A problematic patchwork of US policies. While a few states have legalized psychedelics for therapeutic use, nearly 30 American cities have decriminalized possession, without addressing clinical applications. In JAMA Health Forum, bioethicists highlight the problems stemming from these potentially conflicting laws, including misleading advertising, unsafe self-directed use, gaps in insurance coverage, and inconsistencies in informed consent. To standardize regulations at the federal level, they call on Congress to establish best practices through a public-private partnership involving scientists, economists, policymakers, patients, and Indigenous communities.
→ JAMA Health Forum 

Did kykeon contain psychedelics? We may never know for certain, but the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of ancient Greece’s most secretive religious rites, might well have incorporated psychedelics into their initiation ceremonies. For decades, scholars have speculated that kykeon, the sacred drink consumed by initiates, contained hallucinogenic compounds derived from ergot fungi, the same source used to synthesize LSD. Now, modern archaeologists have successfully used contemporary methods to convert toxic alkaloids from ergot into psychoactive substances, lending new credence to a long-standing theory.
→ Research Square (preprint)

The latest updates on the regulation front. The past three weeks have seen most policy shifts happening in two U.S. States.

• Colorado – While the governor wants to legalize ibogaine, some argue there is a conflict over where the plant is sourced. → WYPR

• Maryland – the Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances, created by the General Assembly in 2024, recommended the legalization of psilocybin. → Maryland Matters

Business

AtaiBeckley reports successful phase 2 studies after its merger. A week after Atai Life Sciences finalized its acquisition of Beckley Psytech Limited, the company announced positive results from its therapy for treatment-resistant depression. In a phase 2b trial, participants demonstrated a clinically meaningful antidepressant effect lasting up to eight weeks after just two doses of the BPL-003 nasal spray. The study included 126 patients who completed the core protocol. In its press release, AtaiBeckley indicated that detailed guidance for its Phase 3 program would be issued in the first quarter of 2026.
→ Proactive

Compass Pathways plans an early launch of its psilocybin treatment. Following a “positive” September meeting with the FDA, it may launch its COMP360 therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) at least nine months earlier than previously planned. The FDA approved an accelerated review process known as a rolling submission. Moreover, Compass announced it will release data from its Phase 3 program ahead of schedule.
→ Psychedelic Alpha

In brief

Stream it. In Waves and War, a new Netflix documentary, tells the story of a group of U.S. Navy SEALS who take Ibogaine in Mexico. → Netflix

Colorado sober. People in the Centennial State decided to add a little more to the cannabis of California sober. → Baltimore Sun

Instatrip. A digital artist tries to recreate what people see when using psychedelics. → Instagram

Safety first. The use of psychedelics is soaring, so how do we mitigate consumers' mental distress and potential harm caused to themselves and others? → Mirage News

The shroom and the needle. A study explores the potential benefits of acupuncture combined with psychedelic therapy. → European Journal of Integrative Medicine

Tripping Buddha. In the West, Buddhism and psychedelics merged after they appeared in a similar cultural moment, but debates remain around the ethics of psychedelics in religious practice. → Mysticism and the Margins

That’s real (he says). A Dutch philosopher argues that mystical experiences under psychedelics are as authentic as any other. → ProQuest

Fighting for the dying. Kathryn Tucker, an American end-of-life rights attorney, wants to bring psychedelics to the dying. → Lucid

A last trip. Scientists outline the current state of psychedelic-assisted therapy in palliative care. → Palliative Medicine

A whole mushroom study. New research is underway to use whole mushrooms to treat PTSD, not just psilocybin, and assess the impact of a larger range of active compounds. → Axios

Tripping Toward Sobriety. A review article sums up the state of the art in psychedelic treatments for alcohol use disorder. → Brain sciences

LSD microdosing in major depressive disorder. A preliminary study with only 19 participants shows major and durable improvements. → Neuropharmacology

If you have a little more time

Psychedelics around the globe. Found in vines, mushrooms, cacti, and even toads, hallucinogenic substances have evolved over millions of years, mainly as chemical defenses or lures for pollinators. An evolutionary biologist offers a tour of our psychedelic planet. He reveals, for instance, how DMT, the active compound in ayahuasca, emerged from the same molecular foundation as serotonin and melatonin. Trace amounts of DMT also occur naturally in mammals, including humans. These compounds have arisen in vastly different species across a staggering range of environments, from jungles and Arctic forests to deserts.
→ The Conversation

The vibrant final days of Aldous Huxley. Former MIT and Berkeley biophysicist Douglas Youvan reflects on the British writer’s death with psychedelics. “On November 22, 1963, while the world was transfixed by the death of John F. Kennedy, Aldous Huxley enacted his own quiet experiment in dying. Ravaged by throat cancer and unable to speak, he requested two 100 µg injections of LSD, administered by his wife Laura as she read from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Huxley’s intention was not escape but alignment—to dissolve the fear of death by consciously merging the individual mind with what he called the ‘Mind at Large.’” Youvan invites us to explore what he considers “the first modern psychedelic hospice session,” meticulously prepared through dialogue, in the presence of a loving guide, and within “an environment sanctified by intention rather than technology.”
→ ResearchGate