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Cited by 177Psychedelics and Drug StudiesSchizophrenia research and treatmentTreatment of Major Depression

Therapeutic Use of LSD in Psychiatry: A Systematic Review of Randomized-Controlled Clinical Trials

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Fuentes, Juan José, Fonseca, Francina, Elices, Matilde, Farré, Magí, Torrens, Marta·2020·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00943PMC PMC6985449
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Abstract

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was studied from the 1950s to the 1970s to evaluate behavioral and personality changes, as well as remission of psychiatric symptoms in various disorders. LSD was used in the treatment of anxiety, depression, psychosomatic diseases and addiction. However, most of the studies were not performed under contemporary standards, and it has taken several decades for a resurgence of interest in LSD research and its therapeutic potential for psychiatry. The aim of this review is to identify controlled and randomized clinical trials that assess the potential use of LSD in psychiatry. PRISMA guidelines for systematic review were followed. A literature search of PubMed and Psychedelic bibliography from Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) databases was performed as well as a manual search of references from evaluated studies. Only randomized-controlled clinical trials were included. Study quality was systematically calculated by using the Cochrane Collaboration Tool for assessing risk of bias. A final selection of 11 articles was made after considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. LSD was administered to 567 patients in a dose ranging from 20 to 800 mcg. Despite the design heterogeneity of clinical trials, positive results were observed, thus revealing the therapeutic potential of LSD to reduce psychiatric symptomatology, mainly in alcoholism. The vast majority of authors describe significant and positive short-term changes in patients, despite the fact that in some studies an important homogenization was observed between the LSD treatment group and control group at long-term follow-up. Multiple variables regarding LSD treatment therapeutic approach and quality of experience were revealed and related to therapeutic outcomes. LSD is revealed as a potential therapeutic agent in psychiatry; the evidence to date is strongest for the use of LSD in the treatment of alcoholism. Despite the difficulty of designing proper double blind clinical trials with this substance, new studies that conform to modern standards are necessary in order to strengthen our knowledge on its use and open new doors in the future.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00943

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116 of 116 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Psychotherapy in conjunction with LSD is effective for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders.

    “past research has shown effectiveness of psychotherapy in conjunction with LSD for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders (Fuentes et al., 2020).”

    From Virtual reality and psychedelics for the treatment of psychiatric disease: A systematic literature review (2020) · cites this paper as Fuentes et al., 2020

    The Results (Therapeutic Approach and Setting; Efficacy, page not provided) describe psychotherapy alongside LSD and report reduced anxiety at two months in one study of patients with life-threatening diseases. The review calls findings for anxiety promising, but it does not establish effectiveness for anxiety-related disorders broadly; the anxiety reduction was not statistically significant at 12 months. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • LSD for heroin use disorder shows significant differences in total abstinence rates.

    “Studies with LSD for heroin use disorder showed significant differences in total abstinence rates”

    From Virtual reality and psychedelics for the treatment of psychiatric disease: A systematic literature review (2020) · cites this paper as Fuentes et al., 2020

    The Results > Efficacy section reports a significant difference in total abstinence rates favoring LSD at 12 months for heroin use disorder. However, it says only one study met the review’s inclusion criteria, whereas the citing sentence refers to studies in the plural. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • LSD improves the quality of life of alcoholic subjects when used for alcohol abuse disorder, although data on alcohol abstinence is unclear.

    “other studies have shown effectiveness improving the quality of life of alcoholic subjects when using LSD for alcohol abuse disorder, although data on alcohol abstinence was unclear (Fuentes et al., 2020).”

    From Virtual reality and psychedelics for the treatment of psychiatric disease: A systematic literature review (2020) · cites this paper as Fuentes et al., 2020

  • Mindfulness-dependent changes in insula-thalamus connectivity were reported by Farb and colleagues, who suggested that mindfulness training facilitates the transition from narrative self-focus to present moment awareness.

    “Mindfulness-dependent changes in insula–thalamus connectivity were also reported by Farb and colleagues,45 who suggested that mindfulness training facilitates the transition from narrative self-focus, governed by the DMN, to present moment awareness, governed by the insula, thalamus and sensorimotor cortices.”

    From Distinct and shared therapeutic neural mechanisms of mindfulness-based and social support stress reduction groups in adults with autism spectrum disorder (2023) · cites this paper as [45]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) discusses neural connectivity changes under LSD, not mindfulness training. Searches for insula–thalamus connectivity and for Farb’s proposed transition from narrative self-focus to present-moment awareness found no passage addressing either point in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.74)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [2]Hofmann A Feilding A, eds. LSD: My problem child and insights/outlooks. In: J. Ott, Trans. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, US (2013).

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Authors
Fuentes, J. J., Fonseca, F., Elices, M., Farré, M., & Torrens, M.
Affiliations
  • Hospital Del Mar (ES)
  • Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
  • Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (ES)
Corresponding author
Torrens, Marta
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2020-01-21
Volume
10
Pages
943-943
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00943
PMC
PMC6985449
OpenAlex
W2990240756
Cited by
177
References
116
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 11
FWCI
1.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Repositori digital de la UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
  • European Commission (FIS PI11/01961, HOME/2014/JDRU/AG/DRUG/7082)
  • Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (2017 SGR530, 2017‐SGR‐316, 2017SGR)
  • Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RD16/0017/0010, RD16/0017, PI11/, FIS PI11/01961, FJCI-2017-31738, PI11/01961)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, psychedelic therapy, alcoholism treatment, depression, anxiety, addiction, quality of experience, risk of bias

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