Journal topic

Psilocybin Research: What Studies Show

Plain-English summaries of the published research, with each study's design and limits. They describe what trials found. They are not medical advice and not treatment guidance.

This topic summarises the published research on psilocybin in plain English. Start with what psilocybin is and how it works, then the difference between psilocybin and psilocin, and how psilocybin compares with LSD and DMT.

The clinical guides take one question each: depression, alcohol use disorder, PTSD, end-of-life distress, microdosing, and creativity and openness. Each describes how the trials were designed, what they found and did not find, and the weak points their authors and critics name. Other guides cover brain-imaging and plasticity studies, where the idea of set and setting came from, and what a US approval of COMP360 would and would not change in Canada.

These are summaries of studies, not medical advice or treatment guidance.

Most of these studies are small, and many could not fully hide from participants who received psilocybin. Each guide says so where it matters, so read the limits as carefully as the results. Where a finding comes from animals or cells rather than people, the guide says that too.

Every article in this topic

• 15 MIN READ

  Baeocystin, norbaeocystin and aeruginascin: the other compounds in magic mushrooms, explained

  What is baeocystin? Where it was first found, how it and norbaeocystin lead to psilocybin, what animal studies show, and why the entourage effect is unproven.

• 13 MIN READ

  From one 2006 study to a research center: the history of Johns Hopkins psilocybin research

  Johns Hopkins psilocybin research from 2006 to today: the mystical-experience, cancer, smoking and depression studies, their sample sizes and their critics.

• 16 MIN READ

  Psilocybin and cluster headache: what the studies actually found

  Psilocybin for cluster headaches: what a 2006 survey, small Yale and Danish trials and migraine studies found, including null results, risks and unknowns.

• 16 MIN READ

  Psilocybin and Alzheimer’s disease: what early research shows, and what it doesn’t

  Psilocybin and Alzheimer's: no study shows it slows or treats dementia. What the first small trials, animal studies and registered trials do and don't show.

• 16 MIN READ

  Psilocybin and OCD: what the small studies show, and what they don’t

  Psilocybin for OCD: what small studies suggest, from a 2006 study of nine people to 2026 controlled trials, plus case reports, mouse work and what is unknown.

• 17 MIN READ

  Psilocybin for anxiety, and anxiety from magic mushrooms: what research shows

  Psilocybin for anxiety: what cancer-distress and anxiety trials found, who was excluded, what is unknown, and why magic mushrooms can also cause panic.

• 18 MIN READ

  Psilocybin benefits: what clinical research has and has not shown

  Psilocybin benefits checked against the research: what trials found for depression, alcohol, smoking, PTSD and end-of-life distress, and where evidence is thin.

• 13 MIN READ

  Microdosing psilocybin: what placebo-controlled studies have and have not shown

  Does microdosing psilocybin work? Placebo-controlled studies mostly found no reliable difference from placebo. What they measured and why expectancy matters.

• 11 MIN READ

  Psilocin vs psilocybin: what is the difference, and why does it matter?

  Psilocin vs psilocybin: psilocybin is a prodrug the body converts to psilocin, the form that acts on 5-HT2A receptors. Chemistry, stability and Canadian law.

• 13 MIN READ

  Set and setting: where the idea came from and what research shows

  Set and setting explained: where the idea came from in early 1960s psychedelic research, and what studies of expectancy, mindset and environment actually show.

• 13 MIN READ

  COMP360 and the FDA: what a U.S. psilocybin approval would mean for Canada

  COMP360 FDA approval status as of 4 October 2026, from primary sources, and what a U.S. decision would and would not change under Canada's drug rules.

• 15 MIN READ

  Does psilocybin rewire the brain? What imaging and plasticity studies show

  Does psilocybin rewire the brain? Animal studies show growth signals and human scans show changed connectivity, but lasting rewiring in people is unproven.

• 17 MIN READ

  Psilocybin for alcohol use disorder: what the trials show

  Psilocybin alcohol use disorder trials compared: design, size, comparators and results from 2015 to 2025, plus blinding limits and what is not shown.

• 19 MIN READ

  Psilocybin, creativity and openness: what studies have found

  Psilocybin creativity research, checked: small studies on openness, insight and novel ideas, plus microdosing trials where placebo did as well. Limits included.

• 18 MIN READ

  Psilocybin for depression: what the clinical trials found

  Five psilocybin depression trials side by side: who took part, what psilocybin was compared with, what changed, and why blinding limits what they show.

• 19 MIN READ

  Psilocybin for end-of-life distress: what the research and Canadian access look like

  Psilocybin end of life anxiety in three small cancer trials: crossover designs and unblinding limits, plus how Canadian access works as of 4 October 2026.

• 15 MIN READ

  Psilocybin, LSD and DMT: how the classic psychedelics differ

  Psilocybin vs LSD vs DMT compared: origin, chemistry, 5-HT2A pharmacology, discovery, reported duration in studies, Canadian schedule, and what is unknown.

• 17 MIN READ

  Psilocybin for PTSD: where the evidence stands

  Psilocybin for PTSD has less evidence than MDMA, the drug behind the FDA’s 2024 decision. Two small open-label studies, what they found, and what is unknown.

• 16 MIN READ

  What is psilocybin, and how does it work? What the science shows and what it doesn’t

  What is psilocybin? A plain-English guide to the molecule: psilocybin vs psilocin, the 5-HT2A receptor, what research is studying, and the law in Canada.