Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

We will use cognitive exams, perceptual tasks, brain imaging, peripheral psychophysiology, and surveys to investigate the persisting effects of psilocybin on cognition, predictive coding, and affect in healthy older adults. We will measure changes in these measures by comparing baseline to one-week and one-month post-treatment. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive a dose of psilocybin in a range from microdose to moderate-to-high dose. Dose response will be assessed. Anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) will be used to assess changes in brain structure, while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be used to quantify changes in functional brain activity. We will assess whether changes in these brain measures underlie observed changes in cognition, predictive coding and affect.


Clinical Trial Description

We will use cognitive exams, perceptual tasks, brain imaging, peripheral psychophysiology, and surveys to investigate the persisting effects of psilocybin on cognition, predictive coding, and affect in healthy older adults. We will measure changes in these measures by comparing baseline to one-week and one-month post-treatment. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive a dose of psilocybin in a range from microdose to moderate-to-high dose. Dose response will be assessed. Anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) will be used to assess changes in brain structure, while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be used to quantify changes in functional brain activity. We will assess whether changes in these brain measures underlie observed changes in cognition, predictive coding and affect. The data from this study will provide a strong foundation for future studies to further investigate the effects of psychedelic-induced plasticity on cognition, predictive coding and affect. These experimental studies will be conducted in participants with no diagnosable mental health conditions, but the resulting mechanistic insights may inform development of treatments that use psychedelics to help individuals shift from pathological patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior to more healthy and adaptive ones. This information will be crucial for designing and optimizing mental health treatments using psychedelic agents. Furthermore, these studies may also reveal biomarkers that can then be used to predict the likelihood of a patient's response to a particular type of therapeutic intervention. This project will include healthy older adults (60-85 years old), allowing us to characterize the dose-dependent effects of psilocybin, from the acute subjective experience to long-term persisting effects, in old age. Studying the effects of psilocybin in old age may inform the development of treatments that use psychedelics to improve cognition and affect in older adults by promoting brain changes that oppose the effects of synaptic dysfunction in aging and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT06367738
Study type Interventional
Source University of California, Berkeley
Contact
Status Not yet recruiting
Phase Phase 1
Start date April 1, 2025
Completion date December 30, 2027

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Completed NCT05433233 - Effects of Lifestyle Walking on Blood Pressure in Older Adults With Hypertension N/A
Recruiting NCT06032065 - SMART Exercise for PAD Phase 3
Active, not recruiting NCT05293730 - Trial of the Impact of the Electronic Frailty Integrated With Social Needs N/A
Recruiting NCT03932162 - Gene Expression Changes In Young and Geriatric Skin Early Phase 1
Completed NCT04064528 - Effects of Age on Amino Acid Delivery to Tendon N/A
Active, not recruiting NCT03366129 - Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in People With White Matter Hyperintensities Who Have Had a Stroke
Completed NCT06029920 - Influence of Overground Walking on Biomarkers, Cognitive Function, and Quality of Life in Elderly With Mild Cognitive Impairment N/A
Recruiting NCT05543980 - Leg Heat Therapy in Elderly Individuals Phase 2
Recruiting NCT05566938 - Study to Design a Precision Nutrition Strategy at a Group Level in the Elderly N/A
Completed NCT04894929 - Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in the Monitoring of Functional Improvement N/A
Not yet recruiting NCT06071130 - Emotion, Aging, and Decision Making N/A
Enrolling by invitation NCT04641663 - Multi-target Dietary Supplement Tolerability in an Aging Population (MTDSST) N/A
Completed NCT04088006 - The Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety of Hyaluronic Acid Injection on Skin Moisturization and Elasticity N/A
Completed NCT03695081 - Patient Pathway Pharmacist - Optimal Drug-related Care N/A
Recruiting NCT05424263 - Acetate and Age-associated Arterial Dysfunction Phase 2
Completed NCT05601713 - Mitigating Heat-induced Physiological Strain and Discomfort in Older Adults Via Lower Limb Immersion and Neck Cooling N/A
Completed NCT04551339 - Zinc Versus Multivitamin Micronutrient Supplementation in the Setting of COVID-19 N/A
Recruiting NCT04997577 - Speech Perception and High Cognitive Demand N/A
Completed NCT05922475 - Efficacy of Pre-sleep or Post-exercise Protein During 12 Weeks of Resistance Exercise Training N/A
Completed NCT04015479 - Peanut Protein Supplementation to Augment Muscle Growth and Improve Markers of Muscle Quality and Health in Older Adults N/A