A comprehensive systematic review published today in Psychedelics examines psilocybin's therapeutic potential for obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions, synthesizing evidence from four clinical trials and nine preclinical investigations. The analysis, led by James J. Gattuso from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, reveals that psilocybin produces rapid reductions in obsessive-compulsive symptoms in clinical populations and sustained anti-compulsive effects in validated animal models. The review identifies consistent therapeutic patterns across species while highlighting critical knowledge gaps, including the need for larger placebo-controlled trials and mechanistic neuroimaging studies. The synthesis demonstrates that psilocybin's anti-compulsive effects may occur independently of its hallucinogenic properties, suggesting potential for non-psychedelic therapeutic approaches. This systematic analysis provides researchers, clinicians, and policymakers with the first comprehensive framework for understanding psilocybin's role in treating the full spectrum of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.

A detailed new review published in Brain Medicine outlines how electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain is changing treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), especially for patients who do not respond to traditional therapy or medication. The article, “Neuromodulation techniques in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Current state of the art” by Dr. Kevin Swierkosz-Lenart, Dr. Carolina together with their colleagues at Lausanne University Hospital, in collaboration with Prof. Luc Mallet from Paris-Est Créteil University and University of Geneva brings together the latest evidence on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS). The authors describe how each approach interacts with dysfunctional brain networks and how personalization, imaging, and biomarker discovery could shape the next generation of psychiatric treatments.

Between 2008 and 2010, polarization in society increased dramatically alongside a significant shift in social behavior: the number of close social contacts rose from an average of two to four or five people. The connection between these two developments could provide a fundamental explanation for why societies around the world are increasingly fragmenting into ideological bubbles.