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CompletedPhase 1

Effects of LSD on Neuroplasticity in Healthy Subjects

NCT05177419 · University of Fribourg

Closed to entry
Status
Not accepting participants
Phase 1
Phase
45
Target enrolment
1
Study sites
Outside the US

What it is testing

Summary

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself and adapt in response to changing environmental conditions or pathological stimuli. LSD is a potent psychedelic drug which has been able to rapidly stimulate neuroplasticity in animal studies. Various authors have speculated that changes in neuroplasticity may contribute to LSD's long-term effects, but there is still little direct evidence that LSD or other psychedelics enhance neuroplasticity in humans. The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of LSD on several measures of neuroplasticity in healthy human subjects.

Summary as written by the trial’s own sponsor and published on ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. It is the sponsor’s description, reproduced unedited, not an assessment by this site.

What counts as success

Primary outcome measures

  • Change in motor evoked potential amplitude after paired associative stimulation (PAS)

    Measured over Baseline, 8 hours post-treatment, 1 day post-treatment, 1 week post-treatment

A trial succeeds or fails on its primary outcome, declared in advance. Everything else it reports is secondary by definition.

Who can take part

Eligibility, as published

21 Years to 55 Years
Ages
All
Sex
Accepted
Healthy volunteers
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Aged 21-55 2. Body mass index 18-29 3. Right-handed as assessed by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (score \> 60) 4. Fluent understanding of German 5. Willingness to adhere to study protocol 6. Willingness to refrain from taking illicit psychoactive substances for the duration of the study 7. Willingness to refrain from consuming alcohol for 24 hours before each study appointment. 8. Willingness to not operate a motor vehicle or other heavy machinery 48 hours after each substance administration. 9. Women of childbearing potential must be willing to use effective birth control during the study (e.g. birth control pill; condoms must be combined with a second reliable method). 10. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test at the beginning of the study. Pregnancy tests will be repeated before each treatment day and must remain negative. 11. A friend or relative must be available to accompany the participant home following LSD appointments. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Severe chronic or acute medical condition 2. History of any seizure disorder, stroke, or cardiovascular illness 3. History of severe head trauma resulting in loss of consciousness 4. Personal or family history (first-degree relative) of psychotic disorders 5. Current or previous major neurological or psychiatric disorder within the last 3 years (e.g. major depression, anorexia, substance use disorder), 6. History of medically relevant suicide attempts 7. Current use of psychoactive medications 8. Lifetime use of hallucinogens, dissociatives, or entheogens more than 10 times, or any time within the previous three months 9. Regular (daily or near-daily) use of cannabis, alcohol, nicotine, or illicit substances 10. Pregnant or nursing women 11. Presence of any implanted, metal or electronic devices (e.g. pacemaker) 12. Recent or current participation in another clinical trial

Where

1 study site

FacilityCityRegionCountry
University of FribourgFribourgCanton of FribourgSwitzerland

On the registry

Contact the trial directly

This site does not enrol anyone and is not involved in this trial. To ask about taking part, use the sponsor’s own contact details on the official registry record, which is also where the most current version of everything above lives.

Before you do, the preparation checklist lists what a site will ask you on a first call and what is worth asking them. It is free and collects nothing.

NCT05177419 on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Last updated in the registry 2025-04-06. Registry records change; this page reflects the data build of 2026-08-25.

Related

Where this trial sits

Substance