Frederick S. Barrett

About

Frederick S. Barrett is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neuroscience, and Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He serves as the Director of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research and is affiliated with the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience. His research focuses on understanding the psychological, cognitive, and neurobiological effects of psychoactive drugs, particularly classic serotonergic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD, as well as atypical hallucinogens and other psychoactive compounds like stimulants and cannabinoids. Dr. Barrett employs a multidisciplinary approach, utilizing psychometrically validated questionnaires, computerized cognitive testing, electrophysiological measurements, magnetic resonance imaging, and molecular imaging to investigate these effects. His key contributions include providing empirical evidence on the effects of psilocybin on brain circuits, demonstrating its impact on cortico-striatal-thalamic-cortical circuits, and exploring its enduring effects on brain function and affect in both healthy individuals and patients with mood and substance use disorders. He was the first to show enduring effects of psilocybin on affect and brain function, as well as its antidepressant effects in clinical trials. Dr. Barrett has developed and validated instruments for assessing subjective psychedelic experiences, which are used worldwide, and has…

Research topics

• Psychiatry
• Medicine
• Clinical psychology
• Internal medicine
• Psychology
• Neuroscience

Selected publications

• Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder

  JAMA Psychiatry · 2020 · 1220 citations

  Importance: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial public health burden, but current treatments have limited effectiveness and adherence. Recent evidence suggests that 1 or 2 administrations of psilocybin with psychological support produces antidepressant effects in patients with cancer and in those with treatment-resistant depression. Objective: To investigate the effect of psilocybin therapy in patients with MDD. Design, Setting, and Participants: This randomized, waiting list-contro…

  DOI

• Efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted treatment for major depressive disorder: Prospective 12-month follow-up

  Journal of Psychopharmacology · 2022 · 403 citations

  BACKGROUND: Preliminary data suggest that psilocybin-assisted treatment produces substantial and rapid antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but little is known about long-term outcomes. AIMS: This study sought to examine the efficacy and safety of psilocybin through 12 months in participants with moderate to severe MDD who received psilocybin. METHODS: This randomized, waiting-list controlled study enrolled 27 patients aged 21-75 with moderate to severe unipol…

  DOI

• Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin

  Scientific Reports · 2020 · 367 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic compound that may have efficacy for the treatment of mood and substance use disorders. Acute psilocybin effects include reduced negative mood, increased positive mood, and reduced amygdala response to negative affective stimuli. However, no study has investigated the long-term, enduring impact of psilocybin on negative affect and associated brain function. Twelve healthy volunteers (7F/5M) completed an open-label pilot study including assessments 1-day before,…

  DOI

• Naturalistic psilocybin use is associated with persisting improvements in mental health and wellbeing: results from a prospective, longitudinal survey

  Frontiers in Psychiatry · 2023-09-19 · 83 citations

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: The classic psychedelic psilocybin, found in some mushroom species, has received renewed interest in clinical research, showing potential mental health benefits in preliminary trials. Naturalistic use of psilocybin outside of research settings has increased in recent years, though data on the public health impact of such use remain limited. Methods: This prospective, longitudinal study comprised six sequential automated web-based surveys that collected data from adults planning to…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The therapeutic alliance between study participants and intervention facilitators is associated with acute effects and clinical outcomes in a psilocybin-assisted therapy trial for major depressive disorder

  PLoS ONE · 2024-03-14 · 62 citations

  articleOpen access

  We examined if the therapeutic alliance between study participants and intervention facilitators in a psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) trial changed over time and whether there were relationships between alliance, acute psilocybin experiences, and depression outcomes. In a randomized, waiting list-controlled clinical trial for major depressive disorder in adults (N = 24), participants were randomized to an immediate (N = 13) or delayed (N = 11) condition with two oral doses of psilocybin (20mg/…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R03DA042336

  NIH · $260k · 2018

Frequent coauthors

• Roland R. Griffiths

  Johns Hopkins University

  103 shared

• Matthew W. Johnson

  Johns Hopkins University

  55 shared

• Kelly E. Dunn

  University of California, San Diego

  30 shared

• George E. Bigelow

  Behavioral Pharma (United States)

  26 shared

• David A. Seminowicz

  Western University

  26 shared

• Patrick H. Finan

  University of Virginia

  23 shared

• Manoj K. Doss

  Johns Hopkins University

  21 shared

• Alan K. Davis

  The Ohio State University

  21 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Neuropsychopharmacology of Consciousness

  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• M.D.

  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• B.A.

  University of California, Los Angeles

Similar researchers at Johns Hopkins University

• Peter Campochiaroh-139
• Marilyn Alberth-125
• Seth Blackshawh-108