The Serotonin Paradox: Psilocybin vs SSRIs for Depression
Why psilocybin and SSRIs both act on serotonin but work in very different ways for depression.
Source Research Papers
Citations in APA 7 format. All studies were sourced from peer-reviewed journals via Google Scholar.
Carhart-Harris, R., Giribaldi, B., Watts, R., Baker-Jones, M., Murphy-Beiner, A., Murphy, R., Martell, J., Blemings, A., Erritzoe, D., & Nutt, D. J. (2021). Trial of psilocybin versus escitalopram for depression. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(15), 1402–1411. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994
In a careful head-to-head trial, two psilocybin sessions worked about as well as six weeks of a standard antidepressant — and beat it on several secondary measures — though the single main score wasn't a clear-cut win.
Shop Related Spores
Laboratory-grade Psilocybe cubensis spore syringes for microscopy research.