Active Mental Health Pregnancy, Children & Inherited Conditions

Sex Specific Differences in Psychedelic Therapies

Funder Wellcome Charity-funded
Recipient organisation University College London
Funding Not disclosed
Period Oct 2025 — Sept 2028

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

A woman’s monthly hormonal cycle may change how her brain responds to psilocybin, yet almost no psychedelic research has accounted for this. This matters because depression and other mental health disorders affect women at higher rates than men, and conditions such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder are unique to women. Ovarian hormones like estrogen and progesterone are known to boost the activity of the serotonin receptor that psychedelics target, but no one has tested whether the menstrual cycle’s natural hormonal shifts alter the drug’s effects or its therapeutic outcomes. If the research succeeds, it could reshape how psychedelic therapies are designed and prescribed. A single psilocybin session might one day be timed to a woman’s cycle for maximum benefit, or used specifically to reduce premenstrual distress. More broadly, the findings could force clinical trials to routinely account for sex as a biological variable—a gap that currently undermines the reliability of mental health research. The project is primarily fundamental science, asking a basic question about how hormones and psychedelics interact, but the answer could directly influence treatment protocols for millions of women.

View original technical description
Research examining the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances has expanded rapidly in recent years. However, there is a distinct lack of research examining effects specific to women. This is especially pertinent given the gender imbalance in some mental health disorders such as depression, as well as the presence of female-specific disorders like premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Previous research has shown that ovarian hormones such as estrogen and progesterone upregulate 5HT-2A, the primary target of classic psychedelics. However, whether monthly cyclical changes to these hormones impact the acute psychedelic experience and subsequent therapeutic outcomes is currently unknown. The current research aims to address this gap through three strands of work. First, a scoping review of sex-based differences in current psychedelic research. Second, a two-arm experimental study in which health participants will receive a single, fixed dose of psilocybin to compare differences in acute psychedelic experiences and outcomes at two different stages of the menstrual cycle (follicular and luteal). Qualitative (interviews), quantitative (standardized psychometric subscales), and physiological data (EEG, heart rate, blood pressure) will be collected. Third, within this experimental cohort, we will conduct exploratory analysis of whether a single psilocybin session reduces self-reported premenstrual distress.

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Researchers

Rosalind Robshaw (EPMC Awardee)

Related Research

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Psilocybin as a treatment for major depression
Sex differences in interoception and mental health: an investigation across the menstrual cycle
A Feasibility RCT of Single-Dose Psilocybin in Unipolar Depressive Disorder Resistant to Standard Treatments
How the body shapes experience: the role of interoceptive processing for acute and lasting effects of psychedelics
Investigating the Effect of the Menstrual Cycle on Social Stress in Early Psychosis Through Ecological Momentary Assessment

Original classification

PhD Studentship (Basic)

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