Little is known about how brain function evolves in the days following a single administration of LSD.

A study in humans characterized acute and longer-term effects on perceptual processing and motor learning.

LSD showed significant selective improvements in motor skill performance.

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has joined a growing list of potent serotonergic system psychedelics that have emerged as promising treatments for some psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders. Like other psychedelics, a single administration can produce therapeutic benefits that can persist for months, suggesting that LSD may have induced lasting changes in brain function. Animal studies suggest that these benefits are driven by changes in dendritic growth, synaptic plasticity, and neurotrophin (brain hormone) expression. LSD is thought to open a critical learning period, characterized by increased aspects of neuroplasticity, in which learning is more efficient for at least a few days after dosing (for more about LSD’s actions in the brain, read Your Brain on Food, How Chemicals Control Your Thoughts and Feelings).

Evidence of these changes in human subjects remains relatively limited. Little is known about how brain function and behavior evolve in the days........

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