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Franz X. Vollenweider

Franz X. Vollenweider

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Psychology
Switzerland
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Psychology

D-Index
84
Citations
25072
World Ranking
1234
National Ranking
13

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Psychology in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Psychology in Switzerland Leader Award

Overview

Franz X. Vollenweider is affiliated with the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Their research primarily focuses on the intersections of psychology and neuroscience, particularly exploring the mechanisms and effects of psychedelic substances within psychiatric contexts.

Their recent publications include:

  • Psychedelic drugs: neurobiology and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders, 2020, Nature reviews. Neuroscience
  • Classic Psychedelic Drugs: Update on Biological Mechanisms, 2022, Pharmacopsychiatry

Vollenweider has contributed to fields encompassing Psychology and Neuroscience, with a strong emphasis on Clinical Psychology and Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. Their work spans several subfields such as Cognitive Neuroscience, Organic Chemistry, and Experimental and Cognitive Psychology.

The main topics of their research can be summarized as:

  • Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Chemical synthesis and alkaloids
  • Mental Health Research Topics
  • Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Tryptophan and brain disorders

Frequent coauthors include:

  • Katrin H. Preller (43 joint publications)
  • Nathalie M. Rieser (16 joint publications)
  • Alan Anticevic (16 joint publications)
  • Flora Moujaes (15 joint publications)
  • Erich Seifritz (13 joint publications)

Research output by Vollenweider has been published in venues such as bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Biological Psychiatry, eLife, Scientific Reports, and Neuroscience Applied. These publication venues highlight an engagement with a broad spectrum of scientific discussions, from preprint platforms to peer-reviewed journals in neuroscience and psychiatry.

Best Publications

  • Psilocybin induces schizophrenia-like psychosis in humans via a serotonin-2 agonist action.

    Franz X. Vollenweider;Margreet F. I. Vollenweider-Scherpenhuyzen;Andreas Bäbler;Helen Vogel

  • The neurobiology of psychedelic drugs: implications for the treatment of mood disorders

    Franz X. Vollenweider;Michael Kometer

  • Psychometric Evaluation of the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale (OAV)

    Erich Studerus;Alex Gamma;Franz X. Vollenweider

  • Ketamine-Induced Deficits in Auditory and Visual Context-Dependent Processing in Healthy Volunteers: Implications for Models of Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia

    Daniel Umbricht;Liselotte Schmid;Rene Koller;Franz X. Vollenweider

  • Acute, subacute and long-term subjective effects of psilocybin in healthy humans: a pooled analysis of experimental studies.

    Erich Studerus;Michael Kometer;Felix Hasler;Franz X Vollenweider

  • Psychological and Cardiovascular Effects and Short-Term Sequelae of MDMA (“Ecstasy”) in MDMA-Naïve Healthy Volunteers

    Franz X. Vollenweider;Alex Gamma;Matthias Liechti;Theo Huber

  • Positron Emission Tomography and Fluorodeoxyglucose Studies of Metabolic Hyperfrontality and Psychopathology in the Psilocybin Model of Psychosis

    FX Vollenweider;Klaus Leenders;C Scharfetter;P Maguire

  • Acute psychological and physiological effects of psilocybin in healthy humans: a double-blind, placebo-controlled dose?effect study

    Felix Hasler;Ulrike Grimberg;Marco A. Benz;Theo Huber

  • Serotonin research: contributions to understanding psychoses.

    Mark A. Geyer;Franz X. Vollenweider

  • Psychedelic drugs: neurobiology and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders.

    Franz X Vollenweider;Katrin H Preller

  • Gender differences in the subjective effects of MDMA.

    Matthias E. Liechti;Alex Gamma;Franz X. Vollenweider

  • Acute Effects of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Subjects

    Yasmin Schmid;Florian Enzler;Peter Gasser;Eric Grouzmann

  • Differential psychopathology and patterns of cerebral glucose utilisation produced by (S)- and (R)-ketamine in healthy volunteers using positron emission tomography (PET)

    F.X. Vollenweider;K.L. Leenders;I. Øye;D. Hell

  • A systems model of altered consciousness: integrating natural and drug-induced psychoses.

    Franz X Vollenweider;Mark A Geyer

  • The Fabric of Meaning and Subjective Effects in LSD-Induced States Depend on Serotonin 2A Receptor Activation

    Katrin H. Preller;Marcus Herdener;Thomas Pokorny;Amanda Planzer

  • Metabolic hyperfrontality and psychopathology in the ketamine model of psychosis using positron emission tomography (PET) and [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG).

    F.X Vollenweider;K.L Leenders;C Scharfetter;A Antonini

  • Prediction of Psilocybin Response in Healthy Volunteers

    Erich Studerus;Alex Gamma;Michael Kometer;Franz X. Vollenweider

  • Changes in global and thalamic brain connectivity in LSD-induced altered states of consciousness are attributable to the 5-HT2A receptor.

    Katrin H Preller;Joshua B Burt;Jie Lisa Ji;Charles H Schleifer

  • Activation of serotonin 2A receptors underlies the psilocybin-induced effects on α oscillations, N170 visual-evoked potentials, and visual hallucinations

    Michael Kometer;André Schmidt;Lutz Jäncke;Franz X. Vollenweider

  • Single-dose psilocybin-assisted therapy in major depressive disorder: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised clinical trial

    Unknown

  • 5-HT modulation of dopamine release in basal ganglia in psilocybin-induced psychosis in man--a PET study with [11C]raclopride.

    Franz X Vollenweider;Peter Vontobel;Daniel Hell;Klaus L Leenders

  • Acute psychological effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "Ecstasy") are attenuated by the serotonin uptake inhibitor citalopram.

    Matthias E Liechti;Christine Baumann;Alex Gamma;Franz X Vollenweider

Frequent Co-Authors

Katrin H. Preller
Katrin H. Preller University of Zurich
Erich Seifritz
Erich Seifritz University of Zurich
Boris B. Quednow
Boris B. Quednow University of Zurich
Jules Angst
Jules Angst University of Zurich
Leonhard Schilbach
Leonhard Schilbach Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Martin P. Paulus
Martin P. Paulus Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Isabel Dziobek
Isabel Dziobek Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Marc Wittmann
Marc Wittmann Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene
Lutz Jäncke
Lutz Jäncke University of Zurich
Ulrich Ettinger
Ulrich Ettinger University of Bonn

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