Christopher Nicholas, PhD

Dr. Nicholas’s research focuses on the clinical efficacy and therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelic and other psychoactive compounds for addiction (opioid and methamphetamine use disorders), trauma, chronic pain, and depression. He also serves as a site co-PI and therapist on the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Phase 3 multi-site clinical trial of the safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for severe PTSD. In addition to research, Dr. Nicholas provides specialty clinical services in the overlapping areas of chronic pain, addiction, and trauma and is a behavioral health supervisor for the UW Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program. Dr. Nicholas earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and neuroscience at the University of Tennessee; and completed his internship in health psychology and post-doctoral fellowship in multi-modal neuroimaging at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Selected Publications

Nicholas, C.R., Banks, M.I., Lennertz, R.C. et al. Co-administration of midazolam and psilocybin: differential effects on subjective quality versus memory of the psychedelic experience. Transl Psychiatry 14, 372 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-024-03059-8

Nicholas, C.R., Horton, D.M., Malicki, J., Baltes, A., Hutson, P.R., Brown, R.T. (2023). Psilocybin for opioid use disorder in two adults stabilized on buprenorphine: A technical report on study modifications and preliminary findings. Psychedelic Medicine, 1 (4), 253-261.

Baltes, A., Horton, D., Malicki, J., Muller, H., Tilhou, A., Brown, R.T., Nicholas, C.R. (2023). Associations between social support and prescription opioid misuse among Level I trauma patients. Addiction Research & Theory.  In Press.

O’Donnell KC., Anderson, BT. Barrett, FS, Bogenschutz, MP, Grob, CS, Hendricks,PS, Kelmendi, B, Nayak, SM, Nicholas, CR,  Paleos, CA, Stauffer, CS, Gukasyan, N. (2023). Misinterpretations and Omissions: A Critical Response to Goodwin and Colleagues’ Commentary on Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy. American Journal Psychiatry, 00:1–2.

Alpert, MD, O’Donnell, KC, Paleos, CA, Sola, E, Stauffer, CS., Wagner, AC, Nicholas, CR, Mithoefer, MC. (2023). Evidence-Based, and Necessary. American Journal Psychiatry, 001.

Raison, C. L., Sanacora, G., Woolley, J., Heinzerling, K., Dunlop, B. W., Brown, R. T., Kakar, R., Hassman, M., Trivedi, Rupal P. Robison, R., Gukasyan, N., Nayak, S.M., Hu, X., O’Donnell, K.C.,Kelmendi, B., Sloshower, J., Penn, A.D., Bradley, E., Kelly, D.F., Mletzko, T., Nicholas, C.R., Hutson, P. R., Tarpley, G., Utzinger, M., Lenoch, K. Warchol, K., Gapasin, T., Davis, M. C., Nelson-Douthit, C., Wilson, S., Brown, C., Linton, W., Ross, S., Griffiths, R. R. & Griffiths, R. R. (2023). Single-dose psilocybin treatment for major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); 330(9): 843-853.

Mitchell, J. M., Ot’alora G, M., van der Kolk, B., Bogenschutz, M., Yevgeniy, G., Paleos, C., Nicholas, C.R., Quevedo, S., Balliett, B., Hamilton, S., Mithoefer, M., Kleiman, S., Parker-Guilbert, K., Tzarfaty, K., Harrison, C., De Boer, A., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B.  (2023). MDMA-assisted therapy for Moderate to Severe PTSD: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Trial. Nature Medicine, 29, 2473–2480.

Brett J, Knock E, Korthuis PT, Liknaitzky P, Murnane KS, Nicholas CR, Patterson JC II and Stauffer CS (2023). Exploring psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder. Front. Psychiatry 14:1123424.

Nicholas CR, Wang JB, Coker A, Mitchell JM, Klaire SS, Yazar-Klosinski B, Emerson A, Brown RT, Doblin R. (2022). The effects of MDMA-assisted therapy on alcohol and substance use in a phase 3 trial for treatment of severe PTSD. Drug Alcohol Depend. Apr 1; 233:109356.

Goldberg, S., Shechet, B., Nicholas, C., Ng, C., Deole, G., Chen, Z., & Raison, C. (2020). Post-acute psychological effects of classical serotonergic psychedelics: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 50 (16), 2655-2666

Goldberg, S., Pace, B., Nicholas, C. R., Raison, C., Hutson, P. (2019). The experimental effects of psilocybin on symptoms of anxiety and depression: A meta-analysis, Psychiatry Research, 284, 112749.

Nicholas, C.R., Henriquez, K.M., Gassman, M.C., Cooper, K.M., Mueller, D., Hetzel, S., Brown, R. T. Cozzi, N.V., Thomas, C., Hutson, P. (2018). High Dose Psilocybin is associated with Positive Subjective Effects in Healthy Volunteers. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(7), 770-778.

Smith, J., Nicholas, C.R., Deyo, B., Hetzel, S, Brown, R.T. (2018). Associations Between Pain Coping and Opioid Use: 1-Month Follow-Up Results of a Prospective Study in a Cohort of Traumatic Injury Patients. Journal of opioid management, 14(3), 159-163.

Nicholas, C.R., Dowling, N.M., Clark, L., Koscik, R., Oh, J., Hermann, B.P., Bendlin,, B., Sager, M.A., & Johnson, S. C. (2017). Longitudinal assessment of self and informant reports of memory function in cognitively normal, middle-aged adults: Findings from the WRAP study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 23, 617-626.

Nicholas, C.R., Hoscheidt, S., Clark, L., Racine, A., Berman, S., Dowling, M., Asthana, S. Christian, B., & Johnson, S.C. (2017). Positive affect predicts FDG-PET glucose metabolism in health late middle-aged adults. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 12(6), 993-1000.

Brown, R.T., Nicholas, C.R., Cozzi, N.V., Gassman, M., Cooper, K.M., Muller, D., Thomas, C., Hetzel, S., Henriquez, K. Ribaudo, A. & Hutson, P.R. (2017). Pharmacokinetics escalating doses of psilocybin in healthy adults. Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 1-12.

Nicholas, C. R., Okonkwo, O. C., Bendlin, B. B., Oh, J.M., Asthana, S., Rowley, H. A., Sager, M. A., Johnson, S. C. (2014). Posteromedial hyperactivation during episodic recognition among people with memory decline: Findings from the WRAP study. Brain Imaging and Behavior.

Nicholas, C. R., McLaren, D. G., Gawrysiak, M., Rogers, B. P., Dougherty, J. H., & Nash, M. (2014). Functional neuroimaging of personally relevant stimuli in a pediatric case of impaired awareness. Brain Injury, 28 (8), 1135-1138.

Gawrysiak, M. J., Swan, S., Nicholas, C. R., Dougherty, J.H., & Hopko, D.R. (2013). Pragmatic psychodynamic psychotherapy for a depressed breast cancer patient: Functional MRI evaluation of treatment effects. American Journal of Psychotherapy. 67, 237-255.