Preliminary evidence suggests so. In a randomized study of people with major depressive disorder, moderate to high doses of LSD were associated with increased white matter integrity in specific brain tracts, and those changes correlated with greater symptom improvement up to 12 weeks. This is an association, not proof of causation or lasting antidepressant effects.
The imaging subgroup (35 participants) showed higher fractional anisotropy after moderate to high dosing in the internal and external capsule, sagittal stratum, and fornix/stria terminalis, while the low dose group showed no clear effect. Subjective experiences did not track with the white matter changes, though they predicted symptom change more strongly.
Important caveats: the imaging sample was small, the study cannot determine whether brain changes were a direct drug effect or a consequence of symptom change, and durability requires replication. I cannot verify the findings beyond the published report.
Full details are available in the Cell Reports Medicine paper. Promising, but early.
