Psychedelic drugs could be used to treat mental health conditions

A team of research scientists at the University of California that specialise in psychedelic drug research for mental health have published new research in Cell Reports showing that they could be used as treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction. The team discovered that they stimulate growth of synaptic connections and dendritic spines in neurons, which is inhibited in people with those mental health conditions as they wither and break down due to neurite – the section that connects two neurons – retraction.

The experiments looked at the impact of drugs including amphetamines (MDMA), magic mushrooms, and ergolines (LSD) on neurons in flies and mice. The plasticity of the brain refers to the ability of synaptic connections and neural circuits to change and is key to the growth of these synaptic connections. This research shows that the drugs can be used as treatment, but also to form the basis for developing a treatment that mimics the drug action without the famed psychedelic effects. The hope is that by understanding the neural mechanisms underlying these changes, synthetic equivalents can be made that target these pathways without the side effects. Credit where it’s due, lead author Dr David Olson is aware that having to write “Warning: hallucinogenic side effects” on the bottle may not make for a stellar advertising campaign.

This research shows that the drugs can be used as treatment, but also to form the basis for developing a treatment that mimics the drug action without the famed psychedelic effects

The study included a comparison to ketamine treatments which have been highlighted as a new treatment for depression, showing that the tested psychedelics have a similar or improved impact on improving synaptic plasticity. Ketamine nasal sprays have entered clinical trials to use as treatments for depression, but concerns remain about addiction. Dr Olson saw this research as a development on the principles ketamine treatment as they retain the antidepressant properties without the addictiveness, saying that “the big question we were trying to answer was whether or not other compounds are capable of doing what ketamine does”, and going as far as to write that “we specifically designed these experiments to mimic previous studies of ketamine so that we might directly compare these two compounds.”

The team, who previously looked at DMT from traditional Amazonian brews for PTSD treatment, hope that their research will form the basis of a paradigm shift in treatments in the stagnant area of mental health treatments towards psychedelics. Whilst ketamine’s anti-depressant properties have been known for 20 years, only recently has there been investigation into how this works. Unsurprisingly, illegal drugs are harder to experiment with by virtue of their legal status. For example, the USA stated that there was no recognised medical use for psychedelic drugs in 1970 which created a bureaucratic barrier for psychedelics research by requiring a special license to study them. The result is a catch-22 wherein by it was practically impossible to prove psychedelics had medical use, as the government has pre-emptively decided they don’t have a medical use and that no more experiments that could prove otherwise were necessary. It’s unsurprising that our understanding of psychedelic drugs on mental health and the brain has stagnated.

Whilst ketamine’s anti-depressant properties have been known for 20 years, only recently has there been investigation into how this works

However, this hasn’t prevented from researchers like Dr Olson and his team from challenging that assumption and re-invigorating interest in psychedelic drugs. This is the latest in a wider conversation about our relationship with illegal drugs. The campaign for decriminalising or legalising marijuana (both medical and recreational) throughout Western societies have grown and the failed ‘War on Drugs’ continues to be the focal point for conversations about our relationship to drugs. Will we soon see a change in approach to psychedelic drugs as well?