Psychedelics and Neural Plasticity: Therapeutic Implications

Summary & key facts

This paper reviews recent research that suggests psychedelic drugs might help treat brain disorders by changing how brain cells connect and work together. Scientists are again studying how these drugs act in the brain, and as of 2022 there were hundreds of clinical trials testing their therapeutic effects. The review explains evidence for lasting brain changes, what is known about where psychedelics act in the brain, and which basic questions still need answers before wide clinical use.

Key facts:

• Psychedelic drugs have come back into research as possible tools to treat several brain disorders.
• By 2022, there were hundreds of clinical trials recruiting people to test the therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
• Emerging evidence suggests psychedelics may cause structural and functional changes in the brain, sometimes called neural plasticity, which could help explain long-lasting benefits.
• Researchers are studying where these drugs attach in the brain, how they change which genes are active, and how they alter tiny parts of neurons such as dendrites, which are the branches that connect brain cells.
• Studies also look at how psychedelics change local brain wiring and larger brain-wide circuits that link different brain regions.
• The authors note that there are unmet clinical needs and many unanswered basic science questions that future studies should address before psychedelics are fully translated into routine medical treatments.

Abstract

Psychedelic drugs have reemerged as tools to treat several brain disorders. Cultural attitudes toward them are changing, and scientists are once again investigating the neural mechanisms through which these drugs impact brain function. The significance of this research direction is reflected by recent work, including work presented by these authors at the 2022 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. As of 2022, there were hundreds of clinical trials recruiting participants for testing the therapeutic effects of psychedelics. Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic drugs may exert some of their long-lasting therapeutic effects by inducing structural and functional neural plasticity. Herein, basic and clinical research attempting to elucidate the mechanisms of these compounds is showcased. Topics covered include psychedelic receptor binding sites, effects of psychedelics on gene expression, and on dendrites, and psychedelic effects on microcircuitry and brain-wide circuits. We describe unmet clinical needs and the current state of translation to the clinic for psychedelics, as well as other unanswered basic neuroscience questions addressable with future studies.

Topics

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Clinical neuroscience Cognitive science Neural activity Neurology Neuroplasticity Neuroscience Psychology