A review of emerging therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses
This review (2020) presents modern human studies into psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and ayahuasca in treating various psychiatric illnesses, including treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life anxiety, and substance use disorders. Safety and efficacy data are also presented from both human and animal studies.
Authors
- Chi, T.
- Gold, J. A.
Published
Abstract
Though there was initial interest in the use of psychedelic drugs for psychiatric treatment, bad outcomes and subsequent passage of the Substance Act of 1970, which placed psychedelic drugs in the Schedule I category, significantly limited potential progress. More recently, however, there has been renewal in interest and promise of psychedelic research. The purpose of this review is to highlight contemporary human studies on the use of select psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, LSD, MDMA and ayahuasca, in the treatment of various psychiatric illnesses, including but not limited to treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life anxiety, and substance use disorders. The safety and efficacy as reported from human and animal studies will also be discussed. Accumulated research to date has suggested the potential for psychedelics to emerge as breakthrough therapies for psychiatric conditions refractory to conventional treatments. However, given the unique history and high potential for misuse with popular distribution, special care and considerations must be undertaken to safeguard their use as viable medical treatments rather than drugs of abuse.
Research Summary of 'A review of emerging therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses'
Introduction
Chi and Gold frame psychedelics as a class of compounds with a long anthropological and early clinical history, noting renewed scientific interest after decades of prohibition. Modern interest follows the initial discovery and distribution of LSD and psilocybin in the mid-20th century, a period of enthusiastic but methodologically inconsistent research that ended after widespread recreational use prompted political backlash and the US Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The authors distinguish classic psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, DMT) that act primarily as 5-HT2A agonists from entactogens such as MDMA, which primarily modulate monoamine transporters, and they note overlapping but distinct neurobiological hypotheses for therapeutic action, including changes in neuroplasticity, altered amygdala responsivity, and engagement of signalling pathways such as mTOR.
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Chi, T., & Gold, J. A. (2020). A review of emerging therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 411, 116715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2020.116715
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