Depressive DisordersSubstance Use Disorders (SUD)Palliative & End-of-Life DistressAnxiety Disorders

Psychedelic Psychiatry’s Brave New World

This popular commentary article (2020) describes the current resurrection of research into psychedelics (both neuroscience and therapeutic applications). It describes the evidence for the serotonin receptor (5-HT2a) agonism (psychedelics binding to that receptor) and the possible mechanisms through which long-lasting therapeutic effects can be found.

Authors

  • Robin Carhart-Harris
  • David Nutt
  • David Erritzoe

Published

Cell
meta Study

Abstract

After a legally mandated, decades-long global arrest of research on psychedelic drugs, investigation of psychedelics in the context of psychiatric disorders is yielding exciting results. Outcomes of neuroscience and clinical research into 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A (5-HT2A) receptor agonists, such as psilocybin, show promise for addressing a range of serious disorders, including depression and addiction.

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Research Summary of 'Psychedelic Psychiatry’s Brave New World'

Introduction

Research on psychedelic drugs was effectively halted for decades by legal and political restrictions, despite early mid-20th century clinical interest and some promising therapeutic signals. Nutt and colleagues frame this hiatus as having stifled progress in psychiatric pharmacology at a time when few genuinely novel drug classes have emerged; psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, mescaline and newer 5-MeO-DMT analogues are now being revisited as potential treatments for a broad set of internalising disorders including depression and addiction. This paper surveys recent clinical and neuroscientific developments around serotonergic psychedelics, especially psilocybin, and discusses mechanistic hypotheses, clinical evidence to date (including trials for depression and end-of-life distress), practical aspects of psychedelic therapy (dose, duration, and the role of psychotherapy), and broader barriers to research such as scheduling and funding. The authors set out to synthesise current knowledge, highlight outstanding questions, and argue for coordinated multidisciplinary research to translate early findings into reliable clinical applications.

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Study Details

References (11)

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