The Promise of Psychedelic Science

Introduction

Berton and colleagues frame the paper by observing that most psychiatric medications were developed decades ago, during a period of limited understanding of neuropsychiatric pathophysiology. As a consequence, existing treatments often provide partial or transient relief, creating a need for fundamentally new therapeutic approaches. Psychedelics are presented as a particularly promising avenue because they can produce rapid and sustained effects across several disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder (SUD). The authors argue that fully understanding how these compounds work will require multidisciplinary efforts spanning chemistry, molecular biology, neuroscience, psychology, and clinical research. This article serves as an overview of a Special Issue of ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science that highlights research on how psychedelics impact brain function across molecular, cellular, and organismal scales. Berton summarises contributions ranging from structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies of small molecules to investigations of psychoplastogenic and anti-inflammatory effects, biomarker development, clinical findings on suicidality and addiction, and ethical issues. The editorial sets out to map the breadth of ongoing investigations and to emphasise the translational challenge of turning psychedelic science into safe, effective clinical tools.