Posted on Dec 27, 2022
Psychedelic drugs may launch a new era in psychiatric treatment, brain scientists say
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/27/ [login to see] /psychedelic-drugs-psychiatric-disorders-brain-research
One of the hottest tickets at this year's Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego was a session on psychedelic drugs.
About 1,000 brain scientists squeezed into an auditorium at the San Diego Convention Center for the symposium, called Psychedelics and Neural Plasticity.
They'd come to hear talks on how drugs like psilocybin and MDMA can alter individual brain cells, can help rewire the brain, and may offer a new way to treat disorders ranging from depression to chronic pain.
"I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people," says Alex Kwan, a biomedical engineer at Cornell University who spoke at the session.
"In the last couple of years there has been a lot of public excitement about psychedelics," Kwan says. "The scientists are catching on now that we just don't know much about what these compounds do."
So during the session, Kwan and several other researchers shared what they are learning about the drugs.
One of the hottest tickets at this year's Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego was a session on psychedelic drugs.
About 1,000 brain scientists squeezed into an auditorium at the San Diego Convention Center for the symposium, called Psychedelics and Neural Plasticity.
They'd come to hear talks on how drugs like psilocybin and MDMA can alter individual brain cells, can help rewire the brain, and may offer a new way to treat disorders ranging from depression to chronic pain.
"I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people," says Alex Kwan, a biomedical engineer at Cornell University who spoke at the session.
"In the last couple of years there has been a lot of public excitement about psychedelics," Kwan says. "The scientists are catching on now that we just don't know much about what these compounds do."
So during the session, Kwan and several other researchers shared what they are learning about the drugs.
Psychedelic drugs may launch a new era in psychiatric treatment, brain scientists say
Posted from npr.org
Science
San Diego
Drugs
Depression
Cornell University
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."One-and-done treatment?
Brain plasticity may explain why a single dose of a psychedelic drug can have a long-lasting impact on disorders like anxiety, depression and PTSD.
"It can be months or years," says Dr. Gitte Knudsen a neurologist from University of Copenhagen in Denmark who spoke at the psychedelics session. "It's a stunning effect."
These long-term effects have been shown with drugs including psilocybin, LSD and DMT (ayahuasca), Knudsen says. In contrast, most existing psychiatric drugs need to be taken every day.
But psychedelic drugs have some drawbacks. They can cause nausea or produce hallucinations that are frightening or unpleasant.
"It can be a quite overwhelming experience to people," Knudsen says. "And for that reason, you need to prepare them for that, and you also need to be with them while they are in the experience."
Even when patients are well prepared for a session, Knudsen says, they may have mixed feelings afterward.
"When people have been through a psychedelic experience in my lab, they say, 'Wow this was amazing, this was just a fantastic experience,'" she says. "And you ask them, 'Well, would you like to come back next week for another session?' They say, 'Thank you, but no thank you.' "...
..."One-and-done treatment?
Brain plasticity may explain why a single dose of a psychedelic drug can have a long-lasting impact on disorders like anxiety, depression and PTSD.
"It can be months or years," says Dr. Gitte Knudsen a neurologist from University of Copenhagen in Denmark who spoke at the psychedelics session. "It's a stunning effect."
These long-term effects have been shown with drugs including psilocybin, LSD and DMT (ayahuasca), Knudsen says. In contrast, most existing psychiatric drugs need to be taken every day.
But psychedelic drugs have some drawbacks. They can cause nausea or produce hallucinations that are frightening or unpleasant.
"It can be a quite overwhelming experience to people," Knudsen says. "And for that reason, you need to prepare them for that, and you also need to be with them while they are in the experience."
Even when patients are well prepared for a session, Knudsen says, they may have mixed feelings afterward.
"When people have been through a psychedelic experience in my lab, they say, 'Wow this was amazing, this was just a fantastic experience,'" she says. "And you ask them, 'Well, would you like to come back next week for another session?' They say, 'Thank you, but no thank you.' "...
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Gotta be careful with this...all the successful sessions also include significant amounts of counseling
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