< Psychedelic drugs may launch a new era in psychiatric treatment, brain scientists say

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The world of neuroscience is tuning in to psychedelic drugs. Researchers are studying how substances like magic mushrooms and ecstasy may help rewire the brains of people with depression, PTSD and chronic pain. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports.

JON HAMILTON, BYLINE: One of the hottest tickets at this year's Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego was a symposium on how psychedelic drugs affect the brain. Steven Grieco, a brain scientist at the University of California, Irvine, helped organize the session.

STEVEN GRIECO: There's probably a thousand or more people there. It seemed like every section and every chair of that entire room was filled up.

HAMILTON: A decade ago, research on psychedelics was still largely outside the scientific mainstream. But that's changing, says Alex Kwan of the biomedical engineering department at Cornell University.

ALEX KWAN: The scientists are catching on now. We just don't know much about what these compounds do and a lot of interest from young scientists who want to jump into this area.

HAMILTON: At the meeting, Kwan presented some of his own research, looking at how psychedelic drugs can help brain cells form new connections, a process known as plasticity.

KWAN: What it suggests is that psychedelic seems to elevate that type of plasticity potential to make that brain generate even a bit more connections.

HAMILTON: For example, a study of mice found that psilocybin altered dendrites, the part of a nerve cell that receives input from other cells. Kwan says psilocybin increased the number of spiny protrusions on dendrites, allowing them to make more connections.

KWAN: When we give mice a single dose of psilocybin, we can see those new connection form within a day, and then they last up to more than just over a month.

HAMILTON: That long-term rewiring suggests psychedelic drugs won't have to be taken every day like most current psychiatric medications.

Dr. Gitte Knudsen, a neurologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, told the session that people who get psilocybin for anxiety and depression may only need one dose.

GITTE KNUDSEN: The stunning effects of psychedelics is that one of a few single doses can have such long-lasting impact. It could be months or even years. And that is what makes it such an interesting drug to look at.

HAMILTON: But Knudsen says in the first few hours after a dose, the drugs can produce mind-bending effects that are frightening or disturbing.

KNUDSEN: It can be a quite overwhelming experience to people. And for that reason, you need to prepare them for that. And you also need to be with them while they're in the experience.

HAMILTON: Knudsen says even when patients are prepared, they often have mixed feelings about the sessions.

KNUDSEN: When people have been through a psychedelic experience in my lab, they say, wow; this was amazing. This was just a fantastic experience. And you ask them, well, would you like to come back next week for another session - say, thank you, but no thank you.

HAMILTON: Psychedelic research was popular in the 1950s, but pretty much ended in the mid-1960s when governments began outlawing the drugs. In the 1990s, a few researchers began studying how drugs like LSD, MDMA and psilocybin might help with psychiatric conditions, including depression and PTSD. Dr. Joshua Gordon, who directs the National Institute of Mental Health, says just a few years ago, psychedelics got a big boost in credibility.

JOSHUA GORDON: The first study that really piqued everyone's interest was the end-of-life work - right? - where you can reduce people's anxiety about end-of-life issues using psychedelics.

HAMILTON: In 2016, two studies by prominent researchers showed that psilocybin helped people with anxiety and depression associated with a cancer diagnosis. That led to a series of small studies and then some large trials, showing that psychedelics really can help with conditions like depression and PTSD.

GORDON: When you start seeing large trials showing effects, then the skeptics, now, are even jumping on board.

HAMILTON: But the large studies haven't reproduced the spectacular results seen in some smaller trials. And Gordon says some companies hoping to market psychedelics are overpromising.

GORDON: There is a lot of hype. These drugs are probably going to be beneficial and helpful, but not really transformative drugs.

HAMILTON: Gordon thinks psychedelics probably won't revolutionize psychiatry, but they may help some people who haven't been helped by anything else. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Copyright © 2022 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.