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The Science is In: How LSD, Magic Mushrooms, and Other Psychedelic Drugs Improve Mental Health
There are a number of ways to promote neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, such as exercise, dietary changes, challenging brain activities, travel, sexual activity, meditation, dance, art-making, and—as a growing body of research indicates—the consumption of psychedelic substances, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), MDMA, and psilocin and psilocybin (the psychoactive compounds in magic mushrooms and truffles). These long-stigmatized psychedelic compounds are changing the way we understand the brain and shaking up the field of psychiatry as we know it.
“The notion is that you take a system that’s become entrenched in pathology. It’s fallen into a pattern or patterns that aren’t healthy and those patterns have become reinforced for whatever reasons,” Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, head of the Center for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, explained in an interview with the Psychopharmacology Institute. “And so you can introduce psychedelics and you can shake things up and you can work on revising or updating some of those patterns and likely the beliefs which they relate to and so essentially revise your belief structure.”
According to a 2017 study by a team of Spanish researchers, Banisteriopsis caapi—the DMT-containing plant found in the traditional Amazonian brew of ayahuasca—stimulates neurogenesis. The three main alkaloids in B. caapi—harmine, tetrahydroharmine, and harmaline—facilitated the production of new neurons in adult mice brains in vitro. Specifically, the neural growth occurred in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores and processes memories.
It is worth noting that the neurogenesis-inducing qualities of DMT are distinct and separate from its hallucinogenic properties. Neurogenesis occurs when DMT binds to the sigma-1 receptor in the brain, whereas hallucinatory effects result when DMT binds to the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor (which is featured in the research of pharmacologist David Nichols, Ph.D.) . This distinction suggests that it may not be necessary to have a full-on psychedelic experience in order to experience the neurochemical benefits of psychoactive substances.
Research by David Olson, Ph.D., and his colleagues at UC Davis further highlights the link between DMT and neuroplasticity. When given low doses of DMT and then placed in a pool of water, rats persisted in paddling and searching for an escape, demonstrating minimal anxiety. In comparison, rats without DMT in their system became immobile and simply floated in the pool of water, succumbing to their fear response.
The researchers theorized that the DMT-injected rats experienced enhanced neuroplasticity, which allowed them to overcome their fear conditioning and adapt their behavior in response to the environment. Another study done by this same research team observed the neuroplasticity-promoting properties of other psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, DOI (a psychedelic drug in the amphetamine class), and ketamine (a dissociative anesthetic known for providing short-term relief in people with severe depression).
The role of psychedelics in mitigating anxiety is further evidenced by a 2013 psilocybin study. In this double-blind clinical trial, single moderate doses of psilocybin were administered to 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression. After controlling for the placebo effect, results revealed “immediate, substantial, and sustained improvements in anxiety and depression” among study participants. These effects endured in 60-80% of the cancer patients at the 6-month follow-up after the initial psilocybin treatment.